Philippines

The Philippines consistently ranks in perception indices as among the most “accepting” countries in Asia toward LGBTIQ persons. Several recent surveys have demonstrated generally positive views regarding gay and lesbian people, as well as high levels of support for an anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation and gender identity. However, a 2018 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found that only 22 percent of Filipinos supported same-sex civil unions, and a majority opposed trans women’s access to women’s toilets. 

Several laws and policies have aimed to advance LGBTIQ inclusion. Ex-President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No. 100 s. 2019 on December 17, 2019, institutionalizing the Diversity and Inclusion Program (DIP), which serves as a national initiative to consolidate efforts and enforce laws, rules, and issuances against discrimination. In 2023, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 51 s. 2023, amending EO 100 s. 2019 to further strengthen the DIP, reconstituting the Inter-Agency Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and establishing the Special Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) Affairs. As of 2025, these Executive Orders are not yet being implemented.

Anti-discrimination laws have been enacted at the barangay, city, municipal, and provincial levels. At the national level, anti-discrimination legislation has been filed in the Philippines Congress repeatedly since 1999 and has not been enacted into law. Two civil union bills have been filed since 2022, but they face opposition from religious and conservative legislators. Individuals can legally adopt regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, but same-sex couples cannot file for joint or second-parent adoption, given that same-sex unions are not recognized under the law. 

The Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 includes sexual orientation and gender identity among its prohibited grounds. The Safe Spaces Act of 2019 defines specific acts that constitute gender-based sexual harassment, including homophobic and transphobic slurs. The Magna Carta for Public Social Workers prohibits discrimination against public social workers based on their sex or sexual orientation. In 2023, the Philippines Supreme Court updated the 34-year-old Code of Professional Responsibility for the legal profession. Section 1 of Canon V prohibits lawyers from discriminating against clients based on various attributes, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

In 2017, the Department of Education introduced the Gender-Responsive Basic Education Policy, which was reiterated in 2022. The policy calls for a review of public school curricula to identify and address all forms of gender stereotypes, including those related to LGBTIQ issues. The policy also requires schools to observe gender and development-related events, with June designated as LGBT Pride Month.   In 2018, Republic Act 11166 established state policies that prohibit discrimination based on HIV and AIDS status. The law also protects against discrimination related to attributes such as sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression—factors that are often linked to HIV status, whether actual or perceived. The 2018 Mental Health Act ensures that service users have access to mental health services "on an equal and non-discriminatory basis," including based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While conversion practices are not banned at a national level, in Bataan City, Section 4(h) of Ordinance No. 16 (2021) prohibits “non-consensual medical or psychological examination to determine, alter, or both, a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.” 

In 2009, the Philippines lifted a ban on openly gay and bisexual men and women from enlisting and serving in the Philippine Armed Forces. In 2017, it began allowing transgender people to join the military, but it applies its standards on its uniform policy based on one's legal gender, as reflected on one's birth certificate.

Some localities continue to legislate discrimination on the basis of Shariah. In 2019, M’lang, a municipality in Cotabato, passed an ordinance against so-called cross-dressing and homosexual relationships for Muslims, with the penalty of imprisonment. In 2022, the Shariff Aguak municipal government passed a similar law banning cross-dressing in public.

Trans people cannot access legal gender recognition. Since 2001, the Clerical Error Law of 2001 (RA 9048) has made it illegal for transgender persons in the Philippines to change their sex in their birth certificates. The law specifically states that “no correction must involve the change of nationality, age, status, or sex of the petitioner” without a judicial order. In 2007, the Supreme Court, in Republic of the Philippines v. Jennifer Cagandahan, stipulated that individuals who undergo gender reassignment surgery are not permitted to change their legal gender. However, individuals with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), a rare intersex condition, are allowed to alter their legal gender. A bill that would enable this change through an administrative process is pending in Congress. This would remove the requirement of undergoing a costly and tedious court process, putting the country one step closer to guaranteeing the right of intersex persons to legal recognition. 

Outright’s research in 2025 indicates that lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in the country are subjected to various forms of online gender-based violence, including hate speech and sexual harassment, and that anti-LGBTIQ stigma impedes access to redress from official channels. Older LGBTIQ people in the country also face specific challenges in housing, health care, and social security, as revealed by a 2023 Outright report.

*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.