Robust Bias Evaluation with FilBBQ: A Filipino Bias Benchmark for Question-Answering Language Models

Lance Calvin Lim Gamboa, Yue Feng, Mark Lee


Abstract
With natural language generation becoming a popular use case for language models, the Bias Benchmark for Question-Answering (BBQ) has grown to be an important benchmark format for evaluating stereotypical associations exhibited by generative models. We expand the linguistic scope of BBQ and construct FilBBQ through a four-phase development process consisting of template categorization, culturally aware translation, new template construction, and prompt generation. These processes resulted in a bias test composed of more than 10,000 prompts which assess whether models demonstrate sexist and homophobic prejudices relevant to the Philippine context. We then apply FilBBQ on models trained in Filipino but do so with a robust evaluation protocol that improves upon the reliability and accuracy of previous BBQ implementations. Specifically, we account for models’ response instability by obtaining prompt responses across multiple seeds and averaging the bias scores calculated from these distinctly seeded runs. Our results confirm both the variability of bias scores across different seeds and the presence of sexist and homophobic biases relating to emotion, domesticity, stereotyped queer interests, and polygamy. FilBBQ will be available via GitHub.
Anthology ID:
2026.lrec-main.316
Volume:
Proceedings of the Fifteenth Language Resources and Evaluation Conference
Month:
May
Year:
2026
Address:
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Editors:
Stelios Piperidis, Núria Bel, Henk van den Heuvel, Nancy Ide, Simon Krek, Antonio Toral
Venue:
LREC
SIG:
Publisher:
ELRA Language Resource Association
Note:
Pages:
3996–4008
Language:
URL:
https://preview.aclanthology.org/ingest-lrec/2026.lrec-main.316/
DOI:
Bibkey:
Cite (ACL):
Lance Calvin Lim Gamboa, Yue Feng, and Mark Lee. 2026. Robust Bias Evaluation with FilBBQ: A Filipino Bias Benchmark for Question-Answering Language Models. International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation, main:3996–4008.
Cite (Informal):
Robust Bias Evaluation with FilBBQ: A Filipino Bias Benchmark for Question-Answering Language Models (Gamboa et al., LREC 2026)
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PDF:
https://preview.aclanthology.org/ingest-lrec/2026.lrec-main.316.pdf