RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is recommended that the DepEd and CHED develop and provide resources
for the implementation of a monitoring tool with SOGIE-disaggregated data to
determine the prevalence of SOGIE-related violence and discrimination in
school.
The DepEd and CHED should exert due diligence to prevent, investigate and
prosecute violence and discrimination against LBT students in schools.
The DepEd’s curriculum on sexuality education as required under the
Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RPRH Law or
Republic Act 10354) should cover the rights of persons with non-conforming
sexual orientation and gender identity.
The CHED should issue a directive addressing prejudiced treatment of LBT
students and school employees especially with regard to punitive policies for
wearing gender specific uniforms and access to toilet and common facilities.
The DepEd should provide space for participation and consultation of LBT
persons and other stakeholders in the development of these policies;
2d. Discrimination in Employment (Article 11)
Two of three transwomen who participated in one study by a Filipino clinical
psychologist on the experiences of transwomen in the Philippines, disclosed that the
worst discrimination they have experienced is being denied the right to express their
gender identities in the workplace. Transwomen were told by job recruitment officers that
they would only be hired if they presented themselves as males by cutting their hair short,
dressed in men’s clothes, and acting in less stereotypically feminine ways.29
There have also been reports of discrimination of lesbians applying for jobs who were
expressly turned away for not being heterosexual.30
In 2009, the Armed Forces of the Philippines issued a statement saying that it would
allow lesbians and gay men to serve in the military provided that they adhere to the Code
of Ethics that includes policies against the expression of LGBT identities among military
personnel. Members of the military who are openly gay or lesbian, or who cross-dress,
can be dishonorably discharged.31
29
Alegre, B. R. (2006). Psychological perspectives and development of the transsexual woman: Phenomenological case
study on Filipino male-to-female transsexuals.
30
GALANG Philippines, “How Filipino LBTs Cope with Economic Disadvantage” (2015), page 8, available at
http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/5873/ER120_HowFilipinoLBTsCopewithEconomicDi
sadvantage.pdf;jsessionid=6FA4A06FB966B2BBAC195F1DB51CE97C?sequence=1
31
Under the section on discipline, "An individual may be discharged by reason of unsuitability, not due to misconduct,
when it has been determined that he is unsuitable for further military service because of homosexual tendencies, desires
or interests accompanied by overt homosexual acts. A homosexual is an individual who demonstrates, by behavior, a
10