Mimicking may soon be a crime in RP
Posted by Gregov on April 7th, 2008
Impersonators beware. Mimicking may soon become a crime in the Philippines.
The House committee on national cultural communities has approved for floor debate a measure that seeks to penalize mimicking or imitating a person’s way of speaking, particularly in his "peculiar accent or diction."
Under House Bill 948 authored by Lanao del Sur Rep. Faysah Dumarpa, any insulting act or degrading manner of a person towards another, especially if he belongs to a cultural minority, will soon be criminalized under Philippine laws.
Dumarpa, a member of the administration coalition in the House of Representatives, said the bill seeks to "prohibit religious or racial discrimination against Muslim and other members of the cultural minorities."
The bill penalizes violators with a fine ranging from P200 to as much as P6,000 or penalties of arresto mayor (one month to six months
imprisonment) to prision correctional (six months to six years imprisonment).
Aside from mimics, a person will also face the same penalties if he or she subjects anyone to unnecessary, unjustified, illegal and degrading search because of his manner of clothing, religion, color, creed and ethnic identity.
Dumarpa said discriminating against a person applying for a job just because of his name, religion or ethnic background might also be a ground for imprisonment.
The bill also provides that a person wearing a traditional costume, veil or turban should be allowed to enter business establishments such as restaurant, hotel, shopping mall and similar places. They should also be allowed to ride on passenger buses, taxis, ships or airplanes.
She said the bill would effectively institutionalize the constitutional guarantee of equal protection and religious freedom to all persons, regardless of their cultural background or chosen religion.
Co-authors of the bill are Reps. Carlos Padilla of Nueva Vizcaya, Solomon Chungalao of Ifugao, and Mujiv Hataman of party-list group Anak Mindanao.
Hataman said the proposed measure is in keeping with the policy of the state to value the dignity of every human being, whether he is a Filipino, Muslim, Igorot or Aeta, guaranteed under the Bill of Rights of the 1987 Constitution.
Muslims comprise eight percent of 84 million Filipinos, most of whom reside in Mindanao. Other cultural minorities in the Philippines include the Manobos, Mangyans, Aetas, Igorots, Tausugs and Tasadays.
Muslims, however, are the most successful among them, as they now have professionals that include doctors, lawyers and businessmen.
Ironically, they have been stereotyped as terrorists, as some of them have been arrested for high-profile crimes.
Dumarpa had complained that Muslims have always been the victims of racial profiling or discrimination, which became more prevalent after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001.
"We Muslims have always been the usual suspects whenever something wrong happens in the world. Everybody must understand that Muslims are followers of the Islamic faith which abhors acts of violence and injustice," she said.
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