SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S.B. No. 2122 
Introduced by: Senator Paolo Benigno ItBam" A. Aquino IV 
'14 
FEB 12 P 3 :35 
AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF ET~NICITY, RACE, RELIGION OR 
BELIEF, POLITICAL INCLINATION, SOCIAL CLASS, SEX, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER 
IDENTITY, GENDER EXPRESSION, CIVIL STATUS, HIV STATUS AND OTHER MEDICAL CONDITION 
AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Bill of Rights in the 1987 Constitution guarantees equal protection for every Filipino, 
and prohibits discrimination of persons based on ethnicity, race, religion or belief, political 
inclination, social class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, civil 
status, medical condition, or any other status in the enjoyment of rights. The fundamental law 
also declares that the State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full 
respect for human rights (Section 11, Article II, 1987 Constitution). It also imposes on the State 
the duty to ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men (Sec. 14, Id.). 
In addition, the Philippines is a signatory to numerous international agreements that 
seek to ensure respect for the human rights of all persons regardless of ethnicity, race, religion 
or belief, political inclination, social class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, 
gender expression, civil status, medical condition, or any other status. These international 
human rights instruments have been constantly upheld by international institutions, such as the 
United Nations Human Rights Committee and the United Nations Committee on Economic, 
Social and Cultural Rights. 
Unfortunately, reality has yet to catch up with the noble intentions of these numerous 
laws and international agreements. In schools, workplaces, commercial establishments, public 
service, police and the military, prejudicial practices and policies based on sexual orientation, 
gender and cultural idertity limit the exercise and enjo~ment of basic human rights and 
/ 
fundamental freedoms, as well as impede or delay the delivery of basic services. 


Senate Bill No. __ _ 
Page 2 
We still see, for instance, employment practices that prioritize single over married job 
applicants, despite the fact that there is no empirical link between a person's civil status and his 
or her job performance. There are also other cultural practices that suppress an individual's 
right to practice his or her religion, faith, or cultural belief. Moreover, many Filipinos in 
indigenous communities have yet to be fully integrated into the workforce; ignorance about 
their cultural practices often leads to stigma and marginalization. 
Moreover, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) community continues to be 
oppressed through various forms of cruelty by society at large, primarily because of 
misconceptions and ignorance. LGBT students, for instance, are refused admission or expelled 
from schools due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Companies block the promotion 
of LGBT employees due to the deeply embedded notion that homosexuality is an indication of 
weakness. Laws such as the anti-vagrancy law are also abused by law enforcement agencies to 
harass gay men. Government offices restrict or delay the delivery of services to deserving 
individual/s due to discrimination. 
In a democratic SOCiety that claims to give equal access and opportunity to each of its 
citizens, many Filipinos are still treated as "second-class citizens" when they try to exercise the 
rights to which they are rightfully entitled. 
There is, therefore, an urgent need to define and penalize practices that unjustly 
discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion or belief, political inclination, social class, 
sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, civil' status, medical 
condition, or any other status. In view of the foregoing, and of the need to correct the long-
standing discrimination against marginalized communities in Philippine society, the early 
passage ofthis bill is earnestly urged. 
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Senate Bill No. __ _ 
Page 3 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
'14 
FEB 12 P3 :35 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S.B. Na{ 21 22 
Introduced by: Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" A. Aquino IV 
AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF ETHNICITY, RACE, RELIGION 
OR BELIEF, POLITICAL INCLINATION, SOCIAL CLASS, SEX, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, 
GENDER IDENTITY, GENDER EXPRESSION, CIVIL STATUS, HIV STATUS AND OTHER MEDICAL 
CONDITION 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 bill shall be known as the Anti-Discrimination Act of 2014. 
2 
Section 2. Declaration of policies. -
It is the policy of the state to work actively for the 
3 
elimination of all forms of discrimination that offends the equal protection clause of the Bill of 
4 
Rights and the State obligations under human rights instruments acceded to by the Republic of 
5 
the Philippines, particularly those discriminatory practices based on sex or sexual orientation. 
6 
Towards this end, discriminatory practices as defined herein shall be proscribed and penalized. 
7 
Section 3. Definition of Terms - For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall 
8 
be defined as follows: 
9 
a. "Discrimination" constitutes any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference or 
10 
other differential treatment that is directly or indirectly based on ethnicity, race, religion or 
11 
belief, political inclination, social class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender 
12 
expression and HIV Status and other medical condition, which has the purpose or effect of 
13 
nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of political, 
'14 
civil, economic, social, and cultural rights. Discrimination also includes incitement to 
15 
discriminate and harassment. 
