Republic of the Philippines |
HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES)
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO.

1041

Introduced by: HON. KRISTINE SINGSON-MEEHAN

AN ACT
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
OR GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE) AND PROVIIDING
PENALTIES THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Itis sad to say that in this day and age, discrimination is still an inescapable way of life. It is
even harder to believe that in the Philippines specifically in the workplace, we have a higher
discrimination rate compared to neighboring countries. In a United Nations (UN) study that
looked at the levels of SOGIESC-related discrimination encountered by LGBTI people, the
Philippines at 30%, is the highest, compared to 21% in China, and 23 percent in Thailand,

‘There is no need to further explain the SOGIE bill as the topic of discrimination and the
issues it encompasses has already been widely talked about by the public, worldwide
including in social media. This bill was first filed in Congress in the year 2000, by the late
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Congresswoman Etta Rosales. Since then, it was re-
filed in every Congress thereafter, as it did not push through. This bill has already passed
third reading several times in the House of Representatives and therefore has already been
debated and deliberated thoroughly. In the Senate, it has officially become the longest-
running bill under the Senate interpellation period in Philippine history.

Tam re filing this bill for this simple reason: to stop the discrimination.
‘The approval therefore of this bill is earnestly sought.

iW


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

nouse put xo, 1041

Introduced by: HON. KRISTINE SINGSON-MEEHAN

ACT

PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
OR GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE) AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “SOGIE Equality Act”.

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 or expression, to be free from any form of
discrimination. It shall therefore intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties under the Equal
Protection Clause and the Bill of Rights provisions of the Philippine Constitution, and
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,
marginalization 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
In the enforcement of this Act, all due respect shall be accorded to the fundamental right of


parents in the upbringing of their children in accordance with their religious convictions. In
all matters, the best interest of children shall be paramount.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:

(a)Child refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or older but who is
incapable of taking care of oneself as defined under Republic Act No. 7610, as amended;

(b)Discrimination refers to any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference which is
based on any ground such as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and which
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. The actual sex, sexual
orientation, or gender identity or expression of the person subjected to discrimination shall
not be relevant for the purpose of determining whether an act of discrimination has been
committed;

(c)Gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others
through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, communication or speech pattern, or body
characteristics,

(d)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, in which case this person is considered transgender,

(e)Hate crimes refer to criminal offenses committed against a person or a group of
persons, or against such targeted person’s or group’s honor or property, motivated in whole
or in part by the offender’s bias against gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression;

(LGBT Community refers to the collective of persons who are male and female
homosexuals (gays and lesbians, respectively), bisexual, and transgender,

(g)Marginalization refers to a condition where a whole category of people is excluded
from useful and meaningful participation in political, economic, social, and cultural life;

(h)Sex refers to male, female, or intersex. — Intersex refers to people born with the sex
characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical
binary notions of male or female bodies, all of which are natural bodily variations along a
spectrum;

(i)Sexual orientation refers to the direction of emotional, sexual attraction, or conduct
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) or to
the absence of sexual attraction (asexual orientation); and

(j)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. Discriminatory Practices. — It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or
juridical, to engage in discrimination as defined in this Act, which shall include:

(a)Denying access to public services, including military service, to any person on the
basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression;

(b)Including sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, 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, access
to 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 and skills training 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 juridical persons;

(c)Refusing admission or expelling a person from any educational or training institution
on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, including discriminating
against a student or trainee due to the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of
the student’s parents or guardian: 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)Imposing 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 sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, including
discriminating against a student or trainee due to the sexual orientation or gender identity or
expression of the student’s parents or guardian;

{e)Refusing or revoking 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 sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of their members or of their target
constituencies;

(f)Denying a person access to public or private medical and other health services open
to the general public on the basis of such person's sexual orientation or gender identity or
expression;

(g)Denying an application for or revoking a professional or other similar kind of
license, clearance, certification on, or any other similar document, except marriage license,
issued by the government due to the applicant's sexual orientation or gender identity or
expression;

(h)Denying a person access to or the use of establishments, facilities, utilities, or
services, including housing, open to the general public on the basis of sexual orientation or
gender identity or expression: 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 sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of their members or of
their target constituencies;

