VERSOZA, Regina Gail E.

Versoza HUMAN RIGHTS G05

11591536
Atty. Milabel Cristobal

Group 3 - International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Domestic Laws, Philippine Jurisprudence and Current Issues on

Racial Discrimination in the Philippines

Laws on Racial Discrimination

The government's stand on the non-existence of racial or ethnic discrimination

clearly underscores the reality in society - that discrimination is not acknowledged, is
not even given a face, despite the glaring fact that it exists in many places in our country
and it actually occurs on a regular basis. Taking these prejudices and accounts of actual
discrimination, it is imperative to adhere to international standards and locally enact
laws designed to establish a system where no one is excluded from the opportunities
that civilized society has to offer.

The Philippines, as a state-party to various international instruments, should

mobilize resources in order to curb the acts of discrimination. As signatory to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and as a
member of the United Nations General Assembly which has passed two resolutions on
discrimination based on religion, the Philippines should undertake measures to ensure
that rights and freedoms are enjoyed by all, without distinction as to religion or ethnic
origin, among others.

Article 7 of the 1981 Declaration provides that the rights and freedoms set forth
in the present Declaration shall be accorded in national legislation in such a manner
that everyone shall be able to avail himself of such rights and freedoms in practice.
Article 2 of the ICCPR also states that Each State Party to the present Covenant
undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to
its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any
kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status. Article 5 of the ICERD obliges State parties
to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the
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right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to
equality before the law.

In 1992, the General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of

Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities, while in September
2007, the UN General Assembly also adopted the Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, which also provides for non-discrimination of indigenous
communities.

Laws against discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and/or religious belief is

necessary in ensuring that institutions and individuals are reminded of non-
discrimination as a norm that everyone must adhere to, under pain of prosecution, as
well as civil and administrative actions.

Domestically, the rights of peoples to freedom of religion, as well as those of

indigenous peoples are likewise enshrined under the Philippine Constitution. The
Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) or Republic Act 8371 has been enacted to ensure
that indigenous peoples have equal rights to education, employment, accommodation,
access to goods and services, and the like. Other bills are being proposed to strengthen
already existing laws related to protection against discrimination.

One of the proposed bill is the Anti-Ethnic or Racial Profiling and Discrimination
Act of 2011. This proposed legislation seeks to promote a society that values the dignity
of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights, regardless of race,
religion or ethnicity. It seeks to fulfill our international commitment under the ICERD,
to ensure its full application in our national legal system through the creation of a
comprehensive anti-discrimination law with substantial penal provisions.

Philippine Jurisprudence on Racial Discrimination

In the case of International School Alliance of Eduators (ISAE) vs Hon. Leonardo A.

Quisimbing the court states that Public policy abhors discrimination. The Article on
Social Justice and Human Rights exhorts Congress to "give highest priority to the
enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all people to human
dignity
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Atty. Milabel Cristobal
The Constitution directs the State to promote "equality of employment
opportunities for all." Similarly, the Labor Code provides that the State shall "ensure
equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed." It would be an affront to both
the spirit and letter of these provisions if the State, in spite of its primordial obligation
to promote and ensure equal employment opportunities, closes its eyes to unequal and
discriminatory terms and conditions of employment.

In the case of Ang Ladlad v COMELEC, petitioner is an organization composed of men

and women who identify themselves as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or trans-gendered
individuals (LGBTs). Incorporated in 2003, Ang Ladlad first applied for registration
with the COMELEC in 2006 as a party-list organization under Republic Act 7941,
otherwise known as the Party-List System Act. The application for accreditation was
denied on the ground that the organization had no substantial membership base. In
2009, Ang Ladlad again filed a petition for registration with the COMELEC upon which
it was dismissed on moral grounds.

The Court emphasized that Our Constitution provides in Article III, Section 5
that no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof. At bottom, what our non-establishment clause calls for is
government neutrality in religious matters. Clearly, governmental reliance on religious
justification is inconsistent with this policy of neutrality.

Laws of general application should apply with equal force to LGBTs and they
deserve to participate in the party-list system on the same basis as other marginalized
and under-represented sectors.

The principle of non-discrimination requires the laws of general application

relating to elections be applied to all persons, regardless of sexual orientation.

Current Issues on Racial Discrimination

Racial Discrimination in the Philippines

Filipinos have experienced racial discrimination against foreigners, such as our

colonizers who referred to Filipinos as indios or negritos, or some other derogatory
term. The Filipinos have also been considered as uncivilized, half-savage and
uneducated race. While we have experienced such discriminatory acts against us,
discrimination of Filipinos against Filipinos have not been a highlighted issue in the
country, until recently.
VERSOZA, Regina Gail E. Versoza HUMAN RIGHTS G05
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Atty. Milabel Cristobal
In its 20th Periodic Report to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
Racial Discrimination (CERD) in 2008, has made an official stand that, "Racial
discrimination has never officially or factually existed in the Philippines, neither in a
systemic nor formal nor intermittent nor isolated manner" because "Filipinos have
essentially the same racial and ethnic origins."

