Flashcards Studio

Under the ICESCR, the right to health is to be realized progressively and without discrimination. (a) Identify the controlling ICESCR doctrine and its essential components as they relate to non-discrimination in the realization of the right to health. (b) Explain how the non-discrimination principle constrains a universal health levy that is neutral on its face but yields a regressive burden, and when special measures for vulnerable groups may justify differential treatment. (c) Apply these rules to City of Sanlaya Ordinance No. 2025-07, which imposes a PHP 600 annual health levy on all residents to fund municipal health facilities; the ordinance exempts indigent households and seniors but imposes no exemption for middle-income employed residents above a monthly income threshold. A residents’ association sues, claiming the levy violates the right to health and discriminates on the basis of income and employment status. The city defends the measure as a necessary step in realizing health rights given resource constraints. Determine whether the ordinance complies with ICESCR obligations and discuss whether ICESCR rights are domestically enforceable in Philippine courts and what remedies may be available.