Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ______ 
Introduced by Representative Hon. Christopher “Toff” V.P. de Venecia 
AN ACT 
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL 
ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE) 
AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution guarantees the right of every Filipino to equal 
protection of the laws and full respect of human rights, including the right to life, the 
right to freedom of expression, the right to be free from torture, and the right to be 
free from any type of discrimination. However, many reports, studies, and surveys 
show that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or 
expression (SOGIE) persists in our society. 
Numerous members of the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queer, 
intersex, asexual, pansexual and allies (LGBTQIA+) community have related 
unfortunate incidents of harassment and aggravation by individuals or groups who 
seemed to lack recognition, appreciation, and understanding of SOGIE. According to 
a study conducted by the United Nations (UN), thirty (30%) percent of LGBTQIA+ 
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reported harassment and discrimination cases while at work due to their SOGIE.1 
Moreover, based on the 2018 survey from Rainbow Rights Philippines, six in every 
ten LGBTQIA+ have experienced discrimination, of which most cases happened in 
schools.2 Based on another study conducted by the Philippine LGBT Chamber of 
Commerce and research firm, Cogencia, out of the 100 companies surveyed, no 
Philippine-based company was found to implement policies to protect employees 
from SOGIE-based discrimination.3 
 
Thus, this proposed measure seeks to address this concern and to secure the 
welfare of not only the LGBTQIA+ community but also all Filipinos of any class, 
status, ethnicity, color, and beliefs. This measure intends to help recognize the rights 
of the LGBTQIA+ so they can fully enjoy such rights, and to provide them the 
opportunities to develop their skills and reach their full potential as individuals and 
as members of the Filipino society. 
 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
    HON. CHRISTOPHER “TOFF” V.P. VENECIA 
                                                      
1  United Nations Development Programme and International Labour Organization, LGBTI People and 
Employment: Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex 
Characteristics in China, the Philippines and Thailand, 10 (2018). 
2  https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/09/19/sogie-equality-bill-might-start-from-scratch-19-years-since-
proposal?fbclid=IwAR29-KEEMUaNDW-Gt5WM90qM9rHNgNZDBpG-uluTus1hyTBwLCajDu96D5s 
3  https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2018/11/14/Filipino-companies-not-accepting-LGBTQ.html 


1 
Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ______ 
Introduced by Representative Hon. Christopher “Toff” V.P. de Venecia 
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 in Congress 
assembled: 
Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shaft be known and cited as the "Anti- 
Discrimination Act" 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. –  The State recognizes the fundamental right of 
every person, regardless of sex, age, class, status, ethnicity, color, disability, religious 
and political beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity, to be free from any form 
of discrimination. It shall therefore intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties under 
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 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 on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All 
Forms of Discrimination Against Women, particularly the General Recommendation 
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No. 28 on Non-discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, 
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 international 
conventions to which the Philippines is a signatory of. 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following terms shall be 
defined as follows: 
a. Discrimination – refers to any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or 
preference based on the ground sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or 
expression, hereinafter referred to as “SOGIE," and 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. For 
purposes of this provision, the actual sex, sexual orientation, or gender 
identity of the person subjected to discrimination shall not be relevant for 
determining whether an act of discrimination has been committed. 
b. Gender Expression – refers to the outward manifestations of the cultural 
traits that enable a person to identify as male or female according to 
patterns that, at a particular moment in history, a given society defines as 
gender appropriate. 
c. 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. 
d. Profiling – refers to subjecting a person or group of persons to 
investigatory activities, which include unnecessary, unjustified, illegal, 
and degrading searches, or other investigatory activities, in determining 
whether an individual is engaged in an activity presumed to be unlawful, 
immoral or socially unacceptable. 
e. Sexual Orientation – refers to the direction of emotional sexual attraction or 
conduct. This can be towards people of the same sex (homosexual 


