MANILA, Philippines – Vertically challenged? No problem. You will no longer be discriminated, in the police force at least.
The Senate passed on third and final reading a bill eliminating height discrimination among law enforcers. The chamber passed the bill on Monday, August 6, repealing the height requirements for applicants to the police force, fire protection and the jail management and penology bureaus.
Senator Gregorio Honasan, who introduced the bill, said it will remove “heightism,” a practice that has become a reality among law enforcement agencies. Honasan is a former military officer. The bill will now have to be approved by both houses of Congress before it becomes a law.
“Height discrimination unnecessarily limits quality choice while promoting social injustice. Height may be a consideration in tasks requiring certain physical activities but not all who are short are physically, much less intellectually impaired.”
The bill seeks to repeal the height requirement in the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990.
The law imposed a height requirement of at least 1.62 meters for males and 1.57 meters for females.
Honasan added that while Asians are shorter than their Western counterparts, they “have proven their worth in war as well as in peace.”
“While it is right for hiring institutions to employ people for their intellect, for their drive and for what they can bring to the organization, it is wrong to deny them for reasons of creed, color, culture, gender, identity, or height,” said Honasan. – Rappler.com
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