e, :; ;'::" , __'~f5'l;' II ~, i d)thrt SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 1;' "j ''I' '~-"'I'br~ '13 DCT 14 P1 :58 S. B. No.1839 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SONNY ANGARA AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS ON ACCOUNT OF ETHNIC ORIGIN AND/OR RELIGIOUS BELIEF Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: I 2 3 4 SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as "The Anti-Discrimination Act of 2013." SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is the policy of the State to: 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 (a) Maintain peace and order, protect life, liberty and property, and promote the general welfare for the enjoyment by all people the blessings of democracy; (b) Promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living and an improved quality of life for all; (c) Recognize and promote the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the framework of national unity and development; and (d) Give the highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity; reduce social, economic and political inequalities; and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the common good. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 SEC. 3. Meaning of Discrimination. The term" discrimination" as used in this Act shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of ethnic origin or religious affiliation or beliefs, which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment 01' exercise by tlwm of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field, especially including, but not limited to, employment, livelihood, honsing, education and basic services. SEC. 4, Definition of Terms. (a) "Ethnic origin" includes race, national origin and ethno-linguistics origin. (1) "Indigenous peoples" shall, as provided under Section 3(h), Chapter II of Republic Act No. 8371 or the "Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997", refers to a group of people 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 nonindigenous 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. 1

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