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orientation) or towards people of both sexes (bisexual orientation) or 
towards people of the opposite sex (heterosexual orientation). 
f. 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. Communities Vulnerable to Discrimination and Abuse on the Basis of SOGIE. 
– This Act seeks to protect individuals and communities that experience human 
rights violations on the basis of SOGIE, including, but not limited to, individuals and 
communities of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity or expression who are 
children, young, poor, differently abled, of different ethnic background or cultural 
background, and of various religious beliefs. 
Sec. 5. Discriminatory Practices. – It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or 
juridical, to: 
a. Promote and encourage stigma on the basis of SOGIE in the media, in 
educational textbooks, online, and other mediums. Inciting violence and 
sexual abuse against any person or group on the basis of SOGIE is likewise 
prohibited; 
b. Include SOGIE, 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, 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 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 associations or organizations 
with LGBTQIA+ members or of associations or organizations advocating 
LGBTQIA+ rights; 


4 
 
c. Refuse admission or expel a person from any educational or training 
institution on the basis of SOGIE: Provided, however, That the right of 
educational and training institutions to determine the academic 
qualifications of their students or trainees shall be duly upheld; 
d. Impose 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 SOGIE, including discriminating 
against a student or trainee due to the SOGIE of the student's parents or 
legal guardian; 
e. Refuse or revoke the accreditation, formal recognition, registration or plan 
to organize any organization, group, political party, institution or 
establishment, in educational institutions, workplaces, communities, and 
other settings, solely on the basis of the SOGIE of their members or of their 
target constituencies; 
f. Deny a person access to public or private medical and other health 
services open to the general public, as well as access to public and private 
health insurance, including HMOs, on the basis of SOGIE; 
g. Deny an application for or revoke, on the basis of SOGIE, any government 
license, authority, clearance, permit, certification, or other similar 
documents necessary to exercise a profession, business, or any other 
legitimate calling; 
h. Deny a person, access to or the use of establishments, facilities, utilities or 
to services, including housing, open to the general public on the basis of 
SOGIE: 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 SOGIE of their members 
or of their target constituencies; 
i. Subject or force any person to undertake any medical or psychological 
examination to determine or alter the person's SOGIE without the 
expressed approval of the person involved, except in cases where the 


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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; 
j. Subject any person, natural or juridical, to profiling, detention, or verbal or 
physical harassment on the basis of SOGIE. Profiling, detention, or verbal 
or physical harassment on the basis of SOGIE by members of law 
enforcement agencies, including the military, police, immigration, is 
likewise prohibited. Physical or verbal harassment based on SOGIE of 
persons in custody or detention of the police, including subjecting them to 
extortion, is also prohibited; and 
k. Subject a person to any other analogous acts that shall have the effect or 
purpose of impairing or nullifying the enjoyment, recognition, and 
exercise of a person's human rights and fundamental freedoms. 
Sec. 6. Administrative Sanctions. – Willful refusal of a government official 
whose duty is to investigate, prosecute, or otherwise act on a complaint for a 
violation of this Act to perform such a duty without a valid ground shall constitute 
gross negligence on the part of the official and shall be subjected to pertinent 
administrative sanctions. 
Sec. 7. Penalties. – Any person who commits any discriminatory practice 
described in Sec 5(a), 5(d), 5(e), 5(g), and 5(h), upon conviction, be penalized by a 
fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000.00), but not more 
than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 250,000.00), or imprisonment of not 
less than one year, but not more than six (6) years, subject to the discretion of the 
court. 
Any person who commits any discriminatory practice described in Sec 5(b), 5(c), 5(f), 
5(i), and 5(j) shall, upon conviction, be penalized by a fine of not less than Two 
Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 250,000.00) but not more than Five Hundred 
Thousand Pesos (Php 500,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but 
not more than twelve (12) years, subject to the discretion of the court. 


