After anti-discrimination bill vs age, Cayetano eyes one vs looks

A saleslady (C) at a liquor store talks to a customer at the Manila International Airport in Manila on December 20, 2012. AFP FILE PHOTO/NOEL CELIS

MANILA, Philippines — After filing a bill against age discrimination in employment, Senator Pia Cayetano is now considering including either in the same measure or filing a separate one against hiring based on a person’s physical appearance.

Cayetano said that aside from age, some jobs require good looking applicants.

“There are jobs na ang hanap kasi nila ay magandang babae (that look for attractive women). And I cannot change that, of course people are attracted to beautiful faces. But you cannot deprive a person of their job for that reason,” she  said in an interview Wednesday.

“Hindi kita pwedeng pigilan na attracted ka sa maganda, pero hindi ka pwedeng hindi mag-hire ng tao dahil pangit sya, or dahil 26 na sya, or dahil 30 na sya (I can’t stop you if you are attracted to beautiful women but you cannot not hire a person because he or she is ugly or because he or she is 26 or 30 years old already). So that is what we need to address,” she said.

While this kind of discrimination applies to both men and women, Cayetano said studies have shown that “it tends to be a practice more for jobs held by women.”

“Na gusto kasi nga na mukhang bata, na mukhang maganda pa. Eh bakit pangit ka na ba pag 30? Pangit ba ako, I’m way above 30? Siguro naman may magha-hire pa sa akin pag hindi na ako senador. (They want not only young-looking but also good-looking. Why? Do you look ugly when you’re 30? Am I ugly? I’m above 30. I think they would still hire me if I’m no longer a senator),” she said in jest.

Cayetano said it would be understandable for one to look good if the job offer was for a skin model or a receptionist.

But  such requirement, she said, should not apply when physical appearance has nothing to do with the job offer.

“I don’t mind if they say with an attractive personality. Kung receptionist yan, hindi naman pwedeng masungit di ba. Pero hindi pwedeng beautiful, attractive (If it’s a receptionist, you can’t be grumpy right? But you can’t say, they should be beautiful or attractive),” she said.

Cayetano said she might fine-tune her anti-age discrimination bill to include the prohibition on job hiring based on physical appearance or file a separate measure altogether.

“Ang sasabihin ng ibang tao, ‘ang babaw naman nyan [Some people would say that it’s mundane].’ Mababaw, but look at the end of day, how many people in Pilipinas, or Filipinas, suffer from this? So that’s an important measure,” she added.