How the SOGIE Equality Bill fared in the House in the 17th Congress

Calls for the passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill have been renewed following the discrimination experienced by trans woman Gretchen Custodio Diez in a mall last Tuesday.

Diez ended up in a heated exchange with a member of the mall's sanitation staff, who stopped her from using the women's restroom. Diez was later handcuffed by a guard and brought to the police station after she recorded their confrontation on video. 

A complaint for unjust vexation was supposed to be filed against Diez, but this was eventually dropped.

Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman, a trans woman herself, vehemently condemned the incident and vowed to push for the passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill in the House in the 18th Congress.

"I want to tell the critics of the SOGIE Equality bill, stop na ang pagde-demonize ng SOGIE Equality Bill. The SOGIE Equality Bill is not same-sex marriage, it is not infringement of your religious liberties," Roman said at an earlier press conference.

"SOGIE Equality Bill is simply protecting fellow Filipinos who happen to be LGBT from discrimination at the workplace, in schools, in receiving government services and access to commercial and public establishments. 'Yun lang 'yun," she added.

In the 17th Congress, the SOGIE Equality Bill, then numbered House Bill 4982, was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives.

During its plenary session on September 20, 2017, all lawmakers present voted for the approval of the measure on third and final reading.

The passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill in the House last Congress, however, was not a walk in the park. As early as June 2016, several measures seeking to protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination have been filed.

Overall, it took 11 bills to form the SOGIE Equality Bill in the House in the 17th Congress and 15 months before it was approved on final reading—all in the name of gender equality and acceptance.

Below is the timeline of the SOGIE Equality Bill in the House of Representatives in the 17th Congress.

June 30 - November 16, 2016

Eleven measures seeking to prohibit discrimination among LGBT Filipinos were filed at the House of Representatives:

• House Bill 51 by then-Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao
• House Bill 267 by Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman
• House Bill 949 by then-Manila Representative Rosenda Ann Ocampo
• House Bill 1034 by then-Quezon City Representative Winston Castelo
• House Bill 1108 by then-Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr.
• House Bill 1451 by then-1-Ang Edukasyon party-list Representative Salvador Belaro
• House Bill 1854 by Laguna Representative Sol Aragones
• House Bill 3245 by then-Bulacan Representative Linabelle Villarica
• House Bill 3701 by then-DIWA party-list Representative Emmeline Aglipay-Villar
• House Bill 4414 by Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate

February 7, 2017

After its hearings, the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality approved House Bill 4982, as contained in Committee Report 101, as a substitute for the 11 bills above.

The committee report was referred to the Committee on Rules the following day and was calendared for plenary deliberations on February 15, 2017.

March 14, 2017

The period of sponsorship for House Bill 4982 began. The sponsors of the measure were Aglipay-Villar, chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equality, Bag-ao, Roman, and Aragones.

August 22, 2017

The period of interpellations for House Bill 4982 began. Those who made their interpellations were Akbayan party-list Representative Tom Villarin and Buhay party-list Representative Lito Atienza. It was also on this day that the period of individual amendments began.

September 13, 2017

The period of individual amendments for House Bill 4982 continued. Those who made amendments were Bag-ao and Atienza.

House Bill 4982 was approved on second reading.

September 20, 2017

With a vote at least 197 in the affirmative, zero in the negative, and zero abstain votes, House Bill 4982 was approved on third and final reading.

October 3, 2017

House Bill 4982 was transmitted to the Senate for their own deliberations. The upper chamber received the measure on the same day.

— BM, GMA News