Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 258

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA Party-List Representatives EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE and FERDINAND R. GAITE

AN ACT
DEFINING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND
GENDER IDENTITY AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The 1987 Constitution declares that “the State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights” (Article 2, Section 11, 1987 Constitution). It also
imposes on the State the duty to ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and
men (Article 2, Section 14).

The equal protection clause in the Bill of Rights logically requires that laws are implemented and
applied equally and uniformly on all persons under similar circumstances or that all persons must
be treated in the same manner, the conditions not being different, both in the privileges conferred
and the liabilities imposed.

The Philippines is also a signatory to international agreements on the respect for human rights of
all persons regardless of any condition, including sex or sexual orientation. These international
instruments have consistently been interpreted by international institutions, such as the United
Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) and the UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, to include protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.


The UNHRC has interpreted Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), which obliges States to “guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection
against discrimination on any ground such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,” to include a protection
against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights has also interpreted Article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to include sexual orientation in the Covenant’s non-
discrimination provisions.

‘The present and future realities existing in the country should not be left behind by law. The
noble intentions of numerous national laws and international agreements are still wanting with
respect to our compatriot lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBTs). They continue to
be discriminated by society at large, primarily because of misconceptions and systemic State
ignorance. LGBTs often find it difficult to exercise their rights as persons, laborers,
professionals, and ordinary citizens.

Prejudicial practices and policies ~ mostly unstated and unwritten — based on sexual orientation
and gender identity severely limit the exercise and enjoyment of the basic rights and fundamental
freedoms in schools, workplaces, commercial establishments, the civil service, even the security
services.

LGBT students are denied admission or expelled from schools due to their sexual orientation or
gender identity. Companies block the promotion and stymie the career advancement of gay or
lesbian employees due to the deeply embedded notion that homosexuality denotes weakness.
Laws such as the current anti-vagrancy law are also abused by the law enforcement agencies to
harass gay men.

It is therefore imperative to define and penalize practices that discriminate against LGBTs. It
should be noted that the list herein is not exhaustive as it focuses only on the most blatant
instances of discrimination. Instances of discrimination of similar nature should be deemed
included among the prohibited practices by reasonable analogy.

LGBT do not want nor claim additional “special” or “additional rights.” This bill aims to
forward the observance of the same rights as those of heterosexual persons that are denied -
either by current laws or practices - basic civil, political, social and economic rights.

This bill was first filed in the 15" Congress by Bayan Muna Party-list Reps. Teodoro Casifio and
Neri Colmenares. It was refiled in the 16" Congress by Bayan Muna Party-list Reps. Neri
Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate, Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate refiled this bill in the 17"
Congress and was approved on third reading.

In view of the need to remedy the long-standing discrimination against LGBTs in Philippine
society, the early passage of this bill is earnestly sought in the 18" Congress.


Approved,

wort .
REB-EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

BAYAN MUNA Party-List

Wu '
\

REP. CARLOS Boat T. ZARATE . FERDINAND R. GAITE
BAYAN MUNA Party-List BAYAN MUNA Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 258

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA Party-List Representatives EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE and FERDINAND R. GAITE

AN ACT
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
AND GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE) AND PROVIDING PENALTIES
THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines of the Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the “SOGIE Equality Act.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State recognizes the fundamental rights of every
person regardless of sex, age, class, status, ethnicity, color, religious and political beliefs, sexual
orientation, or gender identity or expression, to be free from any form of discrimination. It shall
therefore intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties under the Equal Protection Clause and the Bill of
Rights provisions of the Philippine Constitution, and international and domestic laws to respect,
protect, and fulfill the rights and dignity of every individual.

‘Towards this end, the State shall exert efforts to address all forms of discrimination,
marginalization, and violence on the basis of sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression,
and to promote human dignity as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women, particularly the General Recommendation No. 28, Convention on the Rights of the
Child, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and all other relevant and universally-accepted human
rights instruments and other conventions to which the Philippines is a signatory. In the


enforcement of this Act, all due respect shall be accorded to the fundamental right of parents in
the upbringing of their children in accordance with their religious convictions. In all matters, the
best interest of children shall be paramount.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. —As used in this Act:

a.

