​Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña is calling on his colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass a gender-inclusive legislation similar to the one passed by the Quezon City government.

Cendaña on Monday, July 14, lauded Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte's passage of an ordinance, that sought to institutionalize a local transgender-inclusive healthcare system.

Under the measure, public health facilities are required to offer the following: gender-affirming consultations and counseling, medical guidance and referrals to specialized services and mental health support tailored to gender-diverse and transgender individuals.

​The ordinance also prohibits all forms of conversion therapy and SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics) suppression practices, and declares them harmful and unlawful within the city's jurisdiction.

"Every year, Mayor Joy continues to redefine what inclusive governance should look like. Where others hesitate, she acts with certainty, compassion, and pride," Cendaña, who was among the lawmakers who pushed for the SOGIE Equality Bill in the previous 19th Congress, said.

​"This landmark victory paves the way for the inclusion of trans people not just in healthcare, but within all social institutions they have been historically excluded from," he added.

Cendaña ​urged not only the Congress ​but also other local government units (LGUs) to pass inclusive ordinances that will protect and address the needs of the queer community​.

“Napag-iiwanan na tayo​ (We've been left behind). For more than 20 years, our calls have been falling on deaf ears—o sa mga nagbibingi-bingihan lang talaga​ (or on those who are just playing deaf). We hope Quezon City's compassion move other LGUs to follow its lead, and sway even the most indifferent voices in Congress to vote ‘Yes’ to equality​," he said.