Geraldine Roman favors gender-neutral bathrooms as temporary solution

Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman on Thursday said she was in favor of gender-neutral bathrooms as a temporary solution as they are more practical.

"Kasi if... to be accepted as "real women" in society will take long. There has to be a change in the outlook of people. I know that's not something that we can control really," Roman told GMA News Online.

"It's an immediate solution for a problem that already exists. I cannot wait until there is a change in mentality in people [...] So I'm just looking for an immediate solution. This will be temporary," she added.

Roman, the first transgender politician elected in the country, was invited as the first speaker in the 'Notables at AIM' speaker series.

It was spearheaded by the Asian Institute Management Master of Business Management Batch 1995 at Makati.

Several companies have begun establishing gender-neutral bathrooms after transgender woman Gretchen Diez was not allowed to use the women's bathroom in a shopping mall.

Roman said the use of bathrooms should not be an issue.

She added that she did not understand why others would feel threatened as women use individual cubicles.

"Now if you want to be overly sensitive, that's a conscious decision. To discriminate or just finding an excuse to discriminate. You won't find out, really. So why is it difficult for us to be kind? [...] What about basic human kindness?" Roman said.

She also rejected the idea of men dressing up as women to enter female bathrooms.

"Yung sinasabi nila na mayroong lalaki na magpapanggap na trans? Alam mo yung mga manyak, hindi na magbibihis babae yan. Kung gusto nilang manakit ng babae, they'll just do it. And definitely, I don't think they'll do it in the bathroom," she said.

The lawmaker admitted that she questioned the country's acceptance of members of the LGBT community after Diez was detained.

"You know, they say that the Philippines is a very tolerant country. They say that LGBT people are already accepted in our country, but I have to question that," Roman said in a forum. — BAP, GMA News