Child refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or older but who is
incapable of taking care of oneself as defined under Republic Act No. 7610 , as
amended;

Discrimination refers to any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference which is
based on any ground such as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
and which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, access
to, enjoyment, or exercise by all persons on an equal footing of all rights and
freedoms. The actual sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression of the
person subjected to discrimination shall not be relevant for the purpose of
determining whether an act of discrimination has been committed;

Gender Expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to
others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, communication or speech pattern, or
body characteristics;

Gender Identity refers to the personal sense of identity as characterized, among
others, by manner of clothing, inclinations, and behavior in relation to masculine or
feminine conventions. A person may have a male or female identity with the
physiological characteristics of the opposite sex, in which case this person is
considered transgender;

Hate Crimes refer to criminal offenses committed against a person or a group of
persons, or against such targeted person's or group's honor or property, motivated in
whole or in part by the offender's bias against gender, sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression;

LGBT Community refers to the collective of persons who are male and female
homosexuals (gays and lesbians, respectively), bisexual, and transgender;

Marginalization refers to a condition where a whole category of people is excluded
from useful and meaningful participation in political, economic, social, and cultural
life;

‘Sex refers to male, female, or intersex. Intersex refers to people born with the sex
characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit


typical binary notions of male or female bodies, all of which are natural bodily
variations along a spectrum;

i. Sexual Orientation refers to the direction of emotional, sexual attraction, or conduct
towards people of the same sex (homosexual orientation) or towards people of
both sexes (bisexual orientation), or towards people of the opposite sex (heterosexual
orientation) or to the absence of sexual attraction (asexual orientation); and

jj. Stigma refers to the dynamic devaluation and dehumanization of an individual in the
eyes of others which may be based on attributes that are arbitrarily defined by others
as discreditable or unworthy, and which result in discrimination when acted upon.

SEC. 4, Discriminatory Practices. - It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to
engage in discrimination as defined in this Act, which shall include:

a) Denying access to public services, including military service, to any person on the basis
of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression;

b)

Including sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, as well as the disclosure of
sexual orientation, in the criteria for hiring, promotion, transfer, designation, work
assignment, re-assignment, dismissal of workers, and other human resource movement
and action, performance review, and in the determination of employee compensation,
access to career development opportunities, training, and other learning and development
interventions, incentives, privileges, benefits or allowances, and other terms and
conditions of employment: Provided That, this provision shall apply to employment and
skills training in both the private sector and public service, including military, police, and
other similar services: Provided, Further That this prohibition shall likewise apply to the
contracting and engaging of the services of juridical persons;

°)

Refusing admission or expelling a person from any educational or training institution on
the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, including discriminating
against a student or trainee due to the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression
of the student's parents or guardian: Provided, However, That the right of educational
and training institutions to determine the academic qualifications of their students or
trainees shall be duly upheld;

4d) Imposing disciplinary sanctions, penalties harsher than customary or
similar punishments, requirements, restrictions or prohibitions that infringe on the rights
of the students on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression,
including discriminating against a student or trainee due to the sexual orientation or
gender identity or expression of the student's parents or guardian;

°)

Refusing or revoking the accreditation, formal recognition, registration or plan to
organize of any organization, group, political party, institution, or establishment
in educational institutions, workplaces, communities, and other settings, solely on the


8)

h)

basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of their members or of
their target constituencies;

Denying a person access to public or private medical and other health services open to
the general public on the basis of such person's sexual orientation or gender identity or
expression;

Denying an application for or revoking a professional or other similar kind of license,
clearance, certification on, or any other similar document, except marriage license,
issued by the government due to the applicant's sexual orientation or gender identity or
expression;

Denying a person access to or the use of establishments, facilities, utilities, or services,
including housing, open to the general public on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity or expression: Provided, That the act of giving inferior accommodations or
services shall be considered a denial of access or use of such facility or service: Provided
“further, that this prohibition covers acts of discrimination against juridical persons
solely on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of their
members or of their target constituencies;

Subjecting or forcing any person to undertake any medical or psychological examination
to determine or alter, or both, the person's sexual orientation or gender identity or
expression without the expressed approval of the person involved, except in cases where
the person involved is a minor and below the age of discernment in which case prior
approval of the appropriate Family Court shall be required. In the latter case, the child
shall be represented in the proceedings by the Solicitor General or the latter's authorized
representative;

Harassment, coercion, or threats committed by members of institutions involved in the
enforcement of law and the protection of rights of any person on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity or expression. Among other cases, prohibited acts under
this section include arresting or placing under custody, and subjecting a person to
extortion, physical, verbal abuse, or sexual abuse, regardless of whether such arrest

has legal or factual basis. Harassment, coercion, or threat of juridical persons on the basis
of the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of their members, stockholders,
benefactors, clients, or patrons is likewise covered by this provision;

