SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
Introduced by Senator Poe 
AN ACT 
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AUG 14 P5 :45 
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF ETHNICITY, RACE, 
RELIGION OR BELIEF, SEX OR GENDER OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, 
LANGUAGE, DISABILITY, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND OTHER FORMS 
OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE PURPOSE 
Explanatory Note 
The 1987 Philippine Constitution guarantees equal protection for everyone. Article II, 
Section 10 declares the policy of the State to "promote social justice in all phases of national 
development." Section II provides that the State "values the dignity of every human person and 
guarantees full respect for human rights," while Section 14 imposes on the State the duty to 
value the "role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before 
the law of women and men." 
Article III, Section I of the fundamental law states that, "[ n]o person shall be deprived of 
life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal 
protection of the laws." 
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which the 
Philippines is a signatory, provides that the "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal 
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice 
and peace in the world." The UDHR also provides that everyone is entitled to all the rights and 
freedoms without distinction of any kind such as race, color, sex or gender or sexual orientation 
language, religion political or other opinion, educational attaimnent, national or social origin, 
property, birth or other status 1. 
This proposal 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 the 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 and wen-being, engaging in profiling, abuses by state and . 
non-state agencies, and detention and confinement are strictly prohibited and will be met with 
corresponding penalties. 
1 Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ 


In contemporary situation, discrimination happens in Philippine society: 
• 
In 2003, a Manobo family were forced out of their ancestral land. Accordingly, 
they were unduly discriminated because of their indigenous ancestry. 
( www.humanrights.asia/news/forwarded-news/F A-19-2003) 
• 
There are countless reported cases of LGBT members suffering from 
discrimination 
in 
their 
employment. 
(as 
an 
illustration, 
www.philstar.com/headlines/20 14/03/28) 
Many say that there is no place for oppression in a democratic country like the 
Philippines. Everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and access to 
opportunities. The social stigma of discrimination is dangerous and depressing, and may 
sometimes become lethal on the part of the victim. 
As such, approval of this bill is fervently sought. 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
Introduced by Senator Poe 
AN ACT 
'14 
AUG 14 P5 :45 
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF ETHNICITY, RACE, 
RELIGION OR BELIEF, SEX OR GENDER OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, 
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: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title - this bill shall be known as "the Anti-Discrimination Act of 
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2014." 
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SECTION 2. Declaration of Policies. - It is the policy of the State to work actively for 
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the elimination of all forms of discrimination that offend the equal protection clause of the Bill of 
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Rights and the State obligations under human rights instruments acceded to by orientation. 
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Towards this end, discriminatory practices based on sex or sexual orientation. Towards this end, 
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discriminatory practices as defined herein shall be prescribed and penalized. 
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SECTION 3. Definition of Terms - For the purposes of this Act, the following shall be 
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defined as follows: 
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a. Discrimination - constitutes any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference or 
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other differential treatment that is directly or indirectly based on ethnicity, race, 
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religion or belief, sex and gender, disability, or other status, which has the intention 
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or equal footing, of political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights: 
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Discrimination, which also includes incitement to discriminate and harassment, is a 
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result or a product of stigma. 
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b. Education and Training - refers to all types and levels of education, training, and 
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other avenues for learning and includes access thereto, the standard and quality 
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thereof, and the conditions under which the same is given. 
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c. Employment - refers to all terms, conditions, and privileges relating to work in public 
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and private institution, including policies, application procedures, training, incentives, 
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compensation, determination of benefits or allowances, promotion, advancement 
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opportunities, transfer and dismissal 
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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 employer ofthe contractual employee. 


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d. 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 own 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 telTitories, 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 a 
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. 
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SECTION 4. Prohibited Grounds for Discrimination. - For the purposes of this Act, 
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discrimination that is indirectly based on the actual or perceived ethnicity, race, religion or 
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belief, sex or gender or sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, civil status, 
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disability, HIV status, or other status is prohibited. 
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Ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex or gender or sexual orientation, civil status, 
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disability, educational attainment or other status that differentiates or any form of discrimination 
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shall be interpreted in their most common or universal definitions and with due regard to the 
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promotion of meaningful implementation of non-discrimination policy. 
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SECTION 5. Discriminatory Acts. - The following Acts shall be prohibited: 
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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 educational or training institution on 
the basis of the grounds defined in Section 4, without prejudice to the right of 
educational or training institutions to determine the academic qualifications of 
their students or trainees; 


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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 ofthe 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 
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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 establislunent, 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. 
f. Denial of rights to organize -0 it shall be unlawful to prohibit, prevent, or revoke the' 
accreditation, formal recognition, and/or registration of any organization, group, 
political pmty, institution or establislunent, 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. 
g. 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. 
h. Engaging in profiling - it shall be illegal [or 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. 
i. 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 pf persons on the basis ofthe grounds stipulated in section 4. This 
prohibition applies to similar abuses committed by non-state actors. 


