Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman has refiled a measure that, if enacted into law, will penalize acts of discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion.
Hataman filed House Bill 3526, or the Equality and Non-Discrimination on Race, Ethnicity and Religion Act, which also carries a penalty for violators ranging from a jail term of up to six months to a fine of up to P100,000, the bill’s penal clause mandates.
The bill has reached approval on third and final reading at the House of Representatives during the 18th Congress but failed to hurdle Senate approval.
“It is regrettable that this was not enacted during the last Congress but there is a change to have it enacted now,” Hataman said.
HB 3526 penalizes discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, and religion in these areas:
In Political Participation, such as preventing or impeding the exercise of political rights of another, including the right to vote, among others;
In Employment, such as refusal to employ a qualified applicant;
In Education and Training, such as refusing or failing to accept an applicant for admission as a student, or expelling a student from an educational institution;
In the Delivery of Goods and Services, such as refusal or failure on demand to supply those goods or services to a person;
In Land, Business and other Accommodation, such as refusing or failing to accept or process the application for any interest in land, or residential or business accommodation;
In Access to Public Places, Facilities and Public Meetings, such as refusing to allow another person access to or use of any place, vehicle or facilities when the general public is allowed to;
In Advertisements/Mass Media, such as the portrayal of certain persons in movies, films, and advertisements on television and other audio-visual forms and other publicly accessible documents as stupid, barbaric, savages, dirty, wild, ignorant, stupid and similar degrading portrayals;
By Wrongful Portrayal, such as portraying, imitating, depicting or describing in learning institutions, instructional materials, teaching devices, books and reference materials, especially in Civics and History, certain individuals and/or group/s as inferior religiously, racially or ethnically.
Through Speech, Utterances, Acts of Hatred and Similar Acts; Through Analogous Acts that Result in Impairment of the Enjoyment of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Through Engaging In Profiling; and Through Abuses of State and Non-State Actors.
“Discrimination takes many forms,” Hataman lamented.