Publishing information intended to "out" or reveal the sex, sexual orientation, or gender
identity of persons without their consent, when such has not been made known by the
person/s concemed, and has been made with malicious intent or is primarily motivated
by a desire for commercial profit;

Engaging in public speech meant to shame, insult, vilify, or which tends to incite or
normalize the commission of discriminatory practices against LGBTs, and which acts or
practices in turn, intimidate them or result in the loss of their self-esteem;


m) Subjecting persons or groups of persons to harassment generally defined as such
unwanted conduct, pattern of conduct, act, or series of acts which tend to annoy, insult,
bully, demean, offend, threaten, intimidate, alarm, or create a hostile or emotionally
distressing environment, or put them in fear of their safety; and which behavior is
motivated in whole or in part by the offender's bias, belief, or perception regarding the
offended party's gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, regardless of
whether the belief or perception is correct. Such prohibited act may include physical
assault, stalking, or making derogatory comments, slurs or lewd propositions, and may
be conducted through any form of medium, including but not limited to, visual
representation, broadcast communication, correspondence or communication through
mail or any telecommunication device, or through the internet or cyberspace;

n)

Subjecting any person to gender profiling or to any investigatory activities, which
include (i) unnecessary, unjustified, illegal, or degrading searches to determine whether
an individual is engaged in an activity presumed to be unlawful, immoral, or socially
unacceptable; (ii) recording and analyzing a person's psychological and

behavioral characteristics to make generalizations about a person's sexuality or to assist
in identifying a particular subgroup of people's sexual orientation or gender identity;

0)

Preventing a child under parental authority, custody, or guardianship from exhibiting or
expressing one's sexual orientation or gender identity; or manifesting rejection of such
child's sexual orientation or gender identity or expression by inflicting or threatening to
inflict bodily or physical harm against the child or by causing mental or emotional
suffering of the child through intimidation, harassment, public ridicule or humiliation,
repeated verbal abuse, or other similar means, or in general, commit any act or omission
prejudicial to the welfare and interest of the child as a result of the bias against the sexual
orientation or gender identity of the child;

p) Subjecting a person to any other analogous acts that shall have the effect or purpose of

impairing or nullifying the enjoyment, recognition, or exercise of a person's rights and
freedoms.

SEC. 5. Privacy Rights. — No person shall be burdened, prejudiced, or prosecuted by reason
of the exercise of the right to personal privacy.

SEC. 6. Administrative Sanctions. - Refusal of a government official whose duty is
to investigate, prosecute, or otherwise act on a complaint for a violation of this Act or
causing unreasonable delay to perform such a duty without a valid ground shall constitute
gross negligence on the part of the official who shalll suffer the appropriate penalty under
civil service laws, rules and regulations.

SEC. 7. Penalties. - A person who commits any discriminatory practice described

in Section shall, upon conviction, be penalized by a fine of not less than One hundred
thousand pesos (P100,000) but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) or
imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than six (6) years or both, at the
discretion of the court. In addition, the court may impose upon a person found to


have committed any of the prohibited acts the rendition of community service in terms
of attendance in human rights education's familiarization with and exposure to the plight of the
victims.

If a graver offense motivated by bias, prejudice, or hatred against sexual orientation or gender
identity or expression is committed, such shall be meted the corresponding maximum penalties.

‘Any action arising from the violation of the provisions of this Act shall prescribe in three (3)
years.

Nothing in this Act shall preclude the victim from instituting a separate and independent action
for damages and other affirmative reliefs or such other cases for violation of other applicable
penal laws. Further, nothing in this Act shall be construed as giving authority to the State to
unduly interfere with the legitimate exercise by the parents or the guardians of their right to
discipline a child under their parental authority, custody or guardianship.

The penalties provided under this Section shall be meted without prejudice to the imposition of
administrative liability for government officials and employees.

SEC. 8. Special Aggravating Circumstance. — A person who commits any of the crimes in
the Revised Penal Code or any special law and who is proven to have committed the same
motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity

or expression, shall suffer the maximum penalty imposed by the Code or the relevant special law
for such prohibited act.

SEC 9. Redress mechanisms for SOGIE-related cases

A. Inclusion of SOGIE Concerns in All Police Station Activities and Services. —
The Women and Children's Desks now existing in all police stations shall be renamed as
Women, Children and Gender Rights Protection Desk, which shall also act on and attend
to complaints/cases covered by this Act. In this regard, police handling said desks shall
undergo appropriate trainings with human rights-based approach to include among others
gender sensitivity and awareness in proper terminology, dynamics of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) relationships and hate crime investigations.

