Eddie Villanueva wants side of janitress in Gretchen Diez incident be heard

Evangelist and now CIBAC party-list Representative Eddie Villanueva wants the janitress who barred trans woman Gretchen Custodio Diez from using a women's restroom in a mall in Quezon City be invited in a congressional hearing to hear her side in the incident.

In a privilege speech delivered Wednesday, Villanueva pointed out that the janitress involved in the incident has been "markedly absent" in the hearings and interviews on the matter, causing her side to be given "little, if any, attention."

He said the janitress was just doing her job for the sake of the other women present in the female comfort room.

"That is precisely why we filed House Resolution 270 yesterday, 27th of August, calling for an inquiry in aid of legislation of the Farmers Plaza mall incident with particular attention to get the side of the janitress, who side has not yet been comprehensively heard during the coverage of the incident," Villanueva said.

"We also included in our call for inquiry the other janitress present to the scene, Meriegen Mauro, and a representative of the said mall. To guarantee impartiality and objectiveness in this issue, hearing all sides of the story is a must." he added.

The discrimination incident involving Diez has sparked renewed calls for the passage of the SOGIE (sexual orientation and gender identity or expression) Equality Bill, which Villanueva vehemently opposed during his privilege speech.

According to him, the incident involving Diez could just be what should be expected if the SOGIE Equality Bill is enacted.

"If any crime indeed took place that day, let the aggrieved part file for lawsuit. It is up to the court to try the case and decide on the accused's conviction or non-conviction," he said.

"But that incident must never be a basis to railroad the passage of the SOGIE [Equality] Bill. If it should be used, let it be our Exhibit A of what a SOGIE law would mean to our society," he added.

Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman, the first transgender woman to hold a seat in Congress, responded to Villanueva's speech by urging him and their fellow lawmakers to to read the provisions in the SOGIE Equality Bill.

"Let us not be carried away by extrapolations, nor by fear, nor by very far away scenarios from other countries, but rather focus on the essence and the objective of the bill which is simply to afford fellow Filipinos the same rights when it comes to work, to study, to receive services from the government, and to access commercial and public establishments, not to be insulted in the streets," Roman said in response to Villanueva's privilege speech.

"I can say that I am proudly a member of this community and I look forward to working with Bro. Eddie Villanueva and the other so-called opponents of this bill, trying to look for a solution that will be respectful to all," she added. —KBK, GMA News