LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The constitution provides for the free exercise of religion and religious worship and prohibits the establishment of a state religion. No religious test is required for the exercise of civil or political rights. The constitution provides for the separation of religion and state. The law treats intentional attacks directed against religiously affiliated buildings or facilities as war crimes or crimes against international humanitarian law. The law forbids public officials from interrupting religious worship as well as any person from “notoriously” offending religious feelings during such services or in a place of worship.

The law requires organized religious groups to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to establish tax-exempt status. Religious groups must submit their articles of faith and bylaws to the SEC to register as religious corporations. The SEC requires religious corporations to submit annual financial statements. The law does not specify penalties for failure to register with the SEC. To register as a nonstock, nonprofit organization, religious groups must meet the basic requirements for corporate registration with the BIR and request a tax exemption from the BIR. The basic requirements for registration include a name verification of the religious corporation, articles of incorporation and bylaws, the name of a director, list of members, and a list of financial contributors. The BIR provides tax exemptions to established religious corporations that are then reviewed for renewal every three years. The BIR may fine religious corporations for the late filing of registrations or for failing to submit registration datasheets and financial statements.

The government permits religious instruction in public schools with written parental consent, provided there is no cost to the government. Based on a traditional policy of promoting moral education, local public schools give religious groups the opportunity to teach moral values and general understanding of a specific religion during school hours. Attendance is not mandatory; parents must express in writing a desire for their child to attend religious instruction for a specific denomination, and the various groups share classroom space. Students who do not attend religious instruction because no class was offered in their denomination, or because their parents did not express a desire that they do so, receive normal supervised class time. The government also allows the distribution of religious literature in public schools. The law mandates that the government address religious issues and consult recognized experts on Filipino Muslim beliefs, as well as the history, culture, and identity of Indigenous peoples, when formulating the national history curriculum.

By law, public schools must protect the religious rights of all students. Muslim girls may wear the hijab and are not required to wear shorts during physical education classes.

The government recognizes sharia in all parts of the country through a presidential decree. Sharia courts are organized into five sharia districts, all located in the south of the country; Muslims residing in other areas must travel to these districts to pursue an action in a sharia court. Sharia courts handle only cases relating to personal status laws affecting family relations and property for Muslims and do not handle criminal cases. The state court system hears cases involving Muslims and non-Muslims, and national laws apply in those cases.

The BARMM is a Muslim-led region established by the central government in 2019, with jurisdiction over five provinces and three major noncontiguous cities. The Bangsamoro Organic Law provides the framework for the transition to greater autonomy for the area’s majority Muslim population; the transition completion date is set for 2025.

The NCMF’s Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment is responsible for administering logistics for the Hajj, such as obtaining flight schedules, administering vaccines, coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs to process Hajj passports, filing Hajj visa applications at the Saudi Arabia embassy, and conducting predeparture orientations for pilgrims. The NCMF also administers the awqaf (an endowment for the upkeep of Islamic properties and institutions) and continues to oversee the establishment and maintenance of Islamic centers and other projects.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

On March 16, a trial court in Iligan City convicted a financial official from the RMP of being an accessory to terrorist financing. The previous August, the Department of Justice charged 16 members of the RMP, including four Catholic nuns, with providing funds to the armed wing of the CPP-NPA. Those cases remained pending at year’s end.

In August, Hermogenes Esperon, National Security Adviser during the previous Rodrigo Duterte administration, requested a review of a lower court decision acquitting 10 human rights defenders of perjury charges filed by Esperon in 2019. Among those charged were Father Wilfredo Ruazol of the Philippine Independent Church and Sister Elenita Belardo of the RMP. Human rights groups and observers described the case as reprisal against those individuals for seeking legal protection from the Supreme Court from threats and harassment by government officials against human rights defenders during the Duterte administration.

There were continued instances of red tagging – the public labeling of human rights advocates, unions, religious groups, academics, and media organizations as fronts for or clandestine members of insurgent and political groups. These actions, put them at risk of intimidation and violence. Some red tagging incidents targeted members of religious groups and religious organizations.

In October, Manila police arrested drag performer Pura Luka Vega under the section of the criminal code that prohibits “indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows” that “offend any race or religion.” In a July video, Bega performed a version of the Lord’s Prayer dressed in clothing that was deemed to resemble that of Jesus Christ. Several religious groups condemned the performance and some municipal leaders made statements that Vega was not welcome in their jurisdictions.

