Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Queson City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4647
HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The fundamental human rights are well-enshrined in the 1987 Philippine
Constitution. The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full
respect for human rights. Oppression, maltreatment, and discrimination have no
place in a civilized nation. More often than not, the hapless victims are left with an
almost indelible scar and emotional trauma on their consciousness as a human
being. The framers of the Constitution put in provisions that would safeguard the
citizen's rights and liberties. Every citizen has now a bundle of rights which must be
upheld and respected by all and no less than the supreme law of the land demand of
this treatment.

As a matter of policy, the State should always apply the law equally to all persons.
The equal protection clause, according to an eminent constitutionalist, is the specific
constitutional guarantee of the equality of the person. This clause requires that laws
operate equally and uniformly to 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.

Moreover, our country is signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) which gives paramount recognition of the inherent dignity
and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. The UDHR provides that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind such
as race, color, sex or gender, language, religion, political or other opinion,
educational attainment, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

We are likewise a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights which recognizes non-discrimination and equality as fundamental
components of international human rights law and essential to the exercise and
enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. It obliges each State Party to
guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised
without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. The equal


and inalienable rights of “everyone” to the various Covenant rights such as, inter alia,
the right to work, just and favorable conditions of work, social security, an adequate
standard of living, and health and education must be upheld at all times.

More and more local statutes previously enacted are geared towards the promotion
of equality. RA 6725 amended the Labor Code in order to strengthen the prohibition
of discrimination against women with respect to terms and conditions of employment.
It imposes criminal liability for the willful commission of unlawful acts of
discrimination respecting terms of compensation and career opportunities. We also
have the RA 7277 otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.
Under this law, persons with disabilities should have the same rights as other people
to take their proper place in society and the State should exert all efforts to remove
all social, cultural, economic, environmental and attitudinal barriers that are
prejudicial to persons with disabilities. It also prohibits and penalizes acts of
discrimination in terms of employment, riding public transportation, and using public
accommodations and services.

While these pieces of legislation are excellent means to curb discrimination against
women and persons with disability, there are still other sectors of Philippine society
which suffer from oppression and maltreatment. At present, acts of discrimination
towards certain groups are still prevalent. Discrimination on all accounts affect the
lives of the victims. It creates a stigma which undermines not only their psychological
well-being but also deprives them of economic, political, and social rights and access
to opportunities.

This measure seeks to enhance the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution and
several international declarations, prevent and criminalize various forms of
discrimination and penalize such. Any form of discrimination may be categorized as
a crime against humanity and human dignity in that several international declarations
promote equal treatment of all people and prevent discrimination on the basis of
race, ethnicity, and other status.

Under this measure, discriminatory acts such as inflicting stigma, denial of
education, political, civil and cultural rights, right to work, access to goods and
services, and the right to organize, inflicting harm on health, engaging in profiling,
abuses by state and non-state agencies, and detention and confinement are strictly
prohibited and will be met with corresponding penalties.

The approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

fear F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
4647

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF ETHNICITY, RACE,
RELIGION OR BELIEF, SEX, LANGUAGE, DISABILITY, EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT AND OTHER FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES FOR THE PURPOSE

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This bill shall be known as the “Anti-Discrimination Act of
2019".

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to work actively for
the elimination of all forms of discrimination that offend the equal protection clause of
the Bill of Rights and the State obligations under human rights instruments acceded
to by the Republic of the Philippines. Towards this end, discriminatory practices as
defined herein shall be proscribed and penalized.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. — For the purposes of this Act, the following shall
be defined as follows:

a. Discrimination — constitutes any distinction, exclusion, restriction or
preference or other differential treatment that is directly or indirectly based on
ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, disability, or other status, which has the
intention or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or


exercise, on an equal footing, of political, civil, economic, social, and cultural
rights.

Discrimination also includes incitement to discriminate and harassment as a
result or a product of stigma

. Education and Training — refers to all types and levels of education, training,
and other avenues for learning and includes access thereto, the standard and
quality thereof, and the conditions under which the same is given.

. Employment — refers to all terms, conditions, and privileges relating to work in
public and private institution, including policies, application procedures,
training, incentives, compensation, determination of benefits or allowances,
promotion, advancement opportunities, transfer and dismissal.

This definition shall apply to regular, probationary, casual, contractual, fixed-
term, and seasonal workers. In legitimate contracting arrangements, the
contractor/subcontractor shall be deemed the employers of the contractual
employee.

. Indigenous Peoples — Include Peoples who are regarded as indigenous on
account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at
the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-
indigenous religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state
boundaries, who retain some or all of their social, economic, cultural and
political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional
domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains.

