CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. filed a bill that prohibits discrimination in college on the basis of sex, ethnicity, physical condition, religious belief or political affiliation in admission to Higher Education Institutions.

House Bill 8395 or the proposed Anti-Discrimination in College Admission Act punishes persons or institutions found involved in discrimination.

It mandates the Commission on Higher Education to formulate rules and regulations against discrimination and preferential treatment of educational institutions.

Villafuerte said that the State should protect the right of students to be admitted in the institution of their choice.

“Every citizen has a right to select a profession or course of study, subject to fair, reasonable, and equitable admission and academic requirements,” he said in his explanatory note.

Once enacted into law, any person found violating the Act, upon conviction by a court, will suffer the penalty of imprisonment not less than one month but not more than one year or a fine of P20,000 to P50,000.

If the violator is a corporation, partnership, or association, the president, or administrator, or the person who is in-charge of the institution shall be held civilly responsible.