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Senate Bill No. ~~_ 
Page 4 
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b. "Education and Training" refers to all types and levels of education, training, and 
2 
other avenues for learning and includes access thereto, the standard and quality thereof and 
3 
the conditions under which the same is given. 
4 
c. "Ethnic Origin" includes race, national origin, and ethno-linguistic origin. 
5 
d. "Employment" refers to all terms, conditions, and privileges relating to work in public 
6 
and private institutions, including recruitment policies, application procedures, training, 
7 
incentives, compensation, determination of benefits or allowances, promotion, advancement 
8 
opportunities, transfer, and dismissal. 
9 
This definition shall apply to regular, probationary, casual, contractual, fixed-term, and 
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seasonal workers. In legitimate contracting arrangements, the contractor/subcontractor shall 
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be deemed the employer of the contractual employee. 
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e. "Gender Identity" refers to the personal sense of identity or expression as 
13 
characterized, among others, by manners of clothing, inclinations, and behavior in relation to 
14 
masculine or feminine conventions. A person may have a male or female identity with the 
15 
physiological characteristics of the opposite sex. 
16 
f. "Gender Expression" refers to the outward manifestations of the cultural traits that 
17 
enable a person to identify as male or female according to patterns that, at a particular 
18 
moment in history, a given society defines as gender appropriate. 
19 
g. "HIV Status" pertains to the presence or absence of the human immunodeficiency 
20 
virus (HIV) in the body of an individual. 
,21 
h. "Indigenous Peoples" refers to a group of people or homogenous societies identified 
22 
by self ascription and ascription by others, who have continuously lived as organized 
23 
community on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of 
24 
ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories, sharing 
25 
common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other distinctive cultural traits, or who 
26 
have, through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization, nonindigenous 
27 
religions and cultures, became historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. 
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Senate Bill No. __ _ 
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"Indigenous Peoples" shall likewise include peoples who are regarded as indigenous on 
2 
account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at the time of 
3 
conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non indigenous religions and cultures, or 
4 
the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social, 
5 
economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their 
6 
traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains; 
7 
8 
i. "Political inclination" refers to a person's preference with regards to membership or 
9 
belief in a particular political party, organization or ideology. 
10 
j. "Profiling" means relying on the prohibited grounds of discrimination in subjecting a 
11 
person or group of persons to investigatory activities, which include unnecessary, unjustified, 
12 
illegal, and degrading searches, questioning or other investigatory activities, in determining 
13 
whether an individual is engaged in an activity presumed to be unlawful, immoral, or socially 
14 
unacceptable. 
15 
k. "Religious Belief" covers the profession or non-profession of religion or belief of one's 
16 
choice that may be publicly or privately manifested in worship, observance, practice and 
17 
teaching. 
18 
I. "Sexual Orientation" refers to the direction of emotional sexual attraction or conduct. 
19 
This can be towards people of the same sex (homosexual orientation), towards people of both 
20 
sexes (bisexual orientation), towards neither, or towards people of the opposite sex 
21 
(heterosexual orientation). 
22 
m. "Social class" refers to groupings of individuals usually based on wealth, educational 
23 
attainment, occupation, income, and membership in a subculture or social network. 
24 
n. "Stigma" refers to the dynamic process of devaluation that significantly discredits an 
25 
individual in the eyes of others. When stigma is acted upon, the result is discrimination. 
26 
o. "Vulnerable communities" refers to communities or sectors that encounter stigma 
27 
and discrimination based on the grounds enumerated in Section 4. 
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Senate Bill No. __ _ 
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Section 4. Prohibited grounds for discrimination. -
For the purposes of this Act, 
2 
discrimination that is indirectly or directly based on the actual or perceived ethnicity, race, 
3 
religion or belief, political inclination, social class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender 
4 
identity, gender expression, civil status, disability, HIV Status and other medical condition is 
5 
prohibited. 
6 
Section 5. Discriminatory Acts. - The following acts shall be prohibited: 
7 
a. Inflicting stigma - it shall be unlawful for any person to commit any acts that promote 
8 
and encourage stigma based on the grounds referred to in Section 4. 
9 
b. Denial of political, civil, and cultural rights - it shall be unlawful to deny a person 
10 
enjoyment of political, civil and cultural rights based on the grounds referred to Section 4. 
11 
c. Denial of right to education -It is unlawful for any person to: 
12 
1. Refuse admission or expel a person from any educational or training institution on 
13 
the basis of the grounds defined in Section 4, without prejudice to the right of 
14 
educational or training institutions to determine the academic qualifications of their 
15 
students or trainees; 
16 
2. Impose disciplinary sanctions, penalties harsher than customary, or similar 
17 
punishments, requirements, restrictions, or prohibitions that infringe on the rights 
18 
of the students on the basis ofthe grounds identified in Section 4. 