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j. 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. 
k. 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. 
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SECTION 6. Personal Liable - Any person, natural or juridical, or their representatives, 
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including government, government-owned and controlled corporations, Institution or company, 
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who commits any of the acts under Section 5, shall be liable nuder this Act. 
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Any person, natural or juridical, or their representatives, who requests, instructs, induces, 
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encourages, authorizes, tolerates, or assists another to commit any of the acts nuder Section 5 
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shall be principally liable under this Act. 
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SECTION 7. Programs to Promote Non-Discrimination and Diversity - the State 
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shall endeavor to eliminate all forms of discrimination and shall therefore pursue initiatives and 
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programs that seeks to enable an environment free of stigma and discrimination. It shall direct 
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the machinery and resources of the State to ensure non-discrimination and promote equality and 
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shall encourage sectors of the society to engage and participate in these efforts. It shall ensure the 
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establishment of the following programs: 
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a. Social Protection Program -
The National government shall implement social 
protection measures for 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 educational 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. 
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The Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor and Employment, department of 
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Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of 
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Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills 
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Development Authority, department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs and 
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Department of Health shall ensure the implementation ofthis section. 
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Failure of the above agencies to ensure the implementation of this provision shall be 
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deemed refusal to address discrimination and shall be penalized as analogous act of 
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discrimination. 
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SECTION 8. Duties of the Commission on Human Rights. - The Commission shall 
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investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person acts or omissions violating 
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this Act. If the Commission has reasonable cause to believe that any person or group is engaged 
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in discrimination under this Act, the Commission shall commence a legal action in the regular 
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court. 
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The Commission shall also direct the officer concerned to take appropriate action against 
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a public officer or employee at fault or who neglect to perform an act or discharge a duty 
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required under this Act, and order revocation of license, removal from office or employment, 
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suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution, and ensure compliance therewith. Refusal 
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by any officer without just cause to comply with an order of the Commission to revoke the 
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license, remove, suspend, demote, fine, censure, or prosecute an officer or employee who is at 
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fault, or whoe neglects to perform an act or discharge duty required under this act, shall be a 
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ground for disciplinary action against said officer. 
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SECTION 9. Penalties. - Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices 
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under Section 5 (A), 5(B), 5(E), 5(F), and 4 (K) of this act shall be penalized with a fine of not 


, 
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less than One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000) but not to exceed Two Hundred and Fifty 
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Thousand Pesos (P250,000) or imprisonment of two (2) years but not more than six (6) years, or 
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both at the discretion of the court. 
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Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices wIder Section 5 (C), 5 (D), 5 
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(0), 5 (H), 5 (I), 5 (J) and 5 (K) of this Act shall be penalized with a fine of not less than two 
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Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (250,000) but not to exceed Five Hundred Thousand pesos 
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(P500,000) or imprisonment of six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) years, or both at the 
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discretion of the court. 
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If the violator is a corporation, organization or any similar entity, the officials thereof 
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directly involved shall be liable therefor. 
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If the violator is an alien or foreigner, he shall be deported immediately after service of 
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sentence without further deportation proceedings. 
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Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices prohibited under iliis Act shall 
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also be civilly liable. 
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The Administrative remedies provided under this act do not bar prosecution or civil 
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claims in proper courts for ant act of discrimination committed under this Act. 
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If any crime penalized under the Revised Penal Code is Committed in pursuit of 
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discrimination, the penalty provided under the Revised Penal Code shall be applied and the 
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discrimination committed shall be considered as an aggravating circumstance. 
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SECTION 10. Appropriations. - The initial amount necessary to implement the 
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provisions of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriation of the agencies 
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tasked to implement the provisions of iliis Act. Thereafter, such sums as maybe necessary for the 
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continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the Ammal General Appropriations. 
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Act. 
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SECTION 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Commission on Human 
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rights, Civil Service Commission, Department of labor and Employment, Department of Interior 
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and Local Government, The anned Forces of ilie Philippines, Department of Education, 
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Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education, and Skills Development Authority, 
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Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health, Commission on 
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indigenous Peoples, and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos shall promulgate the 
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necessary implementing rules and regulations within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this 
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Act. 
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SECTION 12. Separability Clause. - Any portion or Provision ofiliis Act that may be 
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declared unconstitutional or invalid shall not have the effect of nullifying ilie oilier portions and 
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provisions hereof as long as such remaining portion or provision can still subsist and be given 
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effect in their entirety. 
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SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulation or 
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parts thereofinconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
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SECTION 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in the Official gazette or in at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved