Hontiveros slams delay of SOGIE Equality bill; insists LGBTQIA+ rights an urgent matter

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, June 7 criticized anew attempts to delay the passage of the proposed Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) bill. Hontiveros made the remark after Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva announced that the measure is still under the Committee on Rules. [Villanueva had also said that the measure is not a priority of the Senate at this time, as it is not in the list of bills that have been certified urgent by Malacañang.](https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/6/not-an-urgent-measure-villanueva-says-of-sogie-equality-bill) “It is sheer numbness to say that the SOGIE Equality Bill is not urgent,” Hontiveros said in a statement. “Bigyan natin ng hustisya ang ating mga kababayang hindi malayang nakakapamuhay dahil lang sa kasarian nila (Let's give justice to our countrymen who are not able to live freely just because of their gender),” she said. “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 (Students who are bullied because of their SOGIE, denied medical services, and denied full employment benefits due to discrimination are repeatedly in the news),” added the senator. Hontiveros, head of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equalty, said she expects 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? (The Maharlika Bill that was presented in the Senate only once, but which is not needed at this time, was passed immediately. Why are they blocking the SOGIESC bill that has been there for so long),” she pointed out. Hontiveros lamented that the SOGIESC bill has been languishing in Congress for over two decades already. “Dalawang dekada na walang proteksyon ang ating mga kababayang miyembro ng (Our fellow LGBTQ+ community members have been without protection for two decades) LGBTQ+ community. Let us not forget that they are our fellow human beings and citizens, too,” she stressed.