EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
S E N A T E  r  
S. No. _ u l U
■'vOiliic ol : .i'
*19 
JULIO 
A 9 - 4 2
RLCi ‘ .-i- -
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT
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, PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Explanatory Note
The 1987 Philippine Constitution guarantees equal protection for everyone. 
Article 2, Section 10 declares the policy of the State to "promote social justice in all 
phases of national development." Section 11 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 3, Section 1 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 attainment, national or social origin, property, birth or 
other status.
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 well-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.
In contemporary situation, discrimination happens in Philippine society:
• 
In 2003, a Manobo family was forced out of their ancestral land 
on the account of their indigenous ancestry;
• 
There are countless reported cases of discrimination of 
members 
of 
the 
LGBT 
community 
in 
their 
respective 
workplaces; and
• 
Racial profiling and discrimination often victimize those being 
labeled as "Muslim Type" in investigations.
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.
In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this bill is hereby earnestly
sought.


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
S E N A J  E
S. No. 3l5
i f i f f i i r  ot !.
T9 JULIO A9‘-42
Introduced by Senator Grace■ Poe
AN ACT
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, PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR,
AND FOR THE PURPOSE
Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled.
1 
Section 1. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Discrimination
2 
Act o f 2019."
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policies. -  It is the policy of the State to work actively
4 
for the elimination of all forms of discrimination that offend the equal protection
5 
clause of the Bill of Rights and the State obligations under human rights instruments
6 
acceded to by orientation. Towards this end, discriminatory practices as defined
7 
herein shall be prescribed and penalized.
8 
Sec. 3. Definition o f Terms. -  For the purposes of this Act, the following shall
9 
be defined as follows:
10 
a. Discrimination -  constitutes any distinction, exclusion, restriction or
11 
preference or other differential treatment that is directly or indirectly
12 
based on ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex and gender, disability, or
13 
other status, which has the intention or equal footing, of political, civil,
14 
economic, social, and cultural rights. Discrimination, which also includes


2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
incitement to discriminate and harassment, is a result or a product of 
stigma.
b. Education and Training -  refers to all types and levels of education, 
training, and other avenues for learning and includes access thereto, the 
standard and quality thereof, and the conditions under which the same is 
given.
c. Empioyment -  refers to all terms, conditions, and privileges relating to 
work in public and private institution, including policies, application 
procedures, training, incentives, compensation, determination of benefits 
or allowances, 
promotion, advancement opportunities, transfer and 
dismissal
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 
of the contractual employee.
d. Indigenous Peopies- 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 territories, sharing 
common bonds of language, customs, tradition and other distinctive 
cultural traits or who have, through resistance to political, social and


1 
cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures,
2 
became historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos;
3 
e. Profiling -  means relying on the prohibited grounds of discrimination in
4 
subjecting a person or group of persons to investigatory activities, which
5 
include 
unnecessary, 
unjustified, 
illegal 
and 
degrading 
searches,
6 
questioning or other investigatory activities, in determining whether an
7 
individual is engaged in an activity presumed to be unlawful, immoral, or
8 
socially unacceptable.
9 
f. Stigma -  refers to the dynamic process of devaluation that significantly
10 
discredits a individual in the eyes of others. When stigma is acted upon,
11 
the result is discrimination.
12 
g. Vulnerable communities -  refers to communities or sectors that encounter
13 
stigma and discrimination based on the ground's enumerated in Section 4.
14 
Sec. 4. Prohibited Grounds for Discrimination. -  For the purposes of this Act,
15 
discrimination that is indirectly based on the actual or perceived ethnicity, race,
16 
religion or belief, sex or gender or sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
17 
expression, civil status, disability, HIV status, or other status is prohibited.
18 
Ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex or gender or sexual orientation, civil
19 
status, disability, educational attainment or other status that differentiates or any
20 
form of discrimination shall be interpreted in their most common or universal
21 
definitions and with due regard to the promotion of meaningful implementation of
22 
non-discrimination policy.
23 
Sec. 5. Discriminatory Acts. -  The following Acts shall be prohibited:
24 
a. Inflicting stigma -  it shall be unlawful for any person to commit any acts
25 
that promote and encourage stigma based on the grounds referred to in
26 
Section 4. Content in the media, in educational textbooks, or in other
27 
medium that aims to inflict stigma is likewise prohibited.
28 
b. Denial o f political, civil, and cultural rights -  it shall be unlawful to deny a
29 
person enjoyment of political, civil and cultural rights based on the
30 
grounds referred to Section 4.
31 
c. Denial o f right to education -  it is unlawful for any person to:


2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
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;
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 of the 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 o f right to w o rk- 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
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 o f 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
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2. Refuse entry to evict a person from any establishment, 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 o f rights to organize - it shall be unlawful to prohibit, prevent, or 
revoke the accreditation, formal recognition, and/or registration of any 
organization, group, 
political party, institution or establishment, 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 for 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