(iSubjecting or forcing any person to undertake any medical or psychological
examination to determine or alter, or both, the person's sexual orientation or gender identity
or expression 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)Harassment, coercion, or threats committed by members of institutions involved in
the enforcement of law and the protection of rights of any person on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity or expression. Among other cases, prohibited acts under this
section include arresting or placing under custody, and subjecting a person to extortion,
physical, verbal abuse, or sexual abuse, regardless of whether such arrest has legal or factual
basis. Harassment, coercion, or threat of juridical persons on the basis of the sexual
orientation or gender identity or expression of their members, stockholders, benefactors,
clients, or patrons is likewise covered by this provision;

(k)Publishing information intended to “out” or reveal the sex, sexual orientation, or
gender identity of persons without their consent, when such has not been made known by the


person/s concerned, and has been made with malicious intent or is primarily motivated by a
desire for commercial profit;

(I)Engaging in public speech meant to shame, insult, vilify, or which tends to incite or
normalize the commission of discriminatory practices against LGBTs, and which acts or
practices in turn, intimidate them or result in the loss of their self-esteem;

(m)Subjecting persons or groups of persons to harassment generally defined as such
unwanted conduct, pattern of conduct, act, or series of acts which tend to annoy, insult, bully,
demean, offend, threaten, intimidate, alarm, or create a hostile or emotionally distressing
environment, or put them in fear of their safety; and which behavior is motivated in whole or
in part by the offender's bias, belief, or perception regarding the offended party’s gender,
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, regardless of whether the belief or
perception is correct. Such prohibited act may include physical assault, stalking, or making
derogatory comments, slurs or lewd propositions, and may be conducted through any form of
medium, including but not limited to, visual representation, broadcast communication,
correspondence or communication through mail or any telecommunication device, or through
the internet or cyberspace;

(n)Subjecting any person to gender profiling or to any investigatory activities, which
include (i) unnecessary, unjustified, illegal, or degrading searches to determine whether an
individual is engaged in an activity presumed to be unlawful, immoral, or socially
unacceptable;(ii) recording and analyzing a person's psychological and behavioral
characteristics to make generalizations about a person’s sexuality or to assist in identifying a
particular subgroup of people’s sexual orientation or gender identity;

(0)Preventing a child under parental authority, custody, or guardianship from exhibiting
or expressing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity; or manifesting rejection of such
child’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression by inflicting or threatening to
inflict bodily or physical harm against the child or by causing mental or emotional suffering
of the child through intimidation, harassment, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal
abuse, or other similar means, or in general, commit any act or omission prejudicial to the
welfare and interest of the child as a result of the bias against the sexual orientation or gender
identity of the child; and

(p) Subjecting a person to any other analogous acts that shall have the effect or purpose
of impairing or nullifying the enjoyment, recognition, or exercise of a person’s rights and
freedoms.


SEC. 5. Privacy Rights. — No person shall be burdened, prejudiced, or prosecuted by
reason of the exercise of the right to personal privacy.

SEC. 6. Administrative Sanctions. — Refusal of a government official whose duty is
to investigate, prosecute, or otherwise act on a complaint for a violation of this Actor causing
unreasonable delay to perform such a duty without a valid ground shall constitute gross
negligence on the part of the official who shall suffer the appropriate penalty under civil
service laws, rules and regulations.

SEC. 7. Penalties. — A person who commits any discriminatory practice described in
Section 4 shall, upon conviction, be penalized by a fine of not less than One hundred
thousand pesos (P100,000) but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) or
imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than six (6) years or both, at the
discretion of the court. 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.

If a graver offense motivated by bias, prejudice, or hatred against sexual orientation or
gender identity or expression is committed, such shall be meted the corresponding maximum
penalties.

Any action arising from the violation of the provisions of this Act shall prescribe in
three (3) years.

Nothing in this Act shall preclude the victim from instituting a separate and
independent action for damages and other affirmative reliefs or such other cases for violation
of other applicable penal laws. Further, nothing in this Act shall be construed as giving
authority to the State to unduly interfere with the legitimate exercise by the parents or the
guardians of their right to discipline a child under their parental authority, custody or
‘guardianship.

