(as of 082614)

Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
Sixteenth Congress
Second Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. ______
(In Substitution of House Bill Nos. 110, 342, 1230, 1842, 2571 and 2572)
Introduced by Representatives Kaka J. Bag-ao, Sol Aragones, Lani
Mercado-Revilla, Neri J. Colmenares. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate, Mercedes K.
Alvarez, Monique Yasmin Q. Lagdameo, Elisa T. Kho, Delphine G. Lee,
Catalina Leonen-Pizarro, Lorna Q. Velasco, Jim Hataman-Salaliman, Ibarra
M. Gutierrez III, Rosenda Ann M. Ocampo, Angelina Tan, Luzviminda C.
Ilagan, Estrellita B. Suansing, Rosemarie J. Arenas, Leah S. Paquiz
AN ACT
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL
ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY (SOGI), PROVIDING PENALTIES
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:
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SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known and cited as the Anti SOGI

2Discrimination Act."
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SECTION 2. Declaration of policy.

The

State

recognizes

the

4fundamental right of every person, regardless of sex, age, class, status,

5ethnicity, color, disability, religious and political beliefs, sexual orientation and
6gender identity, to be free from any form of discrimination. It shall therefore
7intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties under international and domestic laws to
8respect, protect and fulfill the rights and dignity of every individual.
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Towards this end, the State shall exert efforts to address all forms of

10discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

1for the promotion of inherent human dignity as enshrined in the United Nations
2Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All
3Forms

of

Discrimination

Against

Women

particularly

the

General

4Recommendation No. 28 on Non-discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and

5Gender Identity, Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Covenant on
6Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
7Rights and all other relevant and universally accepted human rights instruments
8and other international conventions to which the Philippines is a signatory of.
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SECTION 3. Definition of Terms.For purposes of this Act, the

10following terms shall be defined as follows:

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a.

Discrimination shall be understood to imply any distinction,

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exclusion, restriction, or preference which is based on any

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ground such as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,

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whether actual or perceived, and which has the purpose or

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effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, access to,

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enjoyment, or exercise by all persons of an equal footing of all

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rights and freedoms.

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b.

Gender Identity refers to the personal sense of identity as

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characterized,

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inclinations, and behavior in relation to masculine or feminine

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conventions. A person may have a male or female identity

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with the physiological characteristics of the opposite sex.

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c.

among

others,

by

manners

of

clothing,

Sexual Orientation refers to the direction of

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emotional sexual attraction or conduct. This can be towards

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people of the same sex (homosexual orientation) or towards

people of both sexes (bisexual orientation) or towards people

of the opposite sex (heterosexual orientation).

SECTION 4. Discriminatory practices. It shall be unlawful for

4any person, natural or juridical, to:

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(a)

Include sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as the

6disclosure of sexual orientation, in the criteria for hiring, promotion,

7transfer, designation, work assignment, re-assignment,

dismissal of

8workers, and other human resource movement and action, performance

9review and in the determination of employee compensation, career
10development opportunities, training, and other learning and development
11interventions, incentives, privileges, benefits or allowances, and other
12terms and conditions of employment; Provided that, this provision shall
13apply to employment in both the private sector and public service,
14including military, police and other similar services.
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This prohibition, on the basis of sexual orientation and gender

16identity, shall also include the contracting and engaging of services of

17juridical persons.
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(b) Refuse admission or expel a person from any educational or

19training institution on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity,

20without prejudice to the right of educational and training institutions to
21determine the academic qualifications of their students or trainees;
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Impose disciplinary sanctions, penalties harsher than customary

23or similar punishments, requirements, restrictions, or prohibitions that

24infringe on the rights of the students on the basis of sexual orientation or
25gender identity;
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This provision extends to acts committed against a student or

2trainee to discriminate his or her parents or legal guardian based on

3sexual orientation or gender identity;
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c)

