NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session  
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
House Bill No. __________ 
Introduced by Hon. Antonio B. Legarda Jr. 
AN ACT 
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL 
ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE) 
AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution guarantees every Filipino equal protection of the laws and full 
protection of human rights. Corollary thereto, the Philippines is a signatory to core human 
rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yet despite all this, widespread and systematic 
human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression 
persist in the Philippines. 
According to a United Nations Study, thirty percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, intersex and queer (LGBITQ) people in the Philippines reported being harassed, 
bullied or discriminated against by others while at work because of their sexual orientation, 
gender  identity, expression.1 A report from the organization Human Rights Watch shows that
many LGBTIQ students suffer from physical bullying, verbal harassment, sexual assault, and 
cyber-bullying in schools.2 On the other hand, data from the Philippine LGBT Hate Crime
Watch shows that 156 LGBTIQ have been murdered since 1996 and 17 of those are from 
2012 alone.3 All this data reflects just how bad the situation is for members of the LGBTIQ
community.  
 Thus, it is high time that the Philippines adopt an Anti-Discrimination Bill that will 
fully protect the rights of LGBTIQ members of our society. To date, several countries have 
national laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation which includes: Canada, 
Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, 
Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Nepal, Sweden. In the US, several states also passed 
1 https://www.undp.org/asia-pacific/press-releases/report-details-workplace-discrimination-faced-lgbti-people-china-philippines-and-
thailand 
2 https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/21/philippines-lgbt-students-face-bullying-abuse 
3 http://thephilippinelgbthatecrimewatch.blogspot.com/ 
August 9, 2022
5:00 pm
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civil rights laws that include sexual orientation.4 In addition, Anti-Discrimination Ordinances
that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity have been 
enacted in nineteen localities in the country, namely: Barangays Bagbag, Lagro and Pansol in 
Quezon City, Angeles City in Pampanga, Antipolo City, Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, 
Batangas City in Batangas, Candon City in Ilocos Sur, Cebu City, Dagupan City in 
Pangasinan, Davao City, Mandaue City, Puerto Princesa, Quezon City, Vigan City in Ilocos 
Sur, Municipality of San Julian in Eastern Samar, Province of Agusan del Norte, Province of 
Batangas and Province of Cavite.5
Thus, this bill seeks to protect the welfare and well being of members of the LGBTIQ 
community by: (1) Criminalizing discriminatory practices committed against members of the 
LGBITQ community; (2) Providing that Women and Children’s desks in police stations cater 
to SOGIE concerns; (3) Gender sensitivity training for law enforcement personnel; and (4) 
Promote non-discrimination by enhancing social protection and diversity programs, as well 
as conducting information and educational campaigns.  
In line with the policy adopted by its original proponent Senator Loren Legarda, this 
bill therefore likewise serves as a counter-part House Bill. It is for the reasons stated above 
that the passage of this measure is earnestly sought. 
HON. ANTONIO B. LEGARDA JR. 
4 https://pcw.gov.ph/enacting-an-anti-discrimination-based-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-law/ 
5 Ibid. 


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session  
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
House Bill No. __________ 
Introduced by Hon. Antonio B. Legarda Jr. 
AN ACT 
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL 
ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE) 
AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shaft be known and cited as the "Anti- 
Discrimination Act of 2022." 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. –  The State recognizes the fundamental right of every 
person, regardless of sex, age, class, status, ethnicity, color, disability, religious and political 
beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity, to be free from any form of discrimination. It 
shall therefore intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties under international and domestic laws to 
respect, protect and fulfill the rights and dignity of every individual. 
Towards this end, the State shall exert efforts to address all forms of discrimination 
and violence on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression and to 
promote human dignity as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human 
Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 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 of. 
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Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following terms shall be defined 
as follows: 
a. Discrimination – refers to any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference 
based on the ground sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 
hereinafter referred to as “SOGIE", and 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. For purposes of this provision, the actual 
sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity of the person subjected to 
discrimination shall not be relevant for the purpose of determining to whether an 
act of discrimination has been committed. 
b. Gender Expression – refers to the outward manifestations of the cultural traits that 
enable a person to identify as male or female according to patterns that, at a 
particular moment in history, a given society defines as gender appropriate. 
c. 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. 
d. Profiling – refers to subjecting a person or group of persons to investigatory 
activities, which include unnecessary, unjustified, illegal, and degrading searches, 
or other investigatory activities, in determining whether an individual is engaged 
in an activity presumed to be unlawful, immoral or socially unacceptable. 
e. 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). 
f. 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. Communities Vulnerable to Discrimination and Abuse on the Basis of SOGIE. 
– This Act seeks to protect individuals and communities that experience human rights 
violations on the basis of SOGIE, including, but not limited to, individuals and communities 
of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity or expression who are children, young, poor, 


