--- description: The code requires those seeking government services to wear clothes, such as collared shirts, that are beyond the reach of the very poor. title: Filippino Lawmakers Want to Scrap Discriminatory Dress Code image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3a0d5aea61b961c/698870e18e0601e2f64634c9/gettyimages-454080528.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippine Lawmakers Want to Scrap a Dress Code That Discriminates Against the Poor by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 13, 2015 8:50 AM CUT  Homeless people queue to recieve food and clothing from a charity group at a park in Manila on August 24, 2014\. read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images) Homeless people queue to recieve food and clothing from a charity group at a park in Manila on August 24, 2014\. read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)NOEL CELIS—AFP/Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 13, 2015 8:50 AM CUT A group of Filipino lawmakers [filed a bill titled the Open Door Policy Act](http://www.rappler.com/nation/112560-dress-code-government-offices "undefined") on Wednesday calling for the loosening of a strict dress code for anyone seeking government services in the Philippines. Government offices in the Philippines usually stipulate that citizens need to be dressed in “proper attire,” meaning pants, shoes or collared shirts, such as polo shirts, in order to receive services, local news website [Rappler](http://www.rappler.com/nation/112560-dress-code-government-offices "undefined") reports. “All government institutions with frontline service offices shall be barred from implementing strict dress codes that prevent citizens, especially those belonging to marginalized sectors, from making inquiries or undertaking simple transactions,” the bill says, according to Rappler. Representative Kaka Bag-ao of the Dinagat Islands told Rappler that the current dress code discriminated against the very poor. Representative Teddy Baguilat from Ifugao, who also filed the bill, said: “They are Filipinos who often belong to marginalized sectors of society – farmers, fisherfolk, urban poor, and indigenous peoples – they are Filipinos who should be given due priority by government.” [The GDP per capita](http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD "undefined") in the Philippines is around $2,870, according to the World Bank. \[[_Rappler_](http://www.rappler.com/nation/112560-dress-code-government-offices "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4111267/philippines-dresscode-bill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4111267/philippines-dresscode-bill/"},"headline":"Philippine Lawmakers Want to Scrap a Dress Code That Discriminates Against the Poor","datePublished":"2015-11-13T08:50:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:35:15.273Z","description":"The code presently requires anyone seeking government services to wear clothes that are unaffordable for those living in poverty","url":"https://time.com/4111267/philippines-dresscode-bill/","keywords":["Philippines","GDP","The Philippines","dress code"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3a0d5aea61b961c/698870e18e0601e2f64634c9/gettyimages-454080528.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3a0d5aea61b961c/698870e18e0601e2f64634c9/gettyimages-454080528.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PHILIPPINES-ECONOMY-POVERTY","caption":"PHILIPPINES-ECONOMY-POVERTY","creditText":"NOEL CELIS—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4111267/philippines-dresscode-bill/","name":"Philippine Lawmakers Want to Scrap a Dress Code That Discriminates Against the Poor"}}]}] ```