Hontiveros to push anew for SOGIE Equality bill in 19th Congress
MANILA, Philippines — Two weeks into Pride Month, Sen. Risa Hontiveros expressed her support for the LGBTQ+ community and vowed anew to champion the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression) Equality Bill in the upcoming Congress, which is set to open on July 25.
The proposed law, which has been pushed for decades, bans discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.
"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," she said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
Hontiveros, the lone opposition bet who was elected to the Senate in this year's polls, also said the measure is "practical and is in line with the Philippine Constitution."
For her, the bill ensures safe schools, access to healthcare and sufficient livelihoods for more Filipinos.
Senate records show that the measure in the Upper House or Senate Bill 1934, which Hontiveros has co-authored and sponsored, has been pending second reading since Dec. 16, 2020.
On Tuesday, Hontiveros said now is the time to heal the wounds created by the gaps in laws which allowed for bullying and violence to take place, adding that it is time to "forge a country that includes all [and] loves all."
Hontiveros: "Mga mahal, you are more than Pride Day or Pride Month. You have every right to exist as you are in the day to day. You deserve these grand celebrations, these spaces of resistance; but you also deserve the ordinary moments, sa pang araw-araw..." @PhilstarNews
— Angelica Y. Yang (@angelicajourno) June 15, 2022
"We will take this to the finish line no matter how long we have to fight with you. This victory will be sweetest because we will win it together. Let’s pride march to the future. Mabuhay ang (Long live the) LGBTQIA+ community!" she added.
RELATED: Hontiveros: SOGIE Equality bill 'best policy tool' to protect LGBT community
LGBTQ+ activist group Bahaghari welcomed Hontiveros' message of support for their community.
"[W]e have no doubts that Sen. Risa will continue to stand with the LGBTQIA+ community in our campaign for the SOGIE Equality Bill, marriage equality, human rights, and genuine equality in the country," Bahaghari Chairwoman Rey Valmores-Salinas told Philstar.com in an online message on Tuesday.
During the onset of the pandemic, LGBTQ+ people experienced several incidents of discrimination such as being accused as a carrier of COVID-19 and being excluded from the state's cash assistance program, among others, the Commission on Human Rights earlier said, citing reports from citizens.
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