19 
This prohibition extends to acts committed against a student or trainee to discriminate 
20 
his or her parents or legal guardians based on grounds referred to in Section 4. 
21 
d. Denial of right to work - it is unlawful for any person to: 
22 
1. Use the grounds in Section 4 or require the disclosure thereof in the selection, 
23 
promotion, and termination of workers, and in the determination of compensation, 
24 
training, incentives, privileges, benefits or allowances, as well as other terms and 
25 
conditions of employment; 
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4 
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Senate Bill No. __ _ 
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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: 
9 
1. Deny a person, solely or partly on the basis of the grounds in Section 4, of goods 
10 
and services available to the general public, such as but not limited to availment of 
11 
services from the different agencies or offices of the government, private and public 
12 
insurance, housing and other forms of accommodation, medical and clinical services; 
13 
2. Refuse entry to or evict a person from any establishment, facilities or utilities that 
14 
are open to the general public, such as but not limited to restaurants, bars, hotels, 
15 
shopping malis, solely or partly on the basis of the grounds listed in Section 4; and, 
16 
3. Cause undue and unjust deferral or delay of services or provision of inferior 
17 
services to persons due to the grounds in Section 4. 
18 
There is discrimination if the acts above are committed against organizations or groups 
19 
of persons based on the grounds identified in Section 4. 
20 
f. Denial of right to organize - It shall be unlawful to prohibit, prevent, or revoke the 
21 
accreditation, formal recognition, and/or registration of any organization, group, political party, 
22 
institution or establishment, in educational institutions, workplaces, communities, and other 
23 
settings, based partly or solely on the grounds provided for in Section 4. 
24 
Discrimination is also committed when additional requirements beyond the customary 
25 
are imposed directly or indirectly due to the grounds stipulated in Section 4. 
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Senate Bill No. __ _ 
Page 8 
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g. Inflicting harm on health and well-being - it shall be unlawful to force any person to 
2 
any medical or physical examination, psychological treatment, faith-based practices, and other 
3 
similar procedures based solely or partly on any of the grounds referred to in Section 4. 
4 
h. Engaging in profiling - It shall be illegal for any person, including members of the 
5 
military and law enforcement agencies, to engage in profiling based solely or partly on the 
6 
grounds included in Section 4. 
7 
i. Abuses by state and non-state actors -
It shall be unlawful for any government 
8 
agencies, including local government units, police, military, and immigration, to harass verbally 
9 
or physically, to curtail freedom of movement, or to extort from a person or a group of persons 
10 
on the basis of the grounds stipulated in Section 4. This prohibition applies to similar abuses 
11 
committed by non-state actors. 
12 
j. Detention and confinement - It shall be unlawful to detain and confine a person or 
13 
groups of persons based directly or indirectly on the grounds under Section 4. 
14 
15 
k. Other analogous circumstances - Any analogous acts which shall have the effect or 
16 
purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise of the person's 
17 
human rights and fundamental freedoms are also prohibited. 
18 
19 
Section 6. Exceptions - It shall not be unlawful for an employer, labor contractor or 
20 
labor organization: 
21 
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27 
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29 
30 
31 
a. 
b. 
c. 
To take any action otherwise prohibited under Sections 4 and 5 of this Act where 
ethnicity, race, religion or belief, political inclination, SOCial class, sex, gender, 
sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, civil status, disability, 
HIV Status and other medical condition, are bona fide occupational 
qualifications reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular 
business or where the differentiation is based on reasonable factors; 
To discharge or otherwise discipline an individual for just causes under the Labor 
Code or other related laws; 
To take any other action otherwise prohibited under Sections 4 and S of this Act, 
provided that said action be duly certified by the Secretary of Labor and 
Employment to be in accordance with the purposes of this Act. 
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Senate Bill No. 
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---
1 
Section 7. Persons Liable - Any person, natural or juridical, or their representatives, 
2 
including government, government-owned and controlled corporations, or any private. 
3 
corporation, institution or company, who knowingly and deliberately commits any of the acts 
4 
under Section 5, shall be liable under this Act. 
5 
Any person, natural or juridical, or their representatives, who requests, instructs, 
6 
induces, encourages, authorizes, tolerates, or assists another to commit any of the acts under 
7 
Section 5 shall also be principally liable under this Act. 
