Anti-discrimination is everyone’s issue.
Three members of the House of Representatives filed a bill that eyes to criminalize discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics (SOGIESC), highlighting that “equal protection under the law must be more than rhetoric.”
House Bill No. 5266, or the SOGIESC Equality Act, was filed by Reps. Brian Poe of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan party list, Ryan Recto of Batangas’ 6th District, and Javier Miguel Benitez of Negros Occidental’s 3rd District.
According to Poe, “discrimination is not a cultural issue — it’s a legal one. We’re legislating accountability where it’s long been missing.”
Poe added: “Passing this bill is not just about inclusion — it’s about asserting that every Filipino, regardless of background or identity, stands equal before the law.”
HB 2566, thereby, prohibits discrimination in workplaces, schools, public offices, and all sectors of society; and mandates institutions to establish grievance mechanisms and diversity programs. Those who violate these provisions could be penalized, made to pay penalties from P100,000 to P500,000, or be jailed from one to 12 years.
HB 2566 similarly empowers agencies like the Commission on Human Rights, Department of Labor and Employment, and Civil Service Commission to investigate and sanction offenders.
According to Recto, this bill will address a “long-standing vacuum” in national policy since “for years, people have faced bias and exclusion without any real legal recourse. This bill ends that gap and puts the law squarely on the side of fairness.”
The Philippines still does not have a national law protecting the human rights of gender-diverse people, with various versions of an anti-discrimination bill failing to pass Congress for over 20 years now.
