Republika ng Pilipinas : Komisyon ng Karapatang Pantao ng Pilipinas (Commission on Human Rights of she Philippines) POSITION PAPER ON CONSOLIDATED HOUSE BILL NOs, 401 AND 659 ENTITLED “AN ACT PROHIBITING RACIAL, ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION” I. Introduction Historically, Filipinos have been discriminated upon even in the past. During the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Filipinos were referred to as “Indios”: or “Negritos”, which are regarded as racist and derogatory terms?. While at the time of American occupation, Filipinos were labelled as half-civilized or half-savage, worthless, uneducated or unscrupulous. The issue of discrimination is not confined in the Philippines. It is present everywhere and at some point in our lives, we have felt, experienced, and witnessed various acts of discrimination, While we experience being the subject of discrimination, we cannot discount the fact that we also commit discriminatory behavior and practices. Hence, taking cognizance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out therein, without distinction of any kind, in particular as to race, color or national origin,”s the United Nations General Assembly adopted, on December 21, 1965, the “International ‘ww. onaipitpins one ‘sw tissnotpiny: mb com | en wikpein rik Ant lipne sentiment "Antics 1; 2:7, Univeral Declaration of Human Rights : Likas Sa Atin, T Coumonweatth Avenue, UP. C Tel. Nos. 927-0 928-5655Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,”5 More than a decade later, the General Assembly also proclaimed the “Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief” stating, among others, that “no one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons or persons on the grounds of religion or other belief.” ULRight Against Discrimination The right against discrimination finds anchor in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Specifically, the Constitution’ provides that “the State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights”. The catch-all constitutional provision against discrimination is found on the Bill of Rights, to wit: “no 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’. Another important provision? states that “the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed”. It is sad but true that even in these modern times, discrimination, racial or religious, still persists. One case in point is the discrimination of Muslims, also racially tagged as “Moros” on the ground of their Islamic belief and ethnic affiliation. Some Muslims are indiscriminately tagged as members of the terrorist/extremist groups, Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah, just because they Raoul Wallenberg Institute Compilation of Human Rights Instruments, page 271, 3% ed. 2012,Edited by Goran Molander. etl, © Article 2. Declaration on the Elimination of All For Belief: Adopted by the UN General Assembly on Novem ion 11, 1987 Philippine Constitution tion 1, bid ticle II Section 5, Tid Intolerance andl of Discrimination Based on Religion ar 5,19 vhave surnames and/or aliases similar to those of suspected terrorists.1° Based on the results of a Pulse Asia Survey in 2005, 55% of Filipinos think that Muslims are prone to run amok, 47% believe that Muslims are terrorists or extremists and that 44% think that Muslims harbor hatred towards non-Muslims even if only about 14% of the 1,200 respondents in the survey could cite their own experience with Muslims.» These biases against Muslims can easily translate into acts of discrimination that have “real” impact on Muslims’ right to work/livelihood and accommodation. When the respondents/interviewees were asked to choose between persons with the same qualifications, but with one having a Christian name and the other having a Muslim-sounding name, the findings were those with Christian-sounding names will be chosen as male boarder (24%), as female domestic helper (40%) and as male worker (46%).¥# III. Philippine Jurisprudence on Racial Discrimination Philippines has a fair share of cases relating to discrimination. In the landmark case of International School Alliance of Educators (SAE) vs. Hon. Leonardo A. Quisumbing in his capacity as the Secretary of Labor and Employment, et al., G.R. No. 128845, June 1, 2000, the Supreme Court struck down the practice of respondent school of according foreign hires higher si ies than local-hires as contravening public policy. Notwithstanding the lack of an anti- discrimination law at that time, the Supreme Court citing the Philippine Constitution and Civil Code as well as_ international jit in the Order dated February 13,2013 of RIC Branch 266-Taguig City, People ofthe Philippines vs. Aleem Jandul tal, Criminal Cases No, 128923-11-A-E 4, Quo from te Sponsorship Speech an Ant-isriminaton Act of 2011 which was delivered tthe Senate Howr en, Loren lcyarda (May 11,2011 Press Release, www senate-eov.ph}, id