Every Wednesday we met, bringing with us chichirria and our good cheer. We knew this was a Catholic country, with leaders in the grip of theocracy. But we were young, we were brave, and we knew that it had to be done.
The lesbian and gay lawyers, teachers, and NGO workers met for three months. We wrote and discussed and polished, keeping in mind a bill that should be short but comprehensive. I said that we should focus on human rights. We should avoid provisions pertaining to same-sex marriage and such. We should only fight battles that we can win.
Thus was born our Anti-Discrimination Bill that seeks to penalize discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We even formed a group called Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy for Congress, or Lagablab, to shepherd this cause into the legislative mill.
The party-list group Akbayan, bless its soul, took up the bill and Rep. Etta Rosales filed it in the 12th Congress. It promptly vanished in the cracks of Congress. Rep. Rosales re-filed it in the 13th Congress, and the Committee on Human Rights summoned all of us for a hearing.
We went, we presented concise position papers, and the committee unanimously approved it. Etta was there, as well as the Bayan representatives, and my friend Rep. Nereus Acosta, and they all pushed for the bill. It was then sent to the Technical Committee of Congress for final revision. It was finally approved in a plenary session in February 2004.
But we only had two weeks to badger Senate for a counterpart bill, which would then go to Malacañang for signature. The senators hemmed and hawed, and then the Senate recessed for the May 2004 elections. True to form, Rep. Rosales filed it again for the third time as House Bill 634. Last May 10, the Committee on Human Rights approved it.
What About The Senate Version?
Lo and behold, not just one, but two senators have filed counterpart bills. Senators Bong Revilla and Miriam Defensor-Santiago have filed their own versions of the bill. Thus, with two senators allied with our cause in the Senate, the bill that we first set into motion in 1998 – or seven years ago – just might make it this time.
Jonas Bagas, co-secretary general of Lagablab, drafted this statement on the Anti-Discrimination Bill. I want to share excerpts with the many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers of the Philippine STAR.
"The full and free exercise of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms is in itself a recognized right. This is articulated in the Constitution, as stated in the Bill of Rights (Article 3) that grants equal protection under the law. Article 13 also mandates Congress to give priority to the enactment of measures that protect human rights and dignity. The enjoyment of one’s rights and freedoms is also recognized by many international human-rights conventions and agreements that the Philippines has signed, such as the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
"However, despite these commitments and constitutional guarantees, certain sectors still encounter difficulty in exercising and enjoying what are accorded to them as human beings. This is evident in the case of the Filipino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sector, one of the most visible, trivialized, and abused sectors in the country.
"According to a survey done by the Social Weather Stations in 1996 and 2001, Filipinos held largely negative attitudes towards lesbians and gays. Many Filipinos consider being gay and lesbian as a condition that can never be justified. About a quarter to a third of the respondents said that they would rather not have gay men or lesbians as neighbors. Imagine how this attitude translates to their treatment of lesbians and gays in their families, or places of work.
"Put a face to this hatred against homosexuals, and you would hear stories of discrimination and abuse that lesbians and gays encounter. These stories range from the ironic to the harrowing, from the violent to the demeaning. In the course of our work, we have encountered people whose life stories pain even the most unwavering among us."
Meanwhile, Piolo Pascual gets a going-over in Metro Him, with articles on lifestyle and grooming, nutrition and well-being. The layout is good and the editing tight, but I wish there were articles on the state of lesbian and gay advocacy in the country, or even of things Filipino. After all, you can only read so many snippets about designer watches and flip-flops, right?
Be that as it may, go and buy the latest Icon and Metro Him. They just prove that the cutest Asians are right here, right now, before our very eyes.