SOGIE bill not urgent? Risa says it’s sheer numbness to say so

Senator Risa Hontiveros said it was “sheer numbness” to say that the proposed Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) bill is not urgent.

The sponsor of the SOGIESC bill made the statement a day after Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said there was no urgency in the passage of the measure, saying an anti-discrimination bill should cover all sectors of society.

"'Yung Maharlika Bill nga na isang beses lang inihain sa Senado, na hindi naman kailangan sa ngayon, naipasa agad. Bakit yung SOGIE bill na napakatagal nang nandiyan, hinaharangan?” Hontiveros said.

“Dalawang dekada na walang proteksyon ang ating mga kababayang miyembro ng LGBTQ+ community. Let us not forget that they are our fellow human beings and citizens, too,” she added.

Hontiveros said the measure was necessary as there are individuals who are still being discriminated against due to their gender identity and sexual orientation.

“Bigyan natin ng hustisya ang ating mga kababayang hindi malayang nakakapamuhay dahil lang sa kasarian nila. Paulit-ulit sa balita ang mga mag-aaral na nabubully dahil sa kanilang SOGIE, mga napagkakaitan ng serbisyong medikal, at hindi nakakakuha ng ganap na benepisyo sa trabaho dahil sa diskriminasyon,” Hontiveros said.

She noted that the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), which she said is not necessary this time, was passed immediately by the chamber yet the anti-discrimination bill is still “languishing in Congress for over two decades.

“I expect that the bill will be allowed to go through the proper legislative process, according to the rules of the Senate. Yung Maharlika Bill nga na isang beses lang inihain sa Senado, na hindi naman kailangan sa ngayon, naipasa agad. Bakit yung SOGIE bill na napakatagal nang nandiyan, hinaharangan?” she went on.

“Dalawang dekada na walang proteksyon ang ating mga kababayang miyembro ng LGBTQ+ community. Let us not forget that they are our fellow human beings and citizens, too,” she added.

Responding to Hontiveros, Villanueva explained anew that several senators wanted an anti-discrimination bill that will cover all sectors and not only the LGBT.

“I love the LGBT community. [I] am super close to Paul Cabral, Boy Abunda, super proud hairdresser ko si Alex Carbonell for many many years! Who wants to be discriminated? Discrimination is pure evil! So let’s extend this right against discrimination to all sectors,” Villanueva said in a Viber message to reporters.

“Ang lumalakad [nang] matulin, kung matinik ay malalim #JustSaying,” he added.

In December last year, Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, released Committee Report No. 15 under Senate Bill 1600 in substitution of three bills seeking to prohibit discrimination on the basis of SOGIESC.

However, it was not sponsored in the Senate plenary due to opposition from several religious groups and various sectors. This prompted the body to remand the committee report to the committee of rules, which Villanueva chairs being the majority leader.

SB 1600, or the SOGIESC Equality Bill, prohibits discriminatory practices on the basis of SOGIESC, such as refusing admission to or expelling a person from any educational or training institution; imposing disciplinary sanctions harsher than customary that infringe on the rights of students; and refusing or revoking the accreditation of organizations, groups, political parties, or institutions.

It recommends a penalty of not less than P100,000 but not more than P250,000 or imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years for individuals who would commit such discriminatory practices. —NB, GMA Integrated News