Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
       EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Section 11, Article II of the 1987 Constitution guarantees full respect for the 
rights and dignity of all human beings, regardless of race, social class, religion, and 
gender. Recognizing this policy, the state is mandated to create measures that will 
prevent discriminatory practices and foster an environment of equality and dignity.  
According the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), despite being one of the 
most “LGBTQ-friendly” countries in the world, discriminatory practices on the basis 
of gender are still prevalent in the Philippines. The LGBTQ+ community continue to 
experience discrimination such as hate speech, violence, unequal treatment, and even 
killings. It is in the interest of the state to prevent these acts and respond to the needs 
of those experiencing gender-based discrimination.  
This piece of legislature clearly defines acts of discrimination on the basis of 
gender and proposes measures to prevent such acts. It outlaws practices that hinder 
equal access to government services, education, and employment based on an 
individual’s sexual orientation, gender expression and identity.  
In the 18th Congress, this bill was filed by Rep. Kaka J. Bag-Ao and Rep. 
Geraldine B. Roman. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
August 30, 2022
8:02 am
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 Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ___ 
Introduced by Representative 
HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
AN 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”. 
SECTION 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 
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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. 
SECTION 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; 
(f) 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. 
SECTION 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; 
(i) Subjecting 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 1s 
primarily motivated by a desire for commercial profit; 
(l) 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;  
(o) 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; 
(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. 
SECTION 5. Privacy Rights. — No person shall be burdened, prejudiced, or 
prosecuted by reason of the exercise of the nght to personal privacy. 
SECTION 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 
Act or 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. 
 
SECTION 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. 


SECTION 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. 
SECTION 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. 


SECTION 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. 
(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. 
SECTION 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. 
SECTION 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. 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. 
SECTION 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. 
SECTION 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. 


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