SOGIE is unwanted

74% studes disaffirm bill

By: Renel P. Fuentes

Filamerians SHS what they see on the social media

students voiced out their without probing on the real deal of
objection to the Sexual the bill,” Mr. Jose Erwin Borbon,
Orientation, Gender Identity and adviser of THES shared.
Expression (SOGIE) bill with In addition to this, majority
74% saying ‘NO’ through a of the teachers from the SHS also
survey conducted by The Hillside posed disapproval of the bill.
Echo- Senior (THES), Oct. 10 “It’s unwanted. There are
With the goal to unmask more necessary programs that
the views and stand of Filamerians needed public attention rather than
on SOGIE bill, 100 respondents the SOGIE bill which is expected to
were inquired during the survey to be scraped off the grip,” Mr. Roli
which they were divided based on Keith Aguirre, advser of THSE and
their sex and grade level; 50 males a SHS teacher, lamented
from both Grades 11 and 12 and 50 Authored by Rep.
females also from both Grades 11 Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, Rep.
and 12. Kaka Bag-o and Rep. Geraldine
Upon the entrance of the Roman, the bill intends to prevent
bill to the legislation, it was various economic and public
questioned by the legislators in accommodation-related acts of
several sessions and received discrimination against people based
backlashes from the majority of on their sexual orientation, gender
Filipinos especially in social media identity or expression.
including Filamerians.
According to one
respondent, the bill is irrelevant and
demanding as it seeks to give the
LGBTQ+ community utmost
freedom which could somehow be
too much if the bill becomes a law.
“SOGIE with its good
intention to end gender-based
discrimination is somehow with
substance in our society especially
that decimation is palpable,” said
one respondent who affirmed the
bill.
Meanwhile, only 26
asserted full awareness of the bill
while the rest were less informed
about its contention.
“Most of our students are
misinformed, unaware or
unconscious about the bill which led
them to not be firm with their stands
on the issue. They usually believe
CYC prexy to leave post after 2 years
by: Christine May Osental & Princess Diane Garcia
With a good track record
in her two-year career as the
president of Chapter Youth
Council of Red Cross – Capiz,
Janine Limjuco is set to leave her
post on December having
accomplished and achieved
milestones in her leadership.
A Grade 12 Humanities
and Social Sciences student of FCU,
Limjuco started her career as a
member of Red Cross Youth
through the influence of her friends
to join the annual camp at school
during her 9th grade at the age of 16,
without expecting that the camp
would ignite her interest for
volunteering.
"I literally had no
experience when it comes to the
responsibility of a chapter youth
Council member. Let alone be the
president in merely 2 years of
volunteering in Red Cross youth,
not only I was the president of the
whole RCY in Capiz, I am also one
of the board of directors of the
Philippine Red Cross - Capiz
chapter,” Limjuco said.
Since Philippine Red Cross
consists of 10% paid staff and the
90% are pure workforce volunteers,
according to her, the biggest lesson
she had learned on being a leader is
to being patient in volunteering.
"In order to maintain the
harmonious relationship among the
members of the organization, we
should value respect each other. The
volunteers are not paid so you don't
have the right to degrade them. And
also gratitude, be grateful to the
things that a volunteer has done
because their services are free and a
simple act of gratitude will make
their day," she added.
According to Limjuco, she
oftentimes skip school to attend
board meetings, seminars, and “The lesson that I learned
camping without sacrificing her is that you don't have to be perfect
academics since it is important for to become a good student leader, a
her to manage her time both as a good student leader makes room for
student and as leader. errors for it will provide you
"My strength is knowing learnings, knowledge is power," she
that you are a part of a humanitarian proudly said.
movement and you are able to help Limjuco is auspicious that
your community in every way as the next person to assume her post
possible. While my weakness is will likely continue her legacy and
being a student and a leader at the will achieve more
same time where you are expected accomplishments.
to do well as a leader and as a
student,” she expressed.
According to her, there is
no room for error as in her case
having an important role in Red
Cross and no chance for her failing
her classes for she do not want
others think that volunteering is
hindering her academic
performance.
Despite of the difficulties
that she had encountered, Limjuco
remained determined to continue on
being a leader because of the
motivation she receives from the
people she described wonderful
who inspired her to work hard and
who shared the same passion as her.
"I will be forever grateful
and I offer my achievements to all
of you. Until our next journey in
volunteering. My experience in my
presidency in RYC was full of
surprises as it was full of
unfortunate events. But my
experience in Red Cross molded me
to become who I am today. It made
me 10 times better.
Limjuco, a Filamerian
since her kindergarten, initiated
programs such as Pledge 25 where
volunteers donate blood every three
months and organizing annual
provincial camps to train young
volunteers.
It’s Not Just About the Restrooms
By: Bea Andrea F. Brillo
I never fully realized
that we humans just love putting
a label on things until I had to
write this article. Dolls are for
girls, cars are for boys, the like
has been continuously engraved
in our brains since we were kids.
But we’ve been breaking all
sorts of stereotypes since the
start of 21st Century, and most—