1 
of the grounds stipulated in section 4. This prohibition applies to similar
2 
abuses committed by non-state actors.
3 
j. 
Detention and confinement -  it shall be unlawful to detain and confine a
4 
person or group of persons based directly or indirectly on the grounds
5 
under Section 4.
6 
k. Other anaiogous circumstances -  Any analogous acts which have the
7 
effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or
8 
exercise of the person's human rights and fundamental freedoms are also
9 
prohibited.
10 
Sec. 6. Liabiiity. -  Any person, natural or juridical, or their representatives,
11 
including government, government-owned and controlled corporations. Institution or
12 
company, who commits any of the acts under Section 5, shall be liable under this
13 
Act.
14 
Any person, natural or juridical, or their representatives, who requests,
15 
instructs, induces, encourages, authorizes, tolerates, or assists another to commit
16 
any of the acts under Section 5 shall be principally liable under this Act.
17 
Sec. 7. Programs to Promote Non-Discrimination and Diversity. -  The State
18 
shall endeavor to eliminate all forms of discrimination and shall therefore pursue
19 
initiatives and programs that seeks to enable an environment free of stigma and
20 
discrimination. It shall direct the machinery and resources of the State to ensure
21 
non-discrimination and promote equality and shall encourage sectors of the society
22 
to engage and participate in these efforts. It shall ensure the establishment of the
23 
following programs:
24 
a. Social Protection Program -  The National government shall implement
25 
social protection measures for communities affected by the vulnerable to
26 
stigma and discrimination.
27 
b. Diversity Programs and policies -  All 
government agencies, 
non-
28 
government agencies, government-owned and controlled corporation,
29 
private companies, public and private educational institutions, and other
30 
entities shall establish diversity programs to ensure that discrimination and
31 
abuse are 
prevented. They shall also create an 
internal 
redress


1 
mechanism to address cases of discrimination and grant administrative
2 
remedies or sanction for such cases.
3 
The Civil Service Commission, Department of Labor and Employment,
4 
department of Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
5 
Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and
6 
Skills Development Authority, department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs
7 
and Department of Health shall ensure the implementation of this section.
8 
Failure of the above agencies to ensure the implementation of this provision
9 
shall be deemed refusal to address discrimination and shall be penalized as
10 
analogous act of discrimination.
11 
Sec. 8. Duties o f the Commission on Human Rights. -  The Commission shall
12 
investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person acts or
13 
omissions violating this Act. If the Commission has reasonable cause to believe that
14 
any person or group is engaged in discrimination under this Act, the Commission
15 
shall commence a legal action in the regular court.
16 
The Commission shall also direct the officer concerned to take appropriate
17 
action against a public officer or employee at fault or who neglect to perform an act
18 
or discharge a duty required under this Act, and order revocation of license, removal
19 
from office or employment, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution, and
20 
ensure compliance therewith. Refusal by any officer without just cause to comply
21 
with an order of the Commission to revoke the license, remove, suspend, demote,
22 
fine, censure, or prosecute an officer or employee who is at fault, or who neglects to
23 
perform an act or discharge duty required under this act, shall be a ground for
24 
disciplinary action against said officer.
25 
Sec. 9. Penalties. -  Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices
26 
under Section 5(A), 5(B), 5(E), 5(F), and 4(K) of this act shall be penalized with a
27 
fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000) but not to exceed
28 
Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,000) or imprisonment of two (2)
29 
years but not more than six (6) years, or both at the discretion of the court.
30 
Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices under Section 5(C),
31 
5(D), 5(G), 5(H), 5(1), 5(J) and 5(K) of this Act shall be penalized with a fine of not


1 
less than two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (250,000) but not to exceed Five
2 
Hundred Thousand pesos (P500,000) or imprisonment of six (6) years but not more
3 
than twelve (12) years, or both at the discretion of the court.
4 
If the violator is a corporation, organization or any similar entity, the officials
5 
thereof directly involved shall be liable therefor.
6 
If the violator is an alien or foreigner, he shall be deported immediately after
7 
service of sentence without further deportation proceedings.
8 
Persons found guilty of any of the discriminatory practices prohibited under
9 
this Act shall also be civilly liable.
10 
The Administrative remedies provided under this act do not bar prosecution
11 
or civil claims in proper courts for ant act of discrimination committed under this Act.
12 
If any crime penalized under the Revised Penal Code is Committed in pursuit
13 
of discrimination, the penalty provided under the Revised Penal Code shall be
14 
applied and the discrimination committed shall be considered as an aggravating
15 
circumstance.
16 
Sec. 10. Appropriations. -  The initial amount necessary to implement the
17 
provisions of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriation of the
18 
agencies tasked to implement the provisions of this Act. Thereafter, such sums as
19 
maybe necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in
20 
the Annual General Appropriations Act.
21 
Sec. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -  The Commission on Human
22 
rights. Civil Service Commission, Department of labor and Employment, Department
23 
of Interior and Local Government, The armed Forces of the Philippines, Department
24 
of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education, and Skills
25 
Development Authority, Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs,
26 
Department of Health, Commission on indigenous Peoples, and National Commission
27 
on Muslim Filipinos shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules and
28 
regulations within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act.
29 
Sec. 12. Separability Clause. -  Any portion or Provision of this Act that may
30 
be declared unconstitutional or invalid shall not have the effect of nullifying the other
8


1 
portions and provisions hereof as long as such remaining portion or provision can
2 
still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.
3 
Sec. 13. Repealing Clause. -  All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulation or
4 
parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified
5 
accordingly.
6 
Sec. 14. Effectivity. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
7 
publication in the Official gazette or in at least two (2) newspaper of general
8 
circulation.
Approved,