EDITORIAL - Ending the short-changing

A bill that abolishes height requirements for those seeking admission to police, fire and jail services has passed final reading at the House of Representatives and should similarly pass the Senate.

The measure, chiefly authored by Rep. Pablo John Garcia of Cebu’s third district, finally corrects a long-standing inequity that has actually no basis for its perpetuation in the services mentioned.

There is no study or finding that says people of lesser height perform less than taller counterparts under similar conditions and circumstances and using the same measurements. Height, for all intents and purposes, is just a birth accident.

In the same way that people cannot choose their relatives, so can the physical attributes of a person not be predetermined, that is unless one is the subject of some scientific experiment like genetic manipulation.

It is therefore gravely wrong to penalize a person on the basis of his or her physical dimensions, the measurements of which he or she had nothing to do with. To do so is not only unjust and unfair, it is even unconstitutional.

That is because slapping requirements on the basis of physical measurements such as height over which a person has neither influence nor control effectively extinguishes the right of that person to pursuit of equal opportunities and happiness.

Besides, height does not in any way measure character. Character is what makes a policeman, firefighter, or jail officer the trustworthy public servant that people can look up and entrust their lives with confidence.

The Garcia measure makes practical sense and is long overdue. But passage at the House is just one short (pardon the pun) step toward full realization. People should do their part by lobbying for the Senate to pass its version, and for the president to sign it later into law.