Refuse or revoke the accreditation, formal recognition, and /

5or registration of any organization, group, political party, institution or

6establishment, in educational institutions, workplaces, communities, and
7other settings, solely on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender
8identity of their members or of their target constituencies;
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This prohibition shall also include the prevention of and prohibitions

10on attempts to organize;

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(d)

Deny a person access to public or private medical and other

12health services open to the general public on the basis of such person's
13sexual orientation or gender identity;
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(e)
Deny an application for or revoke a professional or other kind
15of license, clearance certification or any other document issued by the
16government due to the applicant's sexual orientation or gender identity;
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(f)
Deny a person access to or the use of establishments,
18facilities, utilities or services, including housing, open to the general
19public on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; There is a
20denial when a person is given inferior accommodations or services;
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This prohibition includes the discrimination of juridical persons

22solely on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of their

23members or of their target constituencies;
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(g)

Subject or force any person to any medical or psychological

25examination to determine and/or alter the person's sexual orientation or

26gender identity without the expressed approval of the person involved,
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1except in cases where the person involved is a minor under the age of
2discernment in which case prior approval of the appropriate Family Court
3shall be required. In the latter case, the child shall be represented in the
4proceedings

by

the

Solicitor

General

or

the

latter's

authorized

5representative; and
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(h)
Harassment by members of institutions involved in the
7enforcement of law and the protection of rights

of any person on the

8basis of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. Among other

9cases, harassment occurs when a person is arrested or otherwise placed
10in the custody and extortion, physical or verbal abuse takes place,
11regardless of whether such arrest has legal or factual basis. Harassment
12of juridical persons on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender
13identity of their members, stockholders, benefactors, clients, or patrons is
14likewise covered by this provision;
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SECTION. 5. Administrative Sanctions. Refusal of a government

16official whose duty is to investigate, prosecute or otherwise act on a

17complaint for a violation of this Act to perform such a duty without a valid
18ground shall constitute gross negligence on the part of such official.
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SECTION. 6. Penalties. Any person who commits any discriminatory

20practice, as mentioned in Section 4, shall upon conviction, be penalized

21by imprisonment of (RRB-1)not less than one (1) month but not
22more than six (6) months, or a fine of not less than ten thousand
23pesos (p10,000) nor more than twenty thousand pesos (p20,000),
24or both such fine and imprisonment (Bag-ao -2) a fine of not less
25than P100,000 but not more than P500,000 or imprisonment of
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1not less than one (1) year but not more than six (6) years, at the
2discretion of the court. In addition, community service in terms of human
3rights education to the perpetrator and exposure to the plight of the
4victims can be imposed at the discretion of the court.
5

If a graver offense is committed motivated by bias, prejudice, or

6hate based on SOGI, such shall be meted corresponding maximum

7penalties depending on the severity of the offenses.
8

Any action arising from the violation of the provisions of this Act

9shall prescribe in three (3) years.

10

Nothing in this Act shall preclude the victim from instituting a

11separate and independent action for damages and other affirmative

12reliefs.
13

The penalties provided under this Section shall be without prejudice

14to administrative liability for government officials and employees.

15

SECTION. 7. Inclusion of SOGI concerns in All Police Stations. The

16Women and Childrens Desks now existing in all police stations, shall also
17act on and attend to complaints/cases covered by this Act. In this regard,
18police handling said desks shall undergo appropriate trainings with human
19rights-based approach to include among others gender sensitivity and
20awareness in proper terminology, dynamics of LGBT relationships and
21hate crime investigations.
22

Complainant-minors can be represented by parents, guardians or a

23non-government organization of good standing and reputation.

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SECTION 8. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is

2declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the other

3provisions shall not be affected thereby.
4

SECTION. 9 . Repealing Clause.All laws, decrees, orders, rules and

5regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed
6or modified accordingly.
7

SECTION. 10. Effectivity.This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days

8after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2)

9newspapers of general circulation.
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