Despite the "Bagong Pilipinas" branding of the Marcos administration, the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face the same challenges, while the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality bill, which has been hanging in the Congress for over two decades already, has yet to be enacted.
The Marcos administration recently has included this Tuesday, June 25, new measures to the list of its top priorities for passage in Congress; however, measures on anti SOGIESC-based discrimination remain excluded despite it being the longest-running bill in the country.
The five new priority bills are:
- Amendments to the Foreign Investors' Long-Term Lease Act
- Amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law
- Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act
- Reforms to the Philippine Capital Markets
- Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law
Earlier this month, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero expressed that the SOGIESC Equality bill will continue to face difficulties in the Senate, unless some amendments are made. Similarly, Sen. Joel voiced his opposition to the SOGIESC bill last year, arguing that an anti-discrimination bill should cover all sectors rather than focusing on a single group.
However, proponents of the bill already clarified that it is already inclusive to all as everyone has their own SOGIESC. They also argued that the need for the SOGIESC Equality bill stems from the heteronormative society that already protects heterosexuals.
What happened in the span of 20 years?
The first version of the SOGIE Equality Bill was introduced in 2000 by the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and former Akbayan Representative Loretta Rosales during the 11th Congress. Similar versions of the bill were filed anew by Santiago in the 14th and 15th Congress, which was known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill of 2007 and the Anti-Sexual Orientation Discrimination bill respectively; however, they reached the committee level only.
Solons from the 13th to 16th Congress repeatedly attempted to file similar measures, but none achieved success.
In the 17th Congress, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 4982 with a landslide vote of 197-0. It made history as the first anti-discrimination bill based on SOGIESC to be approved by the chamber.
However, its senate counterpart first filed by Hontiveros in 2016 faced a period of interpolations for three years, making it the longest-running bill in the country in May 2019. Hontiveros expressed regret, noting that no other bill had been delayed and subjected to such a lengthy period of interpellations.
Come the 18th Congress, the bill faced yet again opposition when then-Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III claimed that it is unlikely to pass in the Senate, deeming it redundant and unnecessary.
The Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality passed another version of the bill in December 2022; however, its second reading was delayed after then-Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva reverted the bill to the committee level. He cited concerns of religious groups who claimed they were not consulted enough.
Nearly a year after its approval at the committee level of the House of Representatives, the bill reached plenary discussions last May of this year.
The need for legislative protection
The murder of Jennifer Laude in 2014 by the US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton prompted discussions on the urgency of legislating anti-discrimination measures based on SOGIESC. But after five years of being held captive, Pemberton was given an absolute pardon by the former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The LGBTQIA+ community is also continuously receiving scathing remarks. When asked for his stand on same-sex marriage, then-senatorial candidate for 2016 elections Manny Pacquiao labeled same-sex couples "mas masahol pa sa hayop."
In 2019, Gretchen Custodio Diez, a transgender woman, was arrested and detained at a police station for 11 hours after attempting to use the women's restroom at Farmer's Plaza in the Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City.
LGBTQIA+ students also report experiencing discrimination in schools. In March of this year, the Eulogio 'Amang' Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) came under fire for forcing its transgender students to cut their hair before allowing them to enroll.
"Hindi ito deserve ng kahit na sino. Hindi ito deserve ng bawat estudyante na tanggalan sila ng karapatan dahil lang pinili nilang maging totoo sa mga sarili nila. Walang estudyante na deserving na tanggalan ng karapatan sa dekalidad na edukasyon dahil lang sa kaniyang kasarian," JP Brillantes of BAHAGHARI EARIST said.
Before the end of 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order 51 to create a special committee on LGBTQIA+ affairs.
However, advocates were not delighted by the order as they deem it "toothless." According to them, the administration should have heeded the demands of the community for an actual law, instead of creating a special government body "led by officials who are not experts in gender equality and human rights."
Local ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of SOGIESC have already been enacted in different municipalities and cities, such as Quezon City, Manila, Cebu City, among others. But advocates still push for a national law that would cover places with no such ordinances.
Meanwhile, Marc Eric Reyes, president of the Psychological Association of the Philippines, highlighted that LGBTQ+ individuals facing stigma, discrimination, and violence due to their SOGIE often endure lifelong impacts on their mental health and well-being.
"The experience of other countries shows that policies and legislation promoting equal rights and prohibiting discrimination can reduce stigma based on SOGIE and lead to better mental and physical health. Anti-discrimination legislation is associated with decreased risk for psychological and physical health problems and improved well-being among LGBT+ individuals," said Reyes.
Pride for liberation
"Ang PRIDE ay hindi lamang rainbows and confetti; ang PRIDE ay hindi lamang concert at selebrasyon; ito ay isang paglaban—isang protesta tungo sa ganap na kalayaan ng mga uring napagsasamantalahan," Ulap Baylon, the Secretary-General of Bahaghari PUP said.
Miss Kim Modelo, the first-ever transgender woman Student Regent of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines System pointed out that the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community are not detached from the struggles of the masses.
"Sa ilalim ng malakolonyal malapyudal na sistemang panlipunan ng Pilipinas higit na kailangang palakasin at magkaisa ng LGBTQIA+ community, lalo na sa panahong sagad-sagarang macho-pyudal na si Marcos, Jr. ang presidente na sa lipunan ay nagpapalaganap ng kultura ng diskriminasyon, at gobyerno mismo ang siyang humaharang sa pagpasa at pagpapatupad ng SOGIE Equality Bill," Modelo asserted.
This Pride Month, the LGBTQIA+ community vowed not only to fight for the SOGIESC bill alone, but also for their democratic rights all the while opposing policies that are not mass-oriented.
"For these reasons, the LGBTQIA+ community will not hold back this Pride month in asserting our demands: democratic rights and protection through the SOGIESC Equality Bill, inclusive spaces and dignified wages through minimum wage increases across the board, and a new Philippine framework towards a genuinely independent foreign policy," she said.
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