Indigenous Peoples also refers to a group of people or homogenous societies
identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who have continuously
lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory,
and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied,
possessed and utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language,
customs, tradition and other distinctive cultural traits or who have, through
resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization, non-
indigenous religions and cultures, became historically differentiated from the
majority of Filipinos.


e. Profiling — means relying on the prohibited grounds of discrimination in
subjecting a person or group of persons to investigatory activities, which
include unnecessary, unjustified, illegal and degrading searches, questioning
or other investigatory activities, in determining whether an individual is
engaged in an activity presumed to be unlawful, immoral, or socially
unacceptable.

f. Stigma — refers to the dynamic process of devaluation that significantly
discredits an individual in the eyes of others. When stigma is acted upon, the
result is discrimination.

g. Vulnerable communities — refers to communities or sectors that encounter
stigma and discrimination based on the ground’s enumerated in Section 4.

SECTION 4. Prohibited Grounds for Discrimination. — For the purposes of this
Act, discrimination that is indirectly based on the actual or perceived ethnicity, race,
religion or belief, sex, civil status, disability, HIV status, or other status is prohibited.

Ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, civil status, disability, educational attainment or
other status that differentiates or any form of discrimination shall be interpreted in
their most common or universal definitions and with due regard to the promotion of
meaningful implementation of non-discriminatory policy.

SECTION 5. Discriminatory Acts. - The following Acts shall be prohibited:

a. Inflicting stigma — It shall be unlawful for any person to commit any acts that
promote and encourage stigma based on the grounds referred to in Section 4.
Content in the media, in educational textbooks, or in other medium that aims
to inflict stigma is likewise prohibited.

b. Denial of political, civil, and cultural rights — It shall be unlawful to deny a
person enjoyment of political, civil and cultural rights based on the grounds
referred to Section 4.

c. Denial of right to education — It is unlawful for any person to:

1. Refuse admission or expel a person from any education or training
institution on the basis of the grounds defined in Section 4, without


prejudice to the right of educationall or training institutions to determine
the academic qualifications of their students or trainees;

2. Impose disciplinary sanction, penalties harsher than customary, or
similar punishment, requirements, restrictions, or prohibitions that
infringe on the rights of the students on the basis of the grounds
identified in Section 4; and

This prohibition extends to acts committed against a student or trainee to
discriminate his or her parents or legal guardians based on grounds referred
to in Section 4.

d. Denial of right to work — It is unlawful for any person to:

1. Use the grounds in Section 4 or require the disclosure thereof in the
selection, promotion, and termination of workers, and in the
determination of compensation, training, incentives, privileges, benefits
or allowances, as well as other terms and conditions of employment;

2. Deny employment in government institutions, including police and
military service, based directly or indirectly on the grounds referred to
in Section 4;

3. Refuse to enter into contract or agreement with persons or group of
persons based solely or partly on the grounds provided in Section 4;
and

4. Deny an application for or revoke a professional license issued by the
government directly or indirectly due to the grounds included in Section
4.

e. Denial of access to goods and services - It is unlawful for any person to:

1. Deny a person, solely on the basis of the grounds in Section 4, and
goods and services available to the general public, such as but not
limited to private and public insurance, housing and other forms of

accommodation, medical and clinical services;

2. Refuse entry to evict a person from any establishment, facilities or
utilities that are open to the general public, such as but not limited to
restaurants, bars, hotels, shopping malls, solely or partly on the basis
of the grounds listed in Section 4;


3. Cause undue and unjust deferral of services or provision of inferior
services to persons due to the grounds in Section 4; and

There is discrimination if the acts above are committed against organizations
or groups of persons based on the grounds identified in Section 4.

Denial of rights to organize — It shall be unlawful to prohibit, prevent, or revoke
the accreditation, formal recognition, and/or registration of any organization,
group, political party, institution, or establishment, in educational institutions,
workplaces, communities, and other settings, based partly or solely on the
grounds provided for in Section 4.

Discrimination is also committed when additional requirements beyond the
customary are imposed directly or indirectly due to the grounds stipulated in
Section 4.

|. Inflicting harm on health and well-being — It shall be unlawful to subject any
person, without consent, to any unnecessary medical or physical examination,
psychological treatment, faith based practices, and other similar procedures
based solely or partly on any of the grounds referred to in Section 4 that aim
to change identity or physical attributes or impose behavior or expressions.

. Engaging in profiling — It shall be illegal for any person, including members of
the military and law enforcement agencies, to engage in profiling based solely
or partly on the grounds included in Section 4.

Abuses by State and Non-State actors — It shall be unlawful for any
government agencies, including local government units, police, military, and
immigration, to harass verbally, or physically, to curtail freedom of movement,
‘or to extort from a person or a group of persons on the basis of the grounds
stipulated in Section 4. This prohibition applies to similar abuses committed by
non-State actors.

