HB 6817 – COVID-19 Related Anti-Discrimination Act

Discrimination: any act of unjust distinction, exclusion, restriction which has the effect of
impairing/nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, exercise on equal footing, of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, any field of the public life
of a person, or which tends endanger the persons life/safety/security, specifically against
persons:
 Declared confirmed, suspect, probable COVID-19 cases
o Probable case = persons with mild, severe, or critical symptoms whose COVID-19
test results are inconclusive as defined by DOH
o Suspect case = person who shows symptoms of influenza-like illness, such as fever,
tiredness, dry cough; those with travel history abroad and to areas with confirmed
local COVID-19 transmission; those with exposure to confirmed COVID-19 case
 Recovered COVID-19 cases
 Essential and frontline workers  those engaged in, or employed by, essential services
 Healthcare workers  those who deliver health-related service/care  includes:
physicians, nurses, hospital and clinic aides, barangay health workers, paramedics,
emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers and staff, lab technicians, and those
who provide related/support service in hospitals, clinics, quarantine centers, other health
facilities
 Responders  officers, members, employees of PNP and AFP, city and brgy officers, local
Department of Public Order and Safety, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office,
Brgy Health Emergency Response Team, Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit,
other govt employees deployed in/directly to respond to COVID-19 related situations, or
who perform functions that may cause potential exposure to COVID-19
 Recognized volunteers
 Stranded individuals traveling from one LGU to another
 Service workers  persons who work in public/private establishments for essential
services, which include food, water, banking, finance, utilities, medicine, security,
maintenance and sanitation, and those who provide services under circumstances with
high risk of exposure to COVID-19, which include admin, security, maintenance and staff
support to health and quarantine facilities
 Repatriated overseas Filipino workers, whether land/sea-based; registered or otherwise 
PH citizens working abroad, including OFWs, who return to PH, for reasons which include
completion of employment, labor conflicts, medical issues, psychosocial problems,
restrictive immigration policies, wars, similar cases  also includes remains of Filipinos
brough back to PH
 Families, members of households of said persons
Discriminatory practices: unlawful for any person, natural/juridical, to do the following:
 Fail to give assistance – No public official, healthcare worker/institution shall refuse, fail,
neglect to give assistance to persons declared as confirmed, suspect, probable COVID-19
cases, or any person suspected of having been exposed to and has recovered from
COVID-19, including OFWs (registered or otherwise)
o Penalty: imprisonment, min. 6mos, max. 5yrs; or fine, min. P50,000, max. P1M (or
both, on court’s discretion)
 Harassment/assault – No person may verbally, physically, psychologically harass,
threaten, assault persons declared confirmed, suspect, probable COVID-19 cases, COVID-
19 survivors, or any person suspected of having been exposed to COVID-19, repatriated
OFWs, responders/service workers, or any of the persons enumerated above
o Penalty: imprisonment, min. 1yr, max. 10yrs; or fine, min. P200,000, max P1M
(court’s discretion)
 Stigmatization – No person shall publicly disclose, with intent of exclusion, har,
discrimination, in social media and other info platforms, that a person is declared a
 confirmed, suspect, probable COVID-19 case or has recovered from COVID-19, W/N the
same has been confirmed/validated from list given by authorized health officials and
agencies
o Penalty: imprisonment, min. 6mos, max. 5yrs; or fine, min. P50,000, max. P1M (or
both, on court’s discretion)
 Unlawful refusal to honor valid and existing contracts – No person may unlawfully refuse
to honor any valid and existing contract on the basis of COVID-19
o Penalty: imprisonment, min. 6mos, max. 5yrs; or fine, min. P50,000, max. P1M (or
both, on court’s discretion)
 If offender is:
o Juridical person: President, Director, Head, or Officer shall be liable for penalties
o Civil servant and found guilty after CSC investigation: dismissed from civil service
 This Act is not an exception to Section 6(e) of RA 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of
Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concerns Act