Ano ang SOGIE BILL?

Ayon sa Wikipidea, The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression o ang

SOGIE Equality Bill, also known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB),[1][2] is a series of House and Senate
bills that were introduced in the 17th, 18th, and 19th Congress of the Philippines, which aims to set into law
measures to prevent various economic and public accommodation-related acts of discrimination against
people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.[3]

On July 26, 2004, under the 13th Congress of the Philippines, Senator Defensor-Santiago filed the
Employment Non-Discrimination bill which aims to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation.

Equality Bill Rally: ‘Hindi lang naman LGBT people ang may SOGIE — everyone has SOGIE.’

Basi sa artikulo ng CNN na isinulat ni Chang Casal noong Marso 18, 2018

- the SOGIE Equality Bill has finally reached the Senate after nearly 20 years of being put on the
backburner. But the bill has met staunch opponents in legislators like Manny Pacquiao, Tito Sotto, and
Joel Villanueva, who often cite religious rights as reason for barring it from moving forward.

Ang CNN Philippines Life ay nag interview ng ilan sa mga taong nag rally at tinanong sila bakit importante para
sa kanila ang pag pasa ng SOGIE Equality Bill
Mga sagot:

Ayun kay    Atty. Claire De Leon, human rights lawyer, Babaylanes, Inc.

“We're just really fighting for equality. What we want is equality — protection of our rights, assurance na we
would be able to exercise our rights, our rights na we have because we are human, because we are Filipinos.
We just need the protection from the law that we can actually exercise these rights and that we will be
protected from discrimination. Ang dami nang kinuha ng discrimination from us na opportunities — our
childhood, our dreams, our youth, our time in this advocacy, in this activism.”

“Ang dami nang na-spend na lives, lives ng advocates, lives ng iba't-ibang tao na pinagpasa-pasahan na itong
adbokasiya na ‘to dahil hanggang ngayon ang tagal-tagal na [pero] hindi pa rin napapasa. At ang dami nang
tinake na lives ng discrimination. Ang dami nang namatay, ang dami nang pinatay because of discrimination
and stigma, and I think it's about time that the state, that the laws, actually, categorically protect our rights.”

Ayun naamn kay Pat Bringas, Babaylanes, Inc.

“As a transgender woman, I feel like my support means a lot because a lot of our stories are not heard or not
understood very well. I think by just coming here … we get to tell our stories, we get to tell people how we live
to better understand what we're going through and how important it is to fight for the bill such as the anti-
discrimination bill.”

“A lot of people assume that it's a privilege that we're asking for when it's not. We really do live a not-so-equal
life with others. We experience discrimination — that's reality, it's not something we make up and a lot of
people think [that] because they do not experience these kinds of injustices or inequality, it doesn't exist. So by
just coming here, I am proof that it does exist and it needs to be addressed.”\

Ayun kay   Tintin Lontoc, Metro Manila Pride

“[I’m here because] there are only three senate sessions left, so right now talagang it's really crucial to show,
not just the senate, [but also] the public, especially ‘yung anti-SOGIE opposition how important it is, how crucial
it is.”

“For people who are silent, it's especially important now to really let them know that it's urgent. It's weird kasi
dapat urgent na ‘to nung nagka-reports of trans people dying. The fact na merong news of somebody getting
bullied in school. And that's what the bill is about. That's what the bill is supposed to
protect. ‘Yung misconception, parang most of the conversation has been about ‘yung misconceptions of the
bill na it's about [the idea that] may hidden agenda siya, [like] marriage equality, but it's not even about that.”

“Sana tumanda ako in a world na merong SOGIE equality because right now, putting things into law is just the
start of shifting worldviews, it's just the start of getting people to have an open perspective. I'm past my
formative years so it's more of like a dream for younger people to grow up in a world na may equality. Like the
world that I didn't have growing up.”

Ang ibang taong parte ng LGBTQ ay hindi pa lumalabas sa kanilang mga closet, takot silang lumabas dahil sa
discrimination na maari nilang matanggap galing sa ibang tao. Sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatupaad ng Sogie
Bill, hindi mn lahat subalit kahit papaano ay may mga tao nang handang lumabas dahil mapapanatag na silang
hindi sila kukutyain dahil sa batas na ito. Ang batas na ito ay hindi lamang para sa mga parte ng LGBTQ kondi
pati na rin sa mga babae at lalaki. Kaya ang pagpapatupad ng batas na ito ay ibig sabihin hindi na patas sa
mga Lalaki at Babae.

For decades, the plight of the LGBTQIA+ community was among the problems hardly addressed by modern
society, evident in the rising number of brutal killings, criticisms, and misgendering. 

In the Phillippines, there is a bill seeking to end gender-based discrimination: the Anti-Discrimination Bill or
the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, which Congress proposed in
2000. It aims to end gender-based discrimination by penalising people involved in such activity. 

It was initially filed by the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago and former Akbayan party-list Representative Etta
Rosales. The bill's current version is backed by Bataan 1st district Representative Geraldine Roman and
Akbayan Partylist Representative Tom Villarin in the House and Risa Hontiveros in the Senate.

Despite being around for two decades, the proposed law has yet to hurdle legislation. In this
article, Tatler provides its humble platform to clarify a few arguments being thrown against the SOGIE Equality
Bill. 

How will SOGIE Equality Bill Protect The LGBTQIA+? 

The SOGIE Equality Bill recognizes the fundamental rights of every person regardless of sex, gender, age,
class, status, disability, religion, and political beliefs. This means that the law protects members of the
LGBTQIA+ from discrimination and marginalization. 