differently abled, of different ethnic background or cultural background, and of various 
religious beliefs. 
Sec. 5. Discriminatory Practices. – It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or 
juridical, to: 
a.  Promote and encourage stigma on the basis of SOGIE in the media, in 
educational textbooks, and other medium. Inciting violence and sexual abuse 
against any person or group on the basis of SOGIE is likewise prohibited; 
b. Include SOGIE, 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, 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 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 associations or 
organizations with lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, intersex, or queers 
(LGBTIQs) members or of associations or organizations advocating LGBTIQs 
rights; 
c. Refuse admission or expel a person from any educational or training institution on 
the basis of SOGIE: 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. Impose 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 SOGIE, including discriminating against a student 
or trainee due to the SOGIE of the student's parents or legal guardian; 
e. Refuse or revoke 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 the SOGIE of their members or of their target constituencies; 


f. Deny a person access to public or private medical and other health services open 
to the general public, as well as access to public and private health insurance, 
including HMOs, on the basis of SOGIE; 
g. Deny an application for or revoke, on the basis of SOGIE, any government 
license, authority, clearance, permit, certification, or other similar documents 
necessary to exercise a profession, business, or any other legitimate calling; 
h. Deny a person, access to or the use of establishments, facilities, utilities or to 
services, including housing, open to the general public on the basis of SOGIE: 
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 further, 
that this prohibition covers acts of discrimination against juridical persons solely 
on the basis of the SOGIE of their members or of their target constituencies; 
i. Subject or force any person to undertake any medical or psychological 
examination to determine or alter the person's SOGIE 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; 
j. Subject any person, natural or juridical, to profiling, detention, or verbal or 
physical harassment on the basis of SOGIE. Profiling, detention, or verbal or 
physical harassment on the basis of SOGIE by members of law enforcement 
agencies, including the military, police, immigration, is likewise prohibited. 
Physical or verbal harassment based on SOGIE of persons in custody or detention 
of the police, including subjecting them to extortion, is also prohibited; and 
k. Subject a person to any other analogous acts that shall have the effect or purpose 
of impairing or nullifying the enjoyment, recognition, and exercise of a person's 
human rights and fundamental freedoms. 
Sec. 6. Administrative Sanctions. – Willful 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 
the official and shall be subjected to pertinent administrative sanctions. 


Sec. 7. Penalties. – Any person who commits any discriminatory practice described in 
Sec 5(a), 5(d), 5(e), 5(g), and 5(h), upon conviction, be penalized by a fine of not less than 
One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000.00), but not more than Two Hundred Fifty 
Thousand Pesos (Php 250,000.00), or imprisonment of not less than one year, but not more 
than six (6) years, subject to the discretion of the court. 
Any person who commits any discriminatory practice described in Sec 5(b), 5(c), 5(f), 5(i), 
and 5(j) shall, upon conviction, be penalized by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Fifty 
Thousand Pesos (Php 250,000.00) but not more than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 
500,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) 
years, subject to the discretion of the court. 
Any person who commits any discriminatory practice described in Sec 5(k) shall 
upon conviction be penalized with the same penalty as the prohibited act to which it is 
analogous. 
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. 
Nothing in this Act shall preclude the victim from instituting a separate and 
independent action for damages and other affirmative reliefs. 
The penalties provided under this Sec shall be without prejudice to the imposition of 
administrative liability for government officials and employees. 
Sec. 8. Discriminatory Practices as Qualifying Aggravating Circumstance. – If any 
civil, criminal, or administrative offense, not falling under this Act, is committed and proven 
to be attended by any discriminatory practice prohibited under Sec 5 of this Act, said offense 
shall be qualified and the corresponding penalty provided thereto shall be applied in its 
maximum period. 
Sec. 9. Redress Mechanisms for SOGIE-related Cases. – 
a. Inclusion of SOGIE Concerns in All Police Stations – The Women and Children’s 
Desks now existing in all police stations shall also act on and attend to 
complaints/cases covered by this Act. In this regard, the police handling said 
desks shall undergo trainings on human rights and SOGIE, gender sensitivity and 
awareness, and sensitization on the issue of violence and abuse on the basis of 
SOGIE. 


