Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. _2211

Introduced by Hon, Sol Aragones

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In 2010, women’s group Isis International said transgender Filipino women are
especially vulnerable to employment-based discrimination. Many corporations hinge
employment prospects on gays and transgender persons following traditional dress codes.

In 2011, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists submitted to the
United Nations two reports on the human rights violations against LGBT people in the
Philippines. In the same year, the Psychological Association in the Philippines called for an
end to discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

In one report named “The Status of LGBT Rights in the Philippines, Submission to the
Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic Review 13" Session,” the groups Rainbow
Rights Project (R-Rights) and the Philippine LGBT Hate Crime Watch (PLHCW) co-authored
a documentation of different abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the
country since 2007. Another report entitled “A Report on Violations of Human Rights Based
on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Philippines” was authored by the Progressive
Organization of Gays in the Philippines (ProGay).

Education and sports institutions also present problems for young Filipino men attracted
to the same sex, according to a 2013 Philippine Journal of Psychology study by Eric
Manalastas. In a 2015 news report, it was said that LGBT Filipinos are still endangered by
physical acts of bigotry and by a pervasive discrimination that infringes on their basic economic
and human rights. Former Commissioner on Human Rights Chair Etta Rosales in 2013 cited
141 cases of abuse against members of the LGBT community.

Apart from bullying and harassment, members of the community say that they are often
pigeonholed into limited roles and occupations. Outside of these assigned roles, they are
expected to curb their identities and expressions “as conditions for their social acceptance and
enjoyment of rights.”


Scouring data from the Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey, Manalastas found
that young gays, between ages of 15 and 24, contemplate suicide more than their heterosexual
peers, although they may not act on it. He cited as factors experiences of threat and
victimization.

‘These reports highlighted the very real and pressing problem confronting the LGBT
community in the Philippines. There can be no true and meaningful democracy if we continue
to systematically oppress the LGBT community and tum a blind eye to the abuses committed
against them. This bill seeks to address these problems and correct the impression that the
Government is powerless to help the LGBT sector. Therefore, immediate approval of this
measure is earnestly sought.

|i
ION. SOL \GONES,

Representative, Third District of Laguna



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2211

House Bill No.

Introduced by Hon, Sol Aragones

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

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

assembled:
1 SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “SOGIE Equality Act”.
2 SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes the fundamental right of every

3 _ person regardless of sex, age, class, status, ethnicity, color, disability, religious, and political
4 beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, to be free ftom any form of
5 discrimination. It shall therefore intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties under the Equal
6 Protection Clause and the Bill of Rights provisions of the Philippine Constitution, and
7 international and domestic laws to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights and dignity of every
8 individual.

J Towards this end, the State shall exert efforts to address all forms of discrimination,
10 marginalization and violence on the basis of sexual orientation, or gender identity or
11 expression, and to promote human dignity as enshrined in the United Nations Universal

12 Declaration on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of


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Discrimination Against Women, particularly the General Recommendation 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.
In the enforcement of this Act, all due respect shall be accorded to the fundamental right of

ns. In all

parents in the upbringing of their children in accordance with their religious convi
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;

(b) 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;

(a) 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;


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(©) 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;

(2) — 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;

(h) 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;

() 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

() 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 to any person on the basis of sexual

orientation or gender identity or expression;


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(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;

(c) Refusing admission or expelling a person ftom 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;

(d) 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;

(e) 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 basis of


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

(f) 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;

(g) 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;

(h) 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
farther, 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;

(i) 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;

G) 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


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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;

(k) 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 concerned, and has been made with malicious intent or is primarily motivated
by a desire for commercial profit;

(1) Engaging in public speech, except religious 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;


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(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 shall suffer the appropriate penalty under civil service

laws, rules and regulations.


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SEC. 7. Penalties. - A person who commits any discriminatory practice described in
Section 4 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 the violation or offense is committed by a corporation, partnership, association or
other juridical entities, the penalty provided for in this section shall be imposed upon the
directors, officers, employees or other officials or persons therein responsible for the offense
without prejudice to the civil liabilities arising from the criminal offense;

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

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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 LGBTQ++ 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 4 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


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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

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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.

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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 (3)
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 (15) days after its publication

in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

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Approved,

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