Bataan First District Rep. Geraldine B. Roman personally thanked President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for “fulfilling his promise of institutionalizing the Diversity and Inclusion Program (DIP) and creating an Inter-agency Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.”
“Although this only covers the public sector, this is a significant step towards the right direction,” Congresswoman Roman stressed on her Facebook post yesterday.
Roman also pointed out that all Local Government Units, Non-Government Organizations, the private business sector, all educational institutions, and the general public are enjoined to adopt plans and programs similar to the DIP.
Last December 2019, President Duterte has declared to institutionalize a diversity and inclusion committee to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and persons with disability (PWDs), among other sectors.
Duterte’s Executive Order 100 created the Inter-Agency Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and establishing the Diversity and Inclusion Program (DIP) which will consolidate efforts and implement laws “towards the identification and adoption of best practices in the promotion of diversity and inclusion.”
Under the DIP, a framework will be given to government agencies to eliminate discrimination of persons on the basis of age, disability, national or ethnic origin, language, religious affiliation, political affiliation, health status, physical features, or sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in the country.