In response, a broad alliance of Indigenous Peoples organizations and support

groups submitted a consolidated "Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines ICERD Shadow
Report" to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in
2009. It cited incidences of militarization, enforced disappearances, harassment, and
extra-judicial killings, which has led to discrimination against the right to security of
persons, right against illegal searches and seizures, right to protection by the State and
right against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

As what the CERD report stated, "Racial discrimination is alien to the prevailing
mores and culture of the Filipino People". In a racial discourse, the issue would
immediately be repudiated by a sensitive nationalist notion that, in the end, we are all
Filipinos. However, as the current news on lumad killings, as well as debates around the
Bangsamoro Basic Law show, the treatment of minority groups tends to reflect the
countrys poor status when it comes to treatment of race and even acceptance.

Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the Philippines

Conflict and displacement have excluded minorities, either of religious, ethno-linguistic

or even socio-economic class from the benefits of whatever development the Philippines
have been able to reap. These minorities are faced with the additional burden of fighting
off biases that obstruct their way towards having a good education, better employment,
and access to goods and services.

To be able to have a better understanding of the varying issues on racial discrimination,

the following words must be defined:

Race - A socially constructed category of people who share biologically

transmitted traits that a society defines as important.
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Atty. Milabel Cristobal
Ethnicity - A shared cultural heritage, which typically involves common
ancestors, language and religion.
Minorities - Any category of people, identified to be physical or cultural traits,
that a society subjects to disadvantages. Can either be racial or ethnic. Lesser
number of population in a certain place
Prejudice - Consists of rigid prejudgments about some category of people.
Unfounded generalization about an entire category of people.

Types of Prejudice:

Stereotype - An exaggerated description applied to every person in some

category
Racism - The assertion that people of one race are less worthy than or even
biologically inferior to others.
Institutional Racism - Occurs in workplace in the operation of social
institutions, including economy, schools, hospitals, the military and the
criminal justice system.

Lumad Killings

On September 1, 2015, lumad tribal leaders and members of killings in Lianga,

Surigao del Sur, sparked outrage and caused the country to take notice of the issues the
indigenous community were facing. The lumads and their supporters are calling for an
end to lumad killings, allegedly perpetrated by the military and paramilitary groups. The
mineral-rich ancestral domains of the lumads are being encroached upon by mining
companies. Mindanao is not only a food basket, but also holds the countrys biggest
deposit of gold, nickel, and copper found in select areas such as Davao, Agusan del Sur
and especially Surigao. Some rights groups claimed that mining companies are
employing some military personnel for protection.

Muslims

After a bombing incident in Zamboanga, certain police sketch from the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) made its rounds online, causing outrage in a number of
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Atty. Milabel Cristobal
local circles. It was of a bombing suspect, a man in a hoodie described as a "Muslim
type". The NBI's description sparked an online movement in the Muslim community.

5% or 4.93 million of the Population of the Philippines are Muslims. According to a

survey conducted, 60% of the Muslim population said they are being discriminated by
other Filipinos according to their appearance and religious affair; 20% said they were
bullied in class and 30% said they werent accepted to jobs because of their religious
belief. (Source: Ateneo De Manila University, Current Issues in Filipino Muslims)

Visayans re: 2016 Bar Examinations

The results of the 2016 Bar Examinations caused a lot of skepticism as to how none of
the Metro Manila Law schools made the Top 10. The results yielded a lot of
discrimination among the Visayan law schools which made it to the top 10. In social
media, the netizens deplored that the Bar Examinations may have lowered its standards
and resulted to a majority Visayan topnotchers. In media, telenovelas would always
picture them as yayas and katulongs. In the industrial setting, employers frown upon
applicats who have Visayan accents. Clearly, this shows a negative stereotype we have on
Visayan people.

Statistical Reports on Racism in the Philippines

The survey asked respondents what types of people they would refuse to live next
to, and counted how many chose the option people of a different race as a percentage
for each country. Up to an astonishing 39.9% of Filipinos would refuse to live next to
people of different race according to the study. (Source: World Values Survey 2014)

The use of racially tinged categories is a common practice among upper and
middle class Filipinos when it comes to dealing with the lower classes. Thus are the poor
often segregated, treated as if they were a different species. Associated with ignorance
and criminality, the poor pose a permanent existential threat to the middle class and the
rich. The physical and cultural markers of class segregation high walls, air conditioned
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cars, linguistic honorifics regulate the proximity of the poor and neutralize the
dangers coming from this putatively inferior race.

SOURCES:

http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/97514-racism-philippines

http://www.chr.gov.ph/MAIN%20PAGES/about%20hr/position
%20papers/pdf/PosPprOnHB401and659.pdf

http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2011/0511_legarda2.asp

http://www.saligan.org/index.php/archives/60-position-paper-on-the-anti-
discrimination-bills.html

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CERD.aspx

http://www.rappler.com/technology/social-media/106729-muslim-type-sketch-
enddiscriminationnow

http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/112452-members-mindanao-bishop-conference-
cardinal-tagle-expressed-their-support-lumad

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/723671/lumad-killings-extrajudicial-says-
chr#ixzz45qqPFjNO

http://www.slideshare.net/kristinejoysangalang/racial-and-ethnic-inequality-in-the-
philippines

http://www.newsgra.ph/1221/filipinos-among-most-racists-world-says-study/