if not all— were supportive of
these changes. But there are just
some things that people strongly
refuse to be open-minded about.
Restrooms have always
been an issue when it comes to
the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer
(LGBTQ+) community. It has
always been up in the air whether
schools or work places should
provide a separate restroom for
those who are members of
LGBTQ+. Recently, a implementation of this bill does
transgender woman named
Gretchen Custodio Diez was
illegally arrested after being
prevented by a janitress from
using the women’s restroom in a
Cubao mall in Quezon City. This
caused quite an uproar in the
social media, resulting to
lawmakers being pressured to
pursue the anti-discrimination
bill. Yet the amount of people
that support this bill is just as
plenty as the people who are
against it. “Sexual orientation,
that is subjective. Gender
identity, that is subjective versus
later on rights that come from
facts… So there is a contest here
of facts and feelings. We are very
concerned that under
SOGIE(Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identification or
Expression) bill, facts will be
defeated by feelings,” Atty.
Lyndon Caña of the Coalition of
Concerned Families of the
Philippines (CCFP) said during
the Senate hearing on the SOGIE
bill.
I don’t really believe
that having a gender identity is
wrong, despite my parents'
strong Christian upbringing. I
am confident enough to declare
that I am decently
knowledgeable of the opinions
of both sides and can empathize
with the personal views of
multiple perspectives. No, I do
not support the SOGIE Bill, but
using Caña's words as reference,
not supporting the
not mean I hate the LGBTQ+
community. Yet, if I had to
choose, I would still be hesitant
about which party I would ally
with when it comes to it. I have
friends that are dear to me and
are in the LGBTQ+ community.
Does this mean I should openly
show my support for them? But
my mind would instantly shy
away from the thought because
of the fact that my parents would
definitely disapprove of such
promotional actions. My
"personal opinion" is often just a
tug-of-war between the beliefs I
was raised with and the beliefs I
have accumulated until now. But
one piece of advice that has been
said to children time and time
again is that it’s okay to "be
yourself." We often hear that
phrase. Scared to make friends?
Just be yourself. Terrified of a
job interview? Just be yourself. I
may still be unsure on where I
stand concerning this topic, but
one thing I do strongly stand for
is that: As long as you’re not
harming anybody, there’s
nothing wrong in being yourself.
As you can see, it’s not
just about the restrooms
anymore. Yes, transgender or
gender-neutral and preferably
private restrooms should be
provided as a solution to the
problem, but we should also
respect the fact that the
transgender people are not
required to use them. Being
singled out like that is still a form
of discrimination, not at all the
kind of equality the LGBTQ+
community is asking for. I may
not agree with the SOGIE Bill
they are trying to implement, but
we should remember that laws to
protect one’s person already
exist.
I respect the LGBTQ+
community. All of us should
respect them. If not for their
cause, then for the sole fact that
they are humans because being
protected by the law is a basic
human right. If they prefer to use
a gender-neutral restroom, that’s
okay. If they still want to use the
restroom stalls of their biological
sex, then that should be okay too.
Ma’ams and Sirs deserve more!
By: Princess Dianne Garcia
“How can I compare
you to those who taught you?”
spoken by Angela Merkel, a
German chancellor when
judges, doctors, and engineers
ask her the reason for not
being paid as well as the
teachers because in Germany,
the teachers have the highest
salary in their country
contrary in the Philippines in
which teachers have the
lowest salary paid compare to
the other professional
workers.
Now, it has been an
uprising issue in which
teachers are involved in
regards to increasing their
salary this year. President
Rodrigo Duterte vows about
the salary hike of the teachers
but did not give the exact date
if when would it start in
exchange of raising the
quality of the country’s basic
education. Meanwhile,
Education Secretary Leonor
Briones reminded that
teachers especially those who
teaches in the public schools
that “As a profession, was not
all about the money,” which
earns feedback to the both
sides. Some misinterpreted it
while others agree to do so.
To those who have
positive response with this
statement, they have been
allegedly telling that they
have their passion on teaching
their students and not minding
the pay check that they are
receiving whether it’s high or
not, the important thing to is
keep their passion burning by
showing it to their students
whom they treat as a children
also.
To those who have
negative response, they
disagree because they have
been doing their job
accordingly but in exchange,
the government is giving them
vague promises.
With this issue,
different sides were stated but
we must remember also that
the teachers are the one who
provide us the education
which we can learn not just in
academic field but also life
lessons that we can apply real-
life situations that will mold
us on what we want to become
someday yet, as we can see
also today that there are some
also who are not in the same
page as what we are expecting
them to see.
Our government needs
also an assurance before
making a decision about this
issue but no matter what they
will come up, they should
consider the both side if it will
be advantageous or not and
needs a thorough analization
to have a better outcome
because if not, it will be a
domino effect, which I believe
that all of us will be affected
also no matter what would be
the results.