Hontiveros: Cross-dressing should be allowed as long as dress code is followed

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday said schools and other establishments and institutions should respect the right of a person to express his or her sexual identity through cross-dressing, as long as dress codes are followed.

“Kung sa isang establisimiyento, sumusunod tayo sa dress code na kunwari dito dapat pormal o dito pwedeng semi-formal, basta sumusunod tayo diyan, hindi dapat i-deny ang cross-dressing,” Hontiveros said in an Unang Balita interview on Wednesday.

Hontiveros has filed Senate Bill 1271, which seeks to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (SOGIE).

“'Yung cross-dressing po ay isang natural at lehitimong expression ng isang tao ng kanyang gender identity at kanyang sexual orientation. So ito ay isang anyo ng gender expression. At pinagbabawal po ng panukala ko na mag-diskrimina sa kanya dahil diyan sa issue ng cross-dressing,” the senator explained.

Hontiveros cited the previous cases of showbiz personalities BB Gandanghari and Inday Garutay who were both denied entry in restaurants for cross-dressing.

“Sila naman ay nakasuot pormal noon pero dahil lang nagko-cross-dress ng gabing 'yon ay dineny ng entry sa establisimiyento,” Hontiveros said.

Moreover, educational institutions should allow students to cross-dress if they want to, Hontiveros said, just as how schools express their identity through uniforms.

“'Yun namang uniporme ay expression ng identity ng institusyon ‘yan. Kahit sa ganyang institusyon ay may sinasabing pananamit ang babae at lalaki, at kung mag-cross-dress, dapat po ay respetuhin 'yan para maging komportable ang tao sa kanyang sarili,” she said.

Pacquiao: Bible does not allow it

Senator Pacquiao, meanwhile, on Wednesday remained firm in citing that the Bible does not allow cross-dressing.

"Sorry sa term ko na iyan, pero we know that the Bible says na anong gusto ng Panginoon sa atin. Kung ikaw ay lalaki, lalaki ka at kung ikaw ay babae, maging babae ka," he said in an interview on Unang Balita.

"Ang Bible pwede mong i-interpret ng literally, if you don't have the Holy Spirit. But if you have the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will give you wisdom, knowledge and understanding about what God wants us to be," Pacquiao added.

He said the same statement on Monday during his interpellation on the bill filed by Hontiveros.

“Even in the Bible, we can read na ang babae, dapat magsuot na pambabae; at ang lalaki, magsuot ng panlalaki. That’s what I believe,” Pacquiao told Hontiveros at the Senate session. —Erwin Colcol and Marlly Rome C. Bondoc/KG, GMA News