The House Committee on Women and Gender Equality has approved a substitute bill for a Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Bill.
This was confirmed by Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas in a statement on Tuesday after the committee deliberated on the technical working group report.
"We, in the Gabriela Women's Party, laud the committee approval of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Bill. This is a step towards the long-overdue enactment of a legislation which will prohibit all forms of discrimination and harassment against the LGBTQIA+ community," Brosas said.
"Naninindigan kami na karapatan ng bawat miyembro ng LGBTQIA+ na makatamasa ng pantay na karapatan sa edukasyon, trabaho, serbisyong kalusugan, at iba pa ng walang takot at pangamba. Taliwas sa sinasabi ng mga kritiko, ang SOGIESC Equality Bill ay hindi sagka sa kagustuhan natin na magkaroon ng pagkakapantay-pantay sa ating lipunan, bagkus, ito ay isang malaking ambag sa ating adhikain na isulong ang karapatan ng bawat Pilipino ano man ang kasarian," he added.
According to Brosas, the report consolidated House Bills No. 222, 460, 3418, 3702, 4277, 5551, 6003, and 7036, and other proposed measures aiming to ban discrimination of people on the basis of their SOGIESC.
Brosas also shared a copy of the approved bill to the media which stated that discrimination on the grounds of a person’s SOGIESC intersecting or compounded by other grounds and factors such as age, racial or ethnic origin, religious belief or activity, political inclination or conviction, social class, economic status, marital or relationship status, disability, HIV status, health status or medical history, language, physical features, or other status shall be considered a discriminatory practice.
The lawmaker hopes both chambers of Congress "will heed the call of the Filipino people" by passing the bill to address the "long-standing discrimination against LGBTQIA+ in Philippine society."
National LGBTQIA+ alliance Bahaghari also welcomed the approval of the (SOGIESC) Equality Bill by the Committee on Women and Gender Equality in the Lower House.
"The House committee's approval of the SOGIESC bill is a step in the right direction, driven by the loud clamor of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. We urge our legislators in both chambers of Congress to continue towards this path and finally pass the two-decade-old bill," Clarice General, secretary-general of Bahaghari, said in a statement.
