Does my company have to have a committee that handles harassment complaints?
Last updated: 2026-08-10 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
Yes — RA 11313 (the Safe Spaces Act) §17(c) requires employers to create an internal committee, commonly called a CODI (Committee on Decorum and Investigation), to investigate and address harassment complaints. It is a workplace route that does not require going through the police.
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Frequently asked
Is the committee's confidentiality as strong as a VAWC case's?
No — RA 11313 §17(c)(7) guarantees confidentiality only "to the greatest extent possible," a best-efforts standard with no stated penalty for a breach. That's weaker than RA 9262 §44, which makes a records breach punishable by up to 1 year imprisonment and a fine of up to ₱500,000.
What can the committee actually do once it investigates?
RA 11313 §17(c) tasks the committee with investigating and addressing complaints. Its specific disciplinary powers or outcomes are set by the employer's own CODI procedures, which the statute doesn't itself detail.
Does filing with my company's committee stop me from also filing with the barangay or police?
No — filing a workplace complaint under RA 11313 §17(c) is a separate track from a VAWC protection-order petition under RA 9262 or a criminal report to the police. Nothing in RA 11313 describes one route as blocking the other.
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Reporting sexual harassment and abuse through the routes RA 11313 (Safe Spaces Act) creates outside the police and barangay — the employer committee, the school's duty to act, and the barangay's dedicated harassment desk.