Complainant-minors can be represented by parents, guardians, or a non-government
organization of good standing and reputation.

B. Role of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) — The CHR shall investigate
and recommend the filing of a complaint against any person violating this Act. If the
CHR has reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons is committing


acts penalized in Section of this Act, the CHR shall recommend a legal action in the
appropriate prosecutor's office or court.

‘The CHR shall also direct the officer concerned to take appropriate action against
a public officer or employee at fault or who neglects to perform an act or discharge a
duty required under this Act, and recommend the revocation of license, removal from
office or employment, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution, and ensure
compliance therewith. Refusal by any officer without just cause to act on the
recommendation of the CHR to revoke the license, remove, suspend, demote, fine,
censure, or prosecute an officer or employee who is at fault, or who neglects to perform
an act or discharge a duty required under this Act, shall be a ground for disciplinary
action against said officer.

‘The CHR shall also document cases of discrimination on the basis of sexual

orientation or gender identity or expression and shall include these documented cases in
its annual human rights report. The Commission shall actively provide recommendations
to different branches of government on how to address and eliminate discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

SEC. 10. Government Programs and Policies — The State shall pursue initiatives

and programs that seek to establish and maintain an environment free of stigma

and discrimination. It shall direct the machinery and resources of the State to promote non-
discrimination and shall encourage other sectors of the society to engage and participate in
‘These efforts. It shall ensure the implementation of the following programs:


A. Social Protection Programs - The national government shall ensure that communities
vulnerable to stigma and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity or expression are integrated into government-run social protection programs.

B. Diversity Programs and Trainings All government agencies, including government-
owned and controlled corporations, local government units (LGUs), private
companies, public and private education institutions, and other entities shall establish
diversity programs and shall endeavor to provide or conduct trainings for their staff,
employees, students and trainees, and constituents on human rights, gender sensitivity
and awareness, and sensitization on the issue of violence and abuse to ensure that
human rights violations and violence on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity or expression are prevented. Such institutions may incorporate these activities
into existing gender sensitivity and development training programs or school
curricula. Finally, the above-listed agencies, companies and institutions shall create
an internal redress mechanism to address cases of discrimination and develop
administrative remedies or sanction for such cases.

SEC. 11. Empowering portrayal of LGBT persons in Media — The positive

and empowering portrayal of LGBT by media shall be encouraged to counter existing
stereotypes and misconceptions that often lead to discriminatory practices. Towards this end,
incentives and awards shall be provided to programs that defend the human rights of LGBT
and contribute to the empowerment of the LGBT community and its members.

SEC. 12. SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee—For the effective implementation of this
Act, there shall be created a Congressional Oversight Committee, hereinafter referred to as
the SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee, within sixty (60) days after the enactment of

this Act, The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall be composed of five (5) members
each from the Senate and the House of Representatives, which shall include the Chairpersons
of the Senate Committees on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, and
of Justice and Human Rights, and the Chairpersons of the House of Representatives
Committees on Women and Gender Equality, and of Human Rights. The members from the
Senate and the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Senate President and the
Speaker, respectively, with at least one (1) member representing the minority.

‘The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall be chaired jointly by the Chairpersons of
the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality and

the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality. The position of Vice-Chairperson of
the SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall be jointly held by the Chairpersons of the
Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the House Committee on Human
Rights. The Secretariat of the SOGIE Equality Committee shall come from the Secretariat
personnel of the Senate and the House of Representatives committees concerned.


‘The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall monitor the compliance of

public institutions to the provisions of this Act. Within three (3) years after the enactment of
this Act, the SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall conduct an audit of national and
local policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and
expression, and shall submit a report to Congress, the Office of the President, and the
‘Supreme Court, on this subject.

The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall cease to exist six (6) years after

its organization.

SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations — Within sixty (60) days from

the effectivity of this Act, the CHR, Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Service Commission
(CSC), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of National Defense (DND), National
Youth Commission (NYC), Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Commission on
Population (POPCOM), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of
Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Health (DOH), and at least three ( )
civil society organizations (CSOs) with proven expertise and track record on SOGIE
concerns, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 14. Separability Clause.—If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid, the validity of the other provisions shall not be affected thereby.

SEC. 15. Repealing Clause—All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or
parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 16. Effectivity.—This Act shall take effect fifteen () days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,