‘The penalties provided under this Section shall be meted without prejudice to the
imposition of administrative liability for government officials and employees.

SEC. 8. Special Aggravating Circumstance. — A person who commits any of the
crimes in the Revised Penal Code or any special law and who is proven to have committed
the same motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender
identity or expression, shall suffer the maximum penalty imposed by the Code or the relevant
special law for such prohibited act.

SEC. 9. Redress Mechanisms for SOGIE-related cases. —


(a) Inclusion of SOGIE Concerns in All Police Station Activities and Services. — The
Women and Children’s Desks now existing in all police stations shall be renamed as Women,
Children and Gender Rights Protection Desk, which shall also act on and attend to
complaints/cases covered by this Act. In this regard, police handling said desks shall undergo
appropriate trainings with human rights-based approach to include among others gender
sensitivity and awareness in proper terminology, dynamics of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) relationships and hate crime investigations.

Complainant-minors can be represented by parents, guardians, or a non-government
organization of good standing and reputation.

(b) Role of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) ~ The CHR shall investigate and
recommend the filing of a complaint against any person violating this Act. If the CHR has
reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons is committing acts penalized
in Section 4 of this Act, the CHR 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 act on the recommendation of the
CHR 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 sexual orientation
or gender identity or expression 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
sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

SEC. 10.Government Programs and Policies. — The State shall pursue initiatives and
programs that seek to establish and maintain 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 sexual orientation or


gender identity or expression are integrated into government-run social protection programs;
and

(b)Diversity Programs and Trainings - All government agencies, including
government-owned and controlled corporations, local government units (LGUs), private
companies, public and private education institutions, and other entities shall establish
diversity programs and shall endeavor to provide or conduct trainings for their staff,
employees, students and trainees, and constituents on human rights, gender sensitivity and
awareness, and sensitization on the issue of violence and abuse to ensure that human rights
violations and violence on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression are
prevented. Such institutions may incorporate these activities into existing gender sensitivity
and development training programs or school curricula. Finally, the above-listed agencies,
companies and institutions shall create an internal redress mechanism to address cases of

discrimination and develop administrative remedies or sanction for such cases.

SEC. 11.Empowering portrayal of LGBT persons in Media. — The positive and
empowering portrayal of LGBT by media shall be encouraged to counter existing stereotypes
and misconceptions that often lead to discriminatory practices. Towards this end, incentives
and awards shall be provided to programs that defend the human rights of LGBT and
contribute to the empowerment of the LGBT community and its members

SEC. 12. SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee. — For the effective implementation
of this Act, there shall be created a Congressional Oversight Committee, hereinafter referred
to as the SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee, within sixty (60) days after the enactment of
this Act. The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall be composed of five (5) members
each from the Senate and the House of Representatives, which shall include the Chairpersons
of the Senate Committees on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, and
of Justice and Human Rights, and the Chairpersons of the House of Representatives
Committees on Women and Gender Equality, and of Human Rights. The members from the
Senate and the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Senate President and the
Speaker, respectively, with at least one (1) member representing the minority.

The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall be chaired jointly 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 position of Vice-Chairperson of
the SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall be jointly held by the Chairpersons of the
Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the House Committee on Human Rights.


10

The Secretariat of the SOGIE Equality Committee shall come from the Secretariat personnel
of the Senate and the House of Representatives committees concerned.

The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall monitor the compliance of public
institutions to the provisions of this Act. Within three (3) years after the enactment of this
Act, the SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall conduct an audit of national and local
policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression,
and shall submit a report to Congress, the Office of the President, and the Supreme Court, on
this subject.

The SOGIE Equality Oversight Committee shall cease to exist six (6) years after its
organization.

SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the CHR, Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Service Commission
(CSC), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of National Defense (DND), National
Youth Commission (NYC), Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Commission on
Population (POPCOM), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of
Education (DepED), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Health (DOH), and at least three (3)
civil society organizations (CSOs) with proven expertise and track record on SOGIE
concerns, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 14. 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. 15. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or parts
thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 16. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,