TACLOBAN CITY – To advance the fundamental rights of same-sex couples, the provincial government of Biliran aims to secure equal access to medical rights and asset sharing.
"A lot of things happen to the LGBT community when they get hospitalized, their long-time partners could not decide during emergency health situations because they are not married. We will try to clarify and solve this before the year ends," Gov. Gerard Roger Espina said.
Espina added that they have proposed to provide a program that will give long-time partners an option to represent his or her partners on medical urgent decisions like a special power of attorney for medical concerns.
"We propose to assist our long-term couples through a signed agreement between both parties to be allowed to decide on such matters. Of course, with consent from the couple."
"Once implemented, this will be another innovation from Biliran that will give additional options to our long-standing LGBTQIA couples in our communities," he said, citing that every step towards a more inclusive future counts.