99 JUL 2013

Republic of the Philippines Ns 2p fy
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ee
Quezon City \ ;

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1230

HOUSE BILL NO,

Introduced by HONORABLE LANI MERCADO-REVILLA.

EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Constitution, Article II, Section 11 states:

“Section 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights.”

Further, Article IT, Section 14 mandates;

“Section 14. Section 1. The State recognizes the role of women in
nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law
of women and men.”

The State guarantees full respect for human rights and every person has the right to equal
protection of the laws, but sexual orientation and gender identity are not explicitly mentioned.
The Philippines still lacks an anti-discrimination Law

Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) persons are targeted with physical and
verbal assaults that affect their economic, cultural, social, health, and other wellbeing. There are
no coordinated and comprehensive state or even non-state mechanisms that monitor the
instances of discrimination, bias, prejudice, and violence that LGBT Filipinos face due to
homophobia, transphobia, and machismo, Circumstantial records show that attackers are sex
workers, strangers, groups of hostile neighbors, family members, and intimate partners, and very
few have been positively identified, and even fewer are arrested and made to face the law.
Murders and attempted murders were accomplished by such acts as stabbing, arson, mutilation,
strangling, shooting, and battery.

Everyone is entitled to basic healthcare and services according to the Constitution, but
this is not really the case with LGBTs. Medical personnel occasionally exhibit judgmental and
erroneous behaviors during diagnosis and treatment of LGBTs, which discourage beneficial
health-seeking practices among LGBTs. In 2008, a hospital operating team operated on a gay
patient to remove a foreign object from the rectum, and the footage of health workers making
fun of the patient was uploaded on a video-sharing site. In addition, police personnel use
punitive measures such as planting condoms as evidence during bar raids to make it appear that
sexual behaviors and the use of condoms are criminalized.

The Labor Code of the Philippines has no prohibition of both direct and indirect
discrimination except as to gender discrimination against women, and neither sexual orientation
nor gender identity is mentioned. The Commission on Civil Service has rules that include sexual
orientation as a status that can be factored in sexual harassment cases. The Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology has a standing policy barring its lesbian and gay employees from


making body searches of jail visitors of the same genital sex. (The Status Of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual And ‘Transgender Rights In The Philippines.
Attp://lib.ohchr. org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session13/PH/JS1_UPR_PHL_S13_2012_JointSubmission
1_E.paf)

The Philippine Constitution, Article XIII, Section 1, mandates Congress to give the
highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all people to
human dignity, reduce social, economic and political inequalities and remove cultural
inequalities.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

REP. LANUMERCADO-REVILLA
2™ District, Cavite



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1230

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HONORABLE LANI MERCADO-REVILLA

AN ACT
DEFINING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
AND GENDER IDENTITY AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1, Title. This Act shall be known as the “Anti-Discrimination Act of 2013.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is the policy of the State to work actively for
the elimination of all forms of discrimination that offends 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, particularly those discriminatory practices based on sex and sexual orientation.
‘Towards this end, discriminatory practices as defined herein shall be proscribed and penalized.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms — For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall
mean:

a. “Sexual Orientation” ~ refers to the direction of emotional sexual attraction or
conduct. This can be 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).

Sexual Orientation is not equivalent to sexual behaviour since this refers to feelings and
self-concept, Persons may or may not express their sexual orientaton in their behaviours.

b. “Gender Identity” ~ refers the personal sense of identity as characterized, among
others, by manners of clothing, inclinations, and behaviour in relation to masculine or
feminine conventions. A person may have a male or female identity with the
physiological characteristics of the opposite sex

€. “Discrimination” — shall be understood to imply any distinction, exclusion,
restriction, or preference which is based on any ground such as sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, whether actual or perceived and which has the purpose or
effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by all persons
of an equal footing of all rights and freedoms.

SECTION 4. Discriminatory Practices. — It shall be unlawful for any person, natural
or juridical, to:


Deny access to public service, including military service, to any person on the basis of
sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

Include sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the disclosure of sexual
orientation, in the criteria for hiring, promotion and dismissal of workers, and in the
determination of employee compensation, training, incentives, privileges, benefits or
allowances, and other terms and conditions of employment

Refuse admission or expel a person from educational institutions on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity, without prejudice to the right of educational institutions
to determine the academic qualifications of their students.

This prohibition shall include the imposition of (i) disciplinary sanctions solely on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, (ji) penalties harsher than customary
primarily due to sexual orientation and gender identity; or (iii) similar punishments and
prohibitions

Prohibit or prevent the efforts to organize, refuse or revoke the accreditation, formal
recognition, and registration of any organization, group, political party, institution or
establishment, in educational institutions, workplaces, communities, and other settings,
solely on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of their members or of their
target constituents,

Deny a person access to medical and other health services open to the general public on
the basis of such person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Deny an application for, or revoke a professional license issued by government due to the
applicant's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Deny a person on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity access to or the use of
establishments, facilities, utilities or services, including housing, that are open to the
general public. There is a denial when a person is given inferior accommodations or
services based on sexual orientation or gender identity

This prohibition includes the discrimination of juridical persons solely on the basis of the
sexual orientation or gender identity of their members or of their target constituents.

Subject any person to any medical or psychological examination to determine and/or alter
the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity without the expressed approval of the
person involved, except in cases where the person involved is a minor under the age of
discernment in which case prior approval of the appropriate Family Court shall be
required. The latter case, the child shall be represented in the proceeding by the Solicitor
General or the latter’s authorized representative.

Harassment by members of institutions involved in the enforcement of law and the
protection of rights, such as the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP), of any person on the basis of his or her sexual orientation or
gender identity. Among other cases, harassment occurs when person is arrested or
otherwise placed in the custody of the government institution and extortion, physical or
verbal abuse takes place, regardless of whether such arrest has legal or factual basis
Harassment of juridical persons on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity


of their members, stockholders, benefactors, clients, or patrons is likewise covered by this
provision.

j. Other analogous circumstances.

SECTION 5. 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 to
perform such a duty without a valid ground shall constitute gross negligence on the part of
such official who shall suffer the appropriate penalty under civil service laws, rules and
regulations

SECTION 6, Penalties. ~ (a) Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices
enumerated in the preceding section shall be penalized with a fine of not less than Two
Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,000.00) but not to exceed Five Hundred Thousand
Pesos (P500,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than six (6)
years, or both at the discretion of the court.

b. The officials directly involved shall be liable for violations committed by corporations,
organizations or similar entities

d, Community service time in terms of human rights education to the perpetrator and
exposure to the plight of the victims shall be additionally imposed at the discretion of
the court.

SECTION 7. 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

SECTION 8. Repealing clause. ~ All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or
parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly,

SECTION 9, Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15°) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation

Approved,