A PANEL in the House of Representatives has approved the creation of a technical working group that will consolidate several measures seeking to prohibit discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, language, disability, and human immunodeficiency virus status.
At a congressional hearing, Amin party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman, the House committee on human rights vice chairperson, said the panel members agreed to the TWG creation for the consolidation of the anti-discrimination bills which aim to strengthen the protection of the rights and privileges of Filipinos.
For consolidation are House Bills 79, 491, 576, 1556, 3312, 3468, 3541 and 3895, seeking to prohibit discrimination on different bases.
Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero, one of the bill’s authors, said the provisions of her proposed “Anti-Religious and Ethnic Stereotyping Act” seek to protect the rights of Filipinos against discrimination arising from race, religion and ethnicity.
“Under the bill, there should be no discriminatory treatment on the basis of one’s religion or ethnicity, and there should not be any stereotyping or profiling of any person especially when they apply for work. The penalties should not be lower than P30,000 for the first offense, not lower than P200,000 for the next offense, and not lower than P500,000 for the third offense,” said Escudero.
In the explanatory note of her bill, Escudero said individuals who belong to the stereotyped communities feel a diminished sense of citizenship and a feeling of being an unequal member of society although Filipinos purport to live under one flag and one country.
“This bill does not purport to be a panacea to cure these age-old ills. It is, however, believed that a greater knowledge and consciousness about the dangers of stereotyping and racial-cultural profiling will go a long way in mending and improving relations among the diverse members of our community and our country,” said Escudero, chairperson of the committee on basic education and culture.
The Commission on Human Rights, through lawyer Eunice Sta. Maria of the CHR Legal, Legislative and Linkages, relayed the CHR’s full support for the bills, saying it is “high time that a legislative measure is put in place” since basic human rights are not only enshrined in the Constitution, but also embodied in several treaties and conventions which the country is a signatory to.
Police Chief Supt. Ericson Velasquez, deputy director of the Philippine National Police Directorate for Community Relations, concurred with the CHR’s position and commended the intention of the bills.
But he proposed amendments to certain provisions of the bills to ensure these will not be in conflict with existing laws.
Among Velasquez’s recommendations are:
–the removal of the provision granting authority to the CHR “to investigate and prosecute” since it is not in accordance with its powers and functions as enshrined in the Constitution;
–the removal of the provision granting power to the CHR to order the revocation of license, removal from office or employment, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution of a public officer it found to be negligent or at fault but pending any legal action in court, as this is tantamount to the denial of administrative due process;
–allowing the profiling of suspects if it will help law enforcers in pursuing significant leads during criminal investigations or in identifying suspects as described by witnesses.