SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC
OF THE PHILIPPINES
Second Regular Session
'14 AUG 14 P5 :45
Introduced by Senator 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 AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE PURPOSE
Explanatory Note
The 1987 Philippine Constitution guarantees equal protection for everyone. Article II,
Section 10 declares the policy of the State to "promote social justice in all phases of national
development." Section II 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 III, Section I 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 attaimnent, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status 1.
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 wen-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.
1
Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/