SOGIE bill won't pass in Senate? Palace says up to lawmakers to decide

Malacañang on Thursday insisted that the passage of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Equality bill would depend on the members of Congress.

“We always say that the wisdom of enacting a law will have to be dependent on the lawmakers themselves,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a news conference.

Panelo gave the reaction after Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Wednesday said there is "no chance" the bill will pass in the chamber.

In a message to reporters, Sotto said the chamber could pass an anti-discrimination bill but not one that is focused on members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Calls for the passage of the SOGIE bill, which has been languishing in Congress for more than two decades, came after Gretchen Diez, a transgender woman, was barred on August 13 from using the women's restroom of a mall in Quezon City and was even handcuffed and arrested by the police.

It was the mall’s janitress who prevented Diez from entering the women's restroom and insisted that she use the men's restroom instead.

Diez, along with LGBT advocates, had a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday in Malacañang during which the chief executive reportedly vowed to work with both houses of Congress to push for the passage of the SOGIE bill that would protect the rights of individuals against discrimination.

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, who was present in the meeting, mentioned that one of the proposals that was also discussed in the meeting is the possibility of creating a commission for LGBT pending the enactment of a SOGIE law.

Go also said the government was planning to hold a national convention, together with LGBT groups to serve as a venue for the members of the community to raise their concerns and for the government to come up with policy proposal to promote and protect their welfare. —KBK, GMA News