Complainant-minors can be represented by parents, guardians, social workers, 
or a non-government organization of good standing and reputation. 
b. Role of the Civil Service Commission – The Civil Service Commission (CSC) 
shall mandate the establishment of a grievance mechanism to address 
discriminatory practices committed by officers or employees of government 
agencies, instrumentalities, and government owned and controlled corporations 
(GOCCs) and other offices under its jurisdiction. 
c. Role of the Department of Labor and Employment – The Department of Labor 
and Employment (DOLE) shall mandate the establishment of a grievance 
mechanism to address discriminatory practices committed in the workplace. 
d. Role of the Commission or Human Rights – The Commission on Human Rights 
(CHR) shall investigate and recommend the filing of a complaint against any 
person/s violating this Act. If the Commission has reasonable cause to believe that 
any person or group of persons is committing acts penalized under Sec 5 of this 
Act, the Commission 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 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 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 SOGIE 
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 SOGIE. 
Sec. 10. Programs to Promote Non-Discrimination and Diversity. – To eliminate all 
forms of discrimination, the State shall 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 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 SOGIE are 
integrated into government-run social protection programs. 
b. Diversity Programs and Policies – All government agencies, government- owned 
and controlled corporations, private companies, public and private educational 
institutions, and other entities shall establish diversity programs to ensure human 
rights violations and violence on the basis of SOGIE are prevented. They shall 
also create an internal redress mechanism to address cases of discrimination and 
develop administrative remedies or sanctions for such cases. Public institutions 
shall incorporate these programs into existing gender and development programs. 
c. Information and Education Campaign – All government agencies and 
instrumentalities are mandated to develop and implement SOGIE-specific gender 
sensitivity education and information dissemination. They shall endeavor to 
produce and publish information and education campaign materials on gender and 
human rights. 
Sec. 11. Congressional Oversight Committee. – For the effective implementation of 
this Act, there shall be created a Congressional Oversight Committee, hereinafter referred to 
as the Anti-Discrimination Oversight Committee (ADOC), within sixty (60) days after the 
enactment of this Act. The ADOC shall be composed of ten (10) members from the Senate 
and the House of Representatives, which shall include the following: the Chairperson and 
two (2) members of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and 
Gender Equality; the Chairperson and one (1) member of the Senate Committee on Justice 
and Human Rights; the Chairperson and two (2) members of the House Committee on 
Women and Gender Equality; and the Chairperson and one (1) member of the House 
Committee on Justice. The members of the ADOC shall be appointed by the Senate President 
and the Speaker of the House, respectively, with at least one (1) member representing the 
Minority. 
The ADOC shall be jointly chaired 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 Vice-Chair of the ADOC shall be jointly held by the 
Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the House 


Committee on Justice. The Secretariat shall come from the existing Secretariat personnel of 
the Senate and the House of Representatives committees concerned. 
The ADOC shall monitor the compliance of public institutions to the provisions of 
this Act. Within three years after the enactment of this Act, the ADOC shall conduct an audit 
of national and local policies that discriminate on the basis of SOGIE, and shall submit a 
report to Congress, the Office of the President, and the Supreme Court, on this subject. 
The ADOC shall cease to exist six years after its organization. 
Sec. 12. 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. 13. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts 
thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
Sec. 14. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,