MANILA – Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña has filed a bill prohibiting government offices that provide frontline services from enforcing a dress code policy to individuals engaging in simple public transactions.
Cendaña said he filed House Bill 11078, known as the “Open Door Policy Act” or “Bawal Judgmental Bill’ to make government frontline services accessible even to marginalized communities.
“We want government frontline services to be truly accessible. Hindi lahat afford ang outfit check (Not everyone can afford outfit check). We want government offices to welcome everyone no matter your socioeconomic status),” he said in a news release on Friday.
He added that strict dress codes discriminate the poorest Filipinos who cannot afford to comply or are culturally different from the stringent prescriptions of some government offices and institutions.
He urged fellow lawmakers to uphold a Constitutional provision mandating Congress to prioritize measures aimed at protecting and enhancing the people’s right to human dignity, reducing social and economic inequalities and removing cultural inequities.
“These mandates have been historically neglected by imposing discriminatory measures against marginalized sectors. Farmers, fisherfolks, urban poor, indigenous people, and other vulnerable groups have experienced being subjected to dress codes imposed by public offices,” he stated in the bill.
Cendaña said strict dress codes that have no relation to the frontline services being accessed, only end up or usually lead to discrimination against the poor and indigenous communities.
“The principles of equality and nondiscrimination must be observed and adhered to most especially by government institutions. In view of the foregoing, the passage of this Open Door Policy is earnestly sought,” he said. (PNA)