Without marginalization, everyone will have an equal opportunity and access to healthcare, housing, public
services, education, employment, and licensure. 

The bill also covers hate crimes and harassment. With SOGIE Equality present, those who commit
discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ will be fined PHP100,000 but not more than PHP500,000, or
imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years or both, depending on the decision of the
court. 

Is This Law Exclusive To The Members Of LGBTQIA+?

No. Everyone has a preferred gender and sexual orientation; this means that people who identify as
heterosexual will be provided with the same rights and protections under the law.

Is This Law Harmful To The Christian Community?

Contrary to popular belief, none of the bill's provisions are written to attack any church or religious group. In
fact, there have been cases where religious leaders are quoted backing SOGIE Equality. 

Bishop Solito Toquiero from the National Council of the Churches Philippines said the institution gives its
support to the proposed law despite backlash from some religious groups. "The LGBTQIA+ have long been
discriminated [against], that is why this bill has to be passed. The bill gives freedom and importance to the
community," he said. 

Sister Mary John Mananzan from St. Scholastica's College has also expressed her support, saying that the bill
would not grant special privileges to the members of the LGBTQIA+. "I don't see the SOGIE bill giving any
special right to the LGBT community. We are just saying that the rights of everybody should also be applied to
them," she said.

Where is SOGIE Equality Bill Now?

Several government officials still deem SOGIE Equality questionable. In May 2019, it became the longest-
running bill under the Senate interpellation period in the Philippines. According to its supporters, the prolonged
process was intended by dissenters to scrap the proposed law. 

In June 2022, Hontiveros promised to have the bill revived by the 19th Congress. "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. Yes, we are with
heterosexual cisgenders in our fight for our LGBTQIA+ siblings," she said.

"As the country faces the difficulties of navigating the ruins of a post-pandemic world, this is our chance to
build something good and lasting. This is our opportunity to make our institutions right and fair," the Senator
added.

According to Angie Umbac, former president of Rainbow Rights Philippines, instances of harassment and
bullying in dormitory restrooms experienced by several LGBTQ+ university students brought about discussions
of having a city ordinance to address such acts of discrimination. 

Source: CNN Life

Coming out and coming of age outside Manila

While Metro Manila is by no means an absolutely safe space — this is a country where you hear stories of
LGBTQ children being told that they should be nailed to a cross and where, on one occasion, “a lower court
dismissed the case of child abuse committed by a school principal against a young girl who refused to wear
skirts and was made to parade in school grounds wearing a curtain” — much of what is recognized as the
mainstream LGBTQ advocacy is based here. Indeed, much of the historicizing LGBTQ Filipinos do see Metro
Manila, specifically Quezon City, as the birthplace of Asia’s first Pride March.

However, in many places inside and outside Manila’s walls, you do hear stories that make one realize that
keeping the rainbow flag furled is still the safer bet for many people. “The LGBT youth continue to suffer from
stressors in the forms of discrimination, exclusion, and gender-based violence,” Prof. Hadji Balajadia of Ateneo
De Davao University’s Department of Psychology tells. She puts the situation bluntly: “Their potentials and
well-being are shattered and shaken.”
The first ever Philippine Corporate SOGIE Diversity and Inclusiveness (CSDI) Index — a study conducted by
the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce and research firm Cogencia, and supported by the Embassy of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Philippines — surveyed 100 companies on their anti-discrimination and
equal opportunity employment policies. Out of the 100, they found zero Philippine-based companies
implementing policies meant to protect their employees from SOGIE-based discrimination.

The study includes results of Patricia Angela Luzano Enriquez’s research paper, in which she found that 25
percent of respondents have experienced harassment from their employers or superior officers, 33 percent
have experienced harassment from co-workers, and 60 percent have been the subject of slurs and jokes in the
workplace. The overall data makes clear the dominant attitude towards LGBTQs in the Philippines’
professional world.

According to Edrosolano, during consultations with experts and key LGBTQ+ organizations, they discovered
that many companies believe that protecting LGBTQ+ employees from discrimination is not an urgent matter,
as the common assumption is that LGBTQ+ make up a small percentage of the workforce.

Another factor, said Angel Romero of the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce, is that employers believe
that inclusiveness initiatives — for example, adding an all-gender bathroom and providing insurance benefits
for same-sex partners — is expensive, despite there being cheaper alternatives

In 2019, when a cleaning crew at the Quezon City mall harassed trans woman Gretchen Custodio Diez as she
tried to enter a women’s restroom, they violated the city’s Gender Fair Ordinance, which protects people from
harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE). This
incident sparked renewed debate about the SOGIE Equality Bill, which aims to provide protection to all
Filipinos nationwide. However, online, offline, and even in the Senate, discussions took place on restroom
rights, gender identity, and the need for a national Anti-Discrimination Bill.

introduced by: Senator Paolo Benigno ItBam" A. Aquino IV

AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF ET~NICITY, RACE, RELIGION OR BELIEF,

POLITICAL INCLINATION, SOCIAL CLASS, SEX, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER
IDENTITY, GENDER EXPRESSION, CIVIL STATUS, HIV STATUS AND OTHER MEDICAL CONDITION
AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR

The Bill of Rights in the 1987 Constitution guarantees equal protection for every Filipino, and prohibits
discrimination of persons based on ethnicity, race, religion or belief, political inclination, social class,
sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, civil status, medical condition, or
any other status in the enjoyment of rights. The fundamental law also declares that the State values the
dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights (Section 11, Article II, 1987
Constitution). It also imposes on the State the duty to ensure the fundamental equality before the law
of women and men (Sec. 14, Id.).