Biel Jose Catipon

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has partnered with the Philippine Anti-Discrimination Alliance of Youth Leaders (PANTAY) by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on June 9 to introduce new strategies for fostering gender-inclusive schools in the country.

Photo Courtesy of Creds.

Through CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc and PANTAY Executive Director Rye Manuzon, the agreement focuses on the latter’s Project Gender Equality Index for Schools (GEIS), which strives to craft a tool for measuring and improving Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) inclusion in Philippine academic institutions.

Project GEIS includes two core tools designed to promote safe and inclusive learning environments, the Rainbow Report Card and the Rainbow School Kit.

The Rainbow Report Card assesses the gender inclusivity and sensitivity of a school’s policies, programs, and practices.

Complementing it, the Rainbow School Kit guides schools by providing concrete steps to meet the indicators set in the report card.

To formalize the partnership, the human rights body and the organization issued a joint press release on June 10.

“This partnership with PANTAY is aligned with the CHR’s mandate to uphold the rights and dignity of all, especially the youth and members of the LGBTQI community,” said Palpal-latoc in the statement.

He emphasized that the initiative aims to create learning environments where all students feel safe, respected, and empowered.

“We are not just allies. We see ourselves as champions for gender equality, especially since the CHR is the Gender and Development Ombud,” said CHR Center for Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights Officer-in-Charge Atty. Twyla Rubin, highlighting the Commission’s proactive role.

Rubin underscored their strong commitment to supporting partner schools and organizations in the ongoing efforts to make all academic institutions inclusive, and in the broader push for the passage of Senate Bill No. 1600 or the SOGIE Equality Bill and other related initiatives and policies.

“Project GEIS and other initiatives towards gender equality are life-saving programs not just for queer people but every Filipino,” said Manuzon, highlighting the broader impact of their advocacy. 


He expressed hope that the collaboration would inspire more national and local government officials and agencies to become active allies for a more inclusive and equitable society.

The CHR described the partnership as a significant step toward ensuring safe, inclusive, and gender-sensitive educational spaces nationwide.

PANTAY, which means “equal” in Filipino, is a registered youth-led lobbying movement composed of young people with diverse SOGIESC, student-led and school-based formations, sectoral groups, and community-based civil society organizations advocating for progressive, gender-transformative legislation.