Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, September 20, renewed her call to pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill, or the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE) Equality bill.
The senator said harassment, discrimination, and violence continue to be part of the lives of LGBTQIA+ Filipinos.
Hontiveros cited social media posts, particularly of LGBTQIA+ students, lamenting the exclusion and discrimination they experience in school.
For instance, officials of Cavite State University warned Dylan Silva, an LGBTA, that her photo would not be shown on screen during the graduation ceremonies because she was wearing a necktie.
“Experiences like Dylan’s can have a lasting and damaging impact on people’s identity and sense of self,” said Hontiveros.
She said the passage of the SOGIE bill “is a crucial next step to clearly show that our laws can protect and defend every single Filipino no matter our gender.”
In 2016, the Senate heard the bill for the first time, 17 years after the very first Anti-Discrimination Bill was filed in Congress.
A similar bill was filed in the Senate by the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and former Akbayan Representative Loretta Ann Rosales in the House of Representatives.
“After 23 years since the first bill was filed, we look forward in hope that we will finally pass a law that ensures that LGBTQIA+ people enjoy the same rights that non-LGBTQIA+ enjoy,” said Hontiveros.
“We owe this bill to the LGBTQIA+ community and to every Filipino who wishes to live in a kinder, more equal Philippines,” said the senator.
Senator Robinhood “Robin” Padilla, meanwhile, said there is no room in the Philippines for gender-based discrimination against anyone as it is guaranteed in the Constitution.
He said that it is clear in the basic law of the land that “there is no favoring of one gender over another.”
“The Constitution is clear that all Filipinos are equal, not only in the eyes of God but also in the eyes of the law,” said Padilla.
