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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider House panel OKs consolidation of Sogie bills

House panel OKs consolidation of Sogie bills

Published Mar 7, 2023 06:44 am
The absence of CIBAC Party-list Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva, an evangelist and president-founder of the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Movement, led to a House panel approving the consolidation of several Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression (Sogie) bills, as well as the creation of the technical working group (TWG). During a hearing by the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality, headed by Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman, on Tuesday, March 7, the proposed Sogie measure took a step forward even amid apprehensions from religious groups and some members of Congress.  The TWG, which will discuss the bill in earnest, will have six members—three representatives who support the bill and three opposing it. It is slated to be headed by Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party-list Rep. France Castro.  Dindi Tan, LGBT Pilipinas national president, expressed support for Roman’s House Bill (HB) No. 222.  “For the longest time, we have seen that there are many cases of discrimination happening all throughout the country . . . it is now time we should stop talking and it is time to act on this. This has been languishing in Congress for more than 22 years and counting,” she told lawmakers.  Last month, drama ensued in the House of Representatives after it tackled the Sogie Bill for the first time under the Marcos administration.  Villanueva walked out after his request to defer the meeting was denied. After which, he alleged that the meeting was illegal and was tantamount to “forum shopping.” Despite the evangelist-congressman’s absence on Tuesday’s hearing, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante expressed dismay against being branded as “discriminatory” because he is against the Sogie Bill. “Are you trying to say because people, for example myself, do not support the Sogie Bill that I’m discriminatory?,” he asked Tan. “We are not discriminatory. We might be against Sogie, but we are not discriminatory of because I’m even one of the principal authors of the anti-discrimination bill,” the lawmaker maintained, referring to the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill he has filed. Reverend Mars Rodriguez of the Foursquare Church Philippines also expressed support for Abante.  “Our group is against Sogie because we believe it can lead to other issues that could be discriminatory against people like us,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English. The pastor maintained that his Church isn’t discriminatory and that it is for “equal treatment.” Remaining predominantly Catholic, the Sogie Bill has languished in Congress for decades as faith-based groups work against its passing. The proposed measures consolidated are House Bills (HBs) 222, 460, 3418, 4277, 5551, 6003, and 7036, “Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristic and providing penalties for violation thereof,” by Reps. Roman, Juan Carlos ‘Arjo’ Atayde, Antonio Legarda Jr., Christopher De Venecia, Arlene Brosas, Patrick Michael Vargas, and Edwin Olivarez.  Also to be included in the consolidated version of the bill is HB 3702, “Establishing help and protection desks for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual, asexual, and individuals of various sexual and gender orientations in all Philippine National Police (PNP) stations, amending for the purpose Title VII of RA 8551, as amended, otherwise known as the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998,” by Batangas 6th District Rep. Ralph Recto.
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