In August, Senator Padilla urged the Senate to investigate a shooting incident earlier that month at the Taguig City police station that resulted in the death of a police officer and the serious wounding of another. The incident stemmed from an altercation between police officers, one of whom was Muslim, who was unknowingly served a pork dish at the police station. The Muslim police officer sent a letter to Padilla noting that the incident followed previous instances of discrimination and harassment aimed at Muslims. Padilla also urged the Senate to investigate instances of violation of Islamic dietary laws in prisons.

The Commission on Human Rights, which has a constitutional mandate to visit and inspect prisons and detention facilities nationwide, reported in September that limited budget resources provided by the government, combined with the high crowding rate of the majority of prisons and detention centers, led to problems in complying with the principles of religious freedom and religious accommodation for inmates. The commission noted there was limited availability of halal food options for Muslim inmates.

In January, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Magna Carta of Religious Freedom Act, passing the legislation on for further action by the Senate. At year’s end the bill remained pending in the Senate, which held committee hearings on the legislation in August. If passed by the Senate without change, the law would enumerate the rights of every person to propagate one’s religious beliefs and disseminate religious publications and the rights to religious worship and ceremonies, organizational independence, and freedom against discrimination in employment. It would criminalize compelling a person, by means of force, threat, intimidation, or punishment, to choose or not to choose a specific religion; obstructing, hindering, or preventing the flow of access to religious information; and defaming, harassing, or humiliating a person because of his or her religious beliefs. Some Humanist, atheist, Muslim, and other religious minority groups expressed continued concern that the legislation would favor Christians and not offer equal protection to nonreligious individuals. The CBCP, the Philippines for Jesus Movement, and the Muslim group Philippine Ulama Congress Organization expressed support for the bill but noted it should highlight the constitutional provision requiring the separation of church and state. These groups stated that the employment discrimination provision of the law should not apply to religious organizations and requested an amendment protecting their right to autonomy over hiring practices.

In September, the executive secretary of the CBCP Commission on Public Affairs, Father Jerome Secilliano, expressed opposition to proposed legislation that would legalize divorce, saying it would cause more harm than good to Filipino families. Reflecting what Freedom House Country Coordinator Aileen Almora stated was the strong influence of the Catholic Church on the legislature, the bill was not voted out of committee in the House, and at year’s end was pending a second reading in the Senate.

The Department of Education continued to support its Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) program for Muslim students in private madrassahs and public elementary schools with a Muslim student population of 10 percent or more. For the 2022-23 school year, 4,122 public elementary schools administered the voluntary ALIVE program for 153,605 students. The program’s stated aim is to integrate madrassahs into the public education system while preserving Islamic education for Muslims.

Private madrassahs continued to have the option of registering with the NCMF or the Department of Education (DepEd), both, or neither. DepEd-accredited madrassahs continued to receive government funding and teacher training and followed the standardized DepEd curriculum. The DepEd Office of Madrassah Education managed local and international financial assistance on behalf of the private madrassah system. By law, only registered schools or madrassahs could receive financial assistance from the government. There were 12 private madrassahs registered with the DepEd during the 2022-23 school year, a slight increase from 11 in 2021-22. Some private madrassahs chose to remain unregistered rather than allow government oversight, according to DepEd representatives.

Madrassahs registered by the Department of Education followed the official Standard Madrassah Curriculum and received funding for classrooms, facilities, and educators who taught the Revised Basic Education Curriculum. The overall funding for, and attendance at, private madrassahs continued to decrease from 2021 to 2022 due to the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which created the BARMM and a separate BARMM budget for the region’s education. During the year, the total madrassah education budget was 359.5 million pesos ($6.4 million), of which the Department of Education provided 6.7 million pesos ($121,000) to 12 private madrassahs.

At year’s end, there were 11 Muslims in the 312-member House of Representatives and one Muslim in the 24-member Senate, unchanged from the previous year. Muslim individuals served as presidential adviser on Muslim Affairs, Human Rights Commissioner, and head of the NCMF.

Muslim officials continued to report that while Muslim prisoners were allowed to engage in religious observances, Roman Catholic masses were often broadcast by loudspeaker to the entire prison population.