8 
Section 8. Programs to promote non-discrimination and diversity - The State shall 
9 
endeavor to eliminate all forms of discrimination and shall therefore pursue initiatives and 
10 
programs that seek to enable an environment free of stigma and discrimination. It shall direct 
11 
the machinery and resources of the State to ensure non-discrimination and promote equality 
12 
and shall encourage other sectors of the society to engage and participate in these efforts. It 
13 
shall ensure the establishment of the following programs: 
14 
a. Social Protection Program -
The national government shall implement social 
15 
protection measures for communities affected by and vulnerable to stigma and discrimination. 
16 
b. Diversity Programs and policies - All government agencies, government-owned and 
17 
controlled corporations, private companies, public and private educational institutions, and 
18 
other entities shall establish diversity programs to ensure that discrimination and abuse are 
19 
pre.vented. They shall also create an internal redress mechanism to address cases of 
20 
discrimination and grant administrative remedies'or sanctions for such cases. 
21 
The Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of 
22 
Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Education, 
23 
Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, 
24 
Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health, the National 
25 
Youth Commission, the Philippine Commission on Women, the National Commission on Muslim 
26 
Affairs, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples shall ensure the implementation of 
27 
this section. 
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Senate Bill No. __ _ 
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1 
Failure of the above agencies to ensure the implementation of this provision shall be 
2 
deemed refusal to address discrimination and shall be penalized as an analogous act of 
3 
discrimination. 
4 
Section 9. Duties of the Commission on Human Rights. -
The Commission shall 
5 
investigate and recommend the filing of a complaint against any person/s violating this Act. If 
6 
the Commission has reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons is 
7 
engaged in discrimination under this Act, the Commission shall recommend a legal action in the 
8 
appropriate prosecutor's office or court. 
9 
The Commission shall also direct the officer concerned to take appropriate action 
10 
against a public officer or employee at fault or who neglects to perform an act or discharge a 
11 
duty required under this Act, and recommend the revocation of license, removal from office or 
12 
employment, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution, and ensure compliance 
13 
therewith. Refusal by any officer without just cause to comply with an order of the Commission 
14 
to revoke the license, remove, suspend, demote, fine, censure, or prosecute an officer or 
15 
employee who is at fault, or who neglects to perform an act or discharge a duty required under 
16 
this Act, shall be a ground for disciplinary action against said officer. 
17 
Section 10. Penalties. -
Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices 
18 
under Section 5 (A), 5 (B), 5 (E), 5 (F), and 4 (K) of this Act shall be penalized with a fine of not 
19 
less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (PlOO,OOO) but not to exceed Two Hundred and Fifty 
20 
Thousand Pesos (P2S0,OOO) or imprisonment of two (2) years but not more than six (6) years, or 
21 
both at the discretion of the court. 
22 
Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices under Section 5 (C), 5 (D), 5 
23 
(G), 5 (H), 5 (I), 5 (J) and 5 (K) of this Act shall be penalized with a fine of not less than Two 
24 
Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,OOO) but not to exceed Five Hundred Thousand Pesos 
25 
(PSOO,OOO) or imprisonment of six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) years, or both at the 
26 
discretion ofthe court. 
27 
If the violator is a corporation, organization or any similar entity, the officials thereof 
28 
directly involved shall be liable therefor. 
29 
If the violator is an alien or a foreigner, he shall be deported immediately after service of 
30 
sentence without further deportation proceedings. 
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Senate Bill No. ---
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1 
Persons found gUilty of any of the discriminatory practices prohibited under this Act 
2 
shall also be civilly liable. 
3 
The administrative remedies provided under this Act do not bar prosecution or civil 
4 
claims in proper courts for any act of discrimination committed under this Act. 
5 
If any crime penalized under the Revised Penal Code is committed in pursuit of 
6 
discrimination, the penalty provided under the Revised Penal Code shall be applied and the 
7 
discrimination committed shall be considered as an aggravating circumstance. 
8 
Section 11. Appropriations. - The initial amount necessary to implement the provisions 
9 
of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriation of the agencies tasked to 
10 
implement the provisions of this Act. Thereafter, such sums as maybe necessary for the 
11 
continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations 
12 
Act. 
13 
Section 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The CHR in coordination with the 
14 
Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Interior and 
15 
Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Education, Commission 
16 
on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of 
17 
Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health, National Commission on 
18 
Indigenous Peoples, and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos shall promulgate the 
19 
necessary implementing rules and regulations within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this 
20 
Act. 
21 
Section 13. Separability clause. - Any portion or provision of this Act that may be 
22 
declared unconstitutional or invalid shall not have the effect of nullifying the other portions and 
23 
provisions hereof as long as such remaining portion or provision can still subsist and be given 
24 
effect in their entirety. 
25 
Section 14. Repealing clause. -
All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or 
26 
parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
27 
Section 1S. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (is) days after its publication 
28 
in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
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Approved:. _______ _ 
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