Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, July 4 filed her top 10 bills which includes the Sexual, Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression and Sex Characteristics or SOGIE Equality bill and the proposed Dissolution of Marriage Act.
The SOGIE bill primarily seeks to protect members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and ensures equal treatment in educational institutions, workplaces, access to services, for people of diverse SOGIESC.
Hontiveros pushed for the passage of the SOGIE bill in the Senate during the 18th Congress but it failed to hurdle third and final reading.
“I’m ready to get back to work. We will use this 19th Congress to carve the runway to pass the SOGIE Equality Bill at long last. We will use this as a fresh opportunity to renew and prioritize our fight for ALL sexualities and genders,” Hontiveros had earlier said during the recent celebration of Pride Month.
The senator, likewise, renewed her push for the passage of the bill on dissolution of marriage. The bill primarily introduces divorce as a means to dissolve marriage between Filipino citizens.
Other bills she filed include the anti-hospital detention bill, a universal social pension for senior citizens, “Bantay Dagat” Welfare and Incentives Act, and the Rights of Nature Act of 2022.
Hontiveros also renewed her push for the Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Act of 2022, the anti-endo (end of contract) and contracting law, the Philippine Rise Marine Resource Preservation (PRMMR) Act and maternity benefits for women in the informal economy act.
The proposed PRMMR seeks to declare a portion of the Philippine Rise (Benham Rise) as a protected area with the category of marine resource reserve, prohibits the destruction of wildlife therein, and lays down policies for the conservation, management and utilization of the same.
In pushing for maternity benefits for women in the informal economy, Hontiveros said is seeking a maternity benefit equivalent to two months of the prevailing minimum wage for pregnant women workers in the informal sector.
Hontiveros also said the bill seeking to provide free dialysis for senior citizens mandates PhilHealth to provide the free dialysis sessions for them.
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