Palace: Duterte to back anti-discrimination measure, won’t certify SOGIE bill as urgent

President Rodrigo Duterte will back an anti-discrimination measure instead of certifying the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE) Equality bill as urgent, Malacañang said Wednesday. 

Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the clarification after the President on Tuesday vowed to expedite the passage of the SOGIE bill.

“He was referring to an anti-discrimination bill, not SOGIE bill, much like the anti-discrimination ordinance existing in Davao passed when he was still the mayor there,” Panelo said in a message to reporters.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said earlier Wednesday he got clarification that Duterte will certify as urgent not the SOGIE bill but a more general anti-discrimination bill.

Panelo agreed with Sotto that an anti-discrimination bill that is not focused on one sector of the society should be pushed.

"Dapat talaga broader audience, otherwise baka may problema ka sa class legislation as correctly pointed out by Senator Sotto," he said in an interview on CNN Philippines. "Hindi ka pupuwedeng mag-legislate for a particular class lang, eh nagdi-discriminate ka."

Panelo also said the LGBT community should not be disappointed by the Palace's position on SOGIE bill.

"Bakit naman madi-disappoint sila? Kapag anti-discrimination bill, which is in an enlarged version of whatever bill you have in mind, eh di sasama din sila doon," he said.

SOGIE bill

The SOGIE bill prohibits discrimination of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgenders (LGBT) in the workplace and educational institutions.

Certifying the bill as urgent would allow the Senate and the House of Representatives to approve the measure on second and third reading on the same day.

The bill's versions in both houses remain pending at the committee level.

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier urged her colleagues to immediately pass the SOGIE bill, following the incident last month when a transgender woman, Gretchen Diez, was prevented from using a female restroom in a mall in Quezon City.

Hontiveros said the experience of Diez underscored the urgent need for a SOGIE law.

Three senators — Leila de Lima, Duterte’s former top aide Christopher “Bong” Go and Imee Marcos — have expressed support for the bill. —KG/RSJ, GMA News