House panel OKs bill protecting right to freedom of religion

The House committee on human rights on Wednesday approved the measure seeking to protect the right to freedom of religion in the country.

During its meeting, the panel approved House Bill 6538, to be known as the "Philippine Magna Carta of Freedom of Religion," authored by CIBAC party-list Representatives Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Domingo Rivera.

The measure aims to protect the right of every person to freedom of religion and liberty of conscience, as well as their free exercise or expression in public.

These rights, however, can only be denied, regulated, burdened, or curtailed if:

•     it results to violence and/or inflicts, or poses to inflict, a direct physical or material harm or danger on other people, or infringe on their own freedom of religion of conscience;
•     it is necessary to protect public safety, order, health, property, and good morals; and
•     such limitations are prescribed by existing laws such as prohibitions on same sex marriage, marriage of humans to animals, and marriage to objects.

Among the rights protected under the measure are the rights to choose a religion or religious group, to exercise or express religious belief and practices, to act in accordance with conscience, to propagate religious beliefs, to freedom against discrimination in employment, among others.

Prohibited acts under the measure include compelling a person to choose or not to choose a particular religious belief and to commit an act which is in violation of his or her religion, and threatening a person with harm to prevent him or her to change religion.

The measure also prohibits any act of defamation, harassment, offense, or humiliation of a person by reason of his or her religious belief or practice, and performing any act that constitutes or promotes religious mockery, stigma, hate, or persecution.

Penalties for violations by private persons, juridical entities, and corporations of the provisions of the measure range from a fine of not less than P100,000 to P2 million or a jail sentence of not less than six years to not more than 10 years, or both.

Following the approval in the committee level, the measure can soon be sent to the plenary for deliberation and consideration.—AOL, GMA News