Detention and confinement — It shall be unlawful to detain and confine a
person or group of persons based directly or indirectly on the grounds under
Section 4.

. Other analogous circumstances — Any analogous acts which have the effect
or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise of
the person's human rights and fundamental freedoms are also prohibited.


SECTION 6. Persons Liable. — Any person, natural or juridical, or their
representatives, including government, government-owned and controlled
corporations, institution or company, who commits any of the acts under Section 5,
shall be liable under this Act.

Any person, natural or juridical, or their representatives, who requests, instructs,
induces, encourages, authorizes, tolerates, or assists another to commit any of the
acts under Section 5 shall be principally liable under this Act.

SECTION 7. Programs to Promote Non-Discrimination and Diversity. — The
State shall endeavor to eliminate all forms of discrimination and shall therefor 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 ensure non-
discrimination and promote equality and shall encourage sectors of the society to be
engage and participate in these efforts. It shall ensure the establishment of the
following programs:

a. Social Protection Program — The National government shall implement social
protection measures for the communities affected by the vulnerable to stigma
and discrimination.

b. Diversity Programs and Policies — All government agencies, non-government
agencies, government-owned and —controlled corporation, private companies,
public and private education institutions, and other entities shall establish
diversity programs to ensure that discrimination and abuse are prevented.
They shall also create an internal redress mechanism to address cases of
discrimination and grant administrative remedies or sanction for such cases.

The Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor and Employment,
Department of Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education,
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Justice,
Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Health shall ensure the
implementation of this Section.


Failure of the above agencies to ensure the implementation of this provision shall be
deemed refusal to address discrimination and shall be penalized as analogous act of
discrimination.

SECTION 8. Duties of the Commission on Human Rights. — The Commission
shall investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person acts or
omissions violating this Act. If the Commission has reasonable cause to believe that
any person or group is engage in discrimination under this Act, the Commission shall
commence a legal action in the regular court. Provided, That any act or omission
committed against any person other than public officers and employees under
Section 5 d(1) of this Act shall be under the jurisdiction of the National Labor
Relations Commission in relation to Article 135 of the Labor Code.

The duty of the Secretary of Justice to investigate pattern or practice of
discrimination and commence legal actions under Section 44 of the Magna Carta for
Disabled Persons is hereby transferred to the Commission.

The Commission on Human Rights shall direct the officer concemed to take
appropriate action against a public officer or employee at fault or who neglect to
perform an act or discharge a duty required under this Act, and order revocation of
license, removal from office 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 duty required under this act, shall be
a ground for disciplinary action against said officer.

SECTION 9. Penalties. — Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices
under Section 5(a), 5(b), 5(e), 5(f), and 5(k) of this act shall be penalized with a fine
of not less than One Hundred Thousand pesos (Php 100,000.00) but not exceed
Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand pesos (Php 250,000.00) or imprisonment of two
(2) years but not more than six (6) years, or both at the discretion of the court.


Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices under Section 5(c), 5(d),
5(h), 5(i), 5() and 6(k) of this act shall be penalized with a fine of not less than Two
Hundred and Fifty Thousand pesos (Php 250,000.00) but not exceed Five Hundred
Thousand pesos (Php 500,000.00) or imprisonment of six (6) years but not more
than twelve (12) years, or both at the discretion of the court.

If the violator is a corporation, organization or any similar entity, the officials thereof
directly involved shall be liable therefor.

If the violator is an alien or foreigner, he shall be deported immediately after service
of sentence without further deportation proceedings.

Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices prohibited under this Act

shall also be civilly liable.

The administrative remedies provided under this act do not bar prosecution or civil
claims in proper courts for an act of discrimination committed under this Act.

If any crime penalized under the Revised Penal Code is committed in pursuit of
discrimination, the penalty provided under the Revised Penal Code shall be applied
and the discrimination committed shall be considered as an aggravating

circumstance.

SECTION 10. Appropriations. — The initial amount necessary to implement the
provisions of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriation of the
agencies tasked to implement the provisions of this Act. Thereafter, such sums as
maybe necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in
the Annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Commission on
Human Rights, Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor and Employment,
Department of Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education
and Skills and Development Authority, Department of Justice, Department of Foreign

10


Affairs, Department of Health, Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and National
Commission on Muslim Filipinos shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules
and regulations within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 12. Separability Clause. —- Should any provision herein be declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this
Act.

SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations
or other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect in fifteen (15) days
after publication in the Official Gazette or in one (1) newspaper of general circulation

in the Philippines.

Approved,