'Stop discrimination now'
Hontiveros renews call to pass SOGIE Equality Bill

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday renewed her call to pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill or the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill in the 19th Congress.

"Ilang dekada nang nakatengga ang panukalang ito sa Kongreso. Ilang administrasyon na ang nakalipas, hindi parin nabibigyan ng buong proteksyon ang ating mga kababayang nakakaranas ng diskriminasyon ng dahil lang sa kanilang kasarian. Kailangan nating maintindihan at tanggapin na sentro sa usaping ito ay ang isyu ng diskriminasyon. Malalim na nakaugat na diskriminasyon. You and I know that we have to make this stop. We, as a society, have to make it right," Hontiveros said.

During the SOGIE Equality Bill hearing last Monday, the senator, who authored and sponsored the measure in the 17th Congress, said that the LGBTQIA+ sector has long suffered from numerous incidents of harassment, discrimination, and violence. Recently, there have been several posts on social media, particularly of LGBTQIA+ students lamenting the exclusion and discrimination they experience in school.

"Kamakailan lang, may kumalat na social media post ni Dylan Silva, isang LGBT student mula sa Cavite State University na nag-suot ng necktie sa graduation photo. Sinabihan daw siya na hindi iflaflash ang litrato habang nagmamartsa dahil bawal daw ang cross-dressing. Sa kanyang post, ipinahayag niya ang kanyang pagkadismaya at naghingi pa ng patawad sa mga magulang niya," Hontiveros shared.

"Experiences like Dylan's can have a lasting and damaging impact on people's identity and sense of self. The passage of the SOGIE Bill is a crucial next step to clearly show that our laws can protect and defend every single Filipino no matter our gender," Hontiveros added.

In 2016, the Senate, for the first time, heard the bill. This came 17 years after the very first Anti-Discrimination Bill was filed in Congress.

"After 23 years since the first bill was filed, we look forward in hope that we will finally pass a law that ensures that LGBTQIA+ people enjoy the same rights that non-LGBTQIA+ enjoy. It is my distinct honor to shepherd the passage of this bill, a bill whose time has come. We owe this bill to the LGBTQIA+ community and to every Filipino who wishes to live in a kinder, more equal Philippines," Hontiveros concluded.