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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

care JUL

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS ‘\
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 2242

Introduced by Representative PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA

EXPLANATORY NOTE
Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) provides that:

“All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to
equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any
discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to
‘such discrimination.”

In order to implement this basic guarantee, Section 1, Article XIll (Social Justice and
Human Rights) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates Congress to “give highest
priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the
people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities, and remove
cultural inequities ...”

This is further affirmed by Section 3 of the same Article XIll, which directs government
to “afford full protection to labor .. and promote full employment and equality of
employment opportunities for all.”

Height, or the lack thereof, should not be a hindrance to serving the people as police,
fire or jail officers. There is absolutely no empirical evidence that people who possess
the mandated minimum height would be more effective and efficient police, jail or fire
officers than those who do not. In fact, in the case of the police, for instance, the most
important qualities and skills needed—investigation and detection skills, case buildup,
community relations, etc.—have absolutely nothing to do with height.

Moreover, the height requirement unduly limits the Philippine National Police (PNP), the
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
BJMP) in their pool of potential recruits. There may be more qualified and competent
people worthy of employment who do not qualify simply because they fail to make the
height requirement. Given the scope of the responsibilities in law enforcement, fire
protection and jail management, it is necessary to expand the scope of their recruitment
activities by removing the height requirement for men and women who wish to serve.

Swift passage of this measure, therefore, is earnestly sought.

PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 2242

Introduced by Representative PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA

AN ACT
REPEALING THE MINIMUM HEIGHT REQUIREMENT FOR APPLICANTS TO THE
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE (PNP), THE BUREAU OF FIRE PROTECGTION
(BFP), AND THE BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY (BJMP)

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

Section 1. This act shall be known as the “PNP, BFP and BJMP Height
Equality Act of 2019"

Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful to impose a minimum height requirement on
applicants to the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BUMP) or to discriminate against any such
applicant on the basis of height.

Sec. 3. Section 30 (h) of Republic Act No. 6975 or the “Department of the Interior
and Local Government Act of 1990", as amended by Republic Act No. 8551 or the
“Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1988”, is hereby repealed.

Sec. 4. Sections 15 and 16 of the Republic Act No. 8551, and Section 4 (h) of
Republic Act No. 9263, or the “Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology Professionalization Act of 2004” as amended by Republic
Act No. 9592, insofar as these provisions refer to any height requirement for applicants
to the BFP and BJMP, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 5. Applicants to the PNP, BFP and BJMP who were conditionally appointed
as uniformed personnel and were required but have not submitted their corresponding
waiver for the height requirement, and whose appointments have been pending with the
Civil Service Commission are, upon effectivity of this Act, deemed ipso facto to have
complied with such requirement.

Sec. 6. The National Police Commission and the Department of Interior and
Local Government shall, within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act, issue a
directive to all concerned agencies to strictly comply with the repeal of the height
requirement.

Sec. 7. If for any reason, any provision of this Act is declared to be
unconstitutional or invalid, the other section or provision hereof which are not affected
shall continue to be in full force and effect.


Sec. 8. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances or
parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provision of this Act, are hereby deemed
repealed amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 9. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the completion of its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation

Approved,