6 
 
Any person who commits any discriminatory practice described in Sec 5(k) 
shall upon conviction be penalized with the same penalty as the prohibited act to 
which it is analogous. 
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. 
Nothing in this Act shall preclude the victim from instituting a separate and 
independent action for damages and other affirmative reliefs. 
The penalties provided under this Sec shall be without prejudice to the imposition of 
administrative liability for government officials and employees. 
Sec. 8. Discriminatory Practices as Qualifying Aggravating Circumstance. – If any 
civil, criminal, or administrative offense, not falling under this Act, is committed and 
proven to be attended by any discriminatory practice prohibited under Sec 5 of this 
Act, said offense shall be qualified and the corresponding penalty provided thereto 
shall be applied in its maximum period. 
Sec. 9. Redress Mechanisms for SOGIE-related Cases. – 
a. Inclusion of SOGIE Concerns in All Police Stations – The Women and 
Children’s Desks now existing in all police stations shall also act on and 
attend to complaints/cases covered by this Act. In this regard, the police 
handling said desks shall undergo capacity-building on human rights and 
SOGIE, gender sensitivity and awareness, and sensitization on the issue of 
violence and abuse on the basis of SOGIE. 
Complainant-minors can be represented by parents, guardians, social 
workers, or a non-government organization of good standing and reputation. 
b. Role of the Civil Service Commission – The Civil Service Commission 
(CSC) shall mandate the establishment of a grievance mechanism to 
address discriminatory practices committed by officers or employees of 
government agencies, instrumentalities, and government owned and 
controlled corporations (GOCCs) and other offices under its jurisdiction. 


7 
 
c. Role of the Department of Labor and Employment – The Department of 
Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall mandate the establishment of a 
grievance mechanism to address discriminatory practices committed in 
the workplace. 
d. Role of the Commission or Human Rights – The Commission on Human 
Rights (CHR) shall investigate and recommend the filing of a complaint 
against any person/s violating this Act. If the Commission has reasonable 
cause to believe that any person or group of persons is committing acts 
penalized under Sec 5 of this Act, the Commission 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 comply with an order of the 
Commission 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 
SOGIE 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 SOGIE. 
Sec. 10. Programs to Promote Non-Discrimination and Diversity. – To eliminate all 
forms of discrimination, the State shall pursue initiatives and programs that seek to 
enable 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: 


8 
 
a. Social Protection Programs – the national government shall ensure that 
communities vulnerable to stigma and discrimination on the basis of 
SOGIE are integrated into government-run social protection programs. 
b. Diversity Programs and Policies – All government agencies, government- 
owned and controlled corporations, private companies, public and private 
educational institutions, and other entities shall establish diversity 
programs to ensure human rights violations and violence on the basis of 
SOGIE are prevented. They shall also create an internal redress 
mechanism to address cases of discrimination and develop administrative 
remedies or sanctions for such cases. Public institutions shall incorporate 
these programs into existing gender and development programs. 
c. Information and Education Campaign – All government agencies and 
instrumentalities are mandated to develop and implement SOGIE-specific 
gender sensitivity education and information dissemination. They shall 
endeavor to produce and publish information and education campaign 
materials on gender and human rights. 
Sec. 11. Congressional Oversight Committee. – For the effective implementation 
of this Act, there shall be created a Congressional Oversight Committee, hereinafter 
referred to as the Anti-Discrimination Oversight Committee (ADOC), within sixty 
(60) days after the enactment of this Act. The ADOC shall be composed of ten (10) 
members from the Senate and the House of Representatives, which shall include the 
following: the Chairperson and two (2) members of the Senate Committee on 
Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality; the Chairperson and one 
(1) member of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights; the Chairperson 
and two (2) members of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality; and 
the Chairperson and one (1) member of the House Committee on Justice. The 
members of the ADOC shall be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker 
of the House, respectively, with at least one (1) member representing the Minority. 
The ADOC shall be jointly chaired 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 Vice-Chair of the ADOC 


9 
 
shall be jointly held by the Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Justice and 
Human Rights and the House Committee on Justice. The Secretariat shall come from 
the existing Secretariat personnel of the Senate and the House of Representatives 
committees concerned. 
The ADOC shall monitor the compliance of public institutions to the 
provisions of this Act. Within three years after the enactment of this Act, the ADOC 
shall conduct an audit of national and local policies that discriminate on the basis of 
SOGIE, and shall submit a report to Congress, the Office of the President, and the 
Supreme Court, on this subject. 
The ADOC shall cease to exist six years after its organization. 
Sec. 12. 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. 13. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or 
parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
Sec. 14. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,