It has been almost two decades since the first SOGIE Bill was filed in the 11th congress by Sen. Defensor-Santiago and Rep. Loretta Rosales however, this bill that serves to defend the SOGIE of the people from discrimination has not been passed into law. The lack of a legal deterrence has contributed to the increase in cases of human rights abuses against the LGBT community. In 2016 Sen. Risa Hontiveros refiled the Anti-Discrimination Bill in the Senate and now in 2022, six years later we are still struggling for acceptance, we are still struggling for opportunities, and we are still struggling for the rights that we inherently deserve.
The LGBT faces a multi-dimensional set of issues that encompasses a wide range of areas such as law, politics, history, and so on and so forth. These issues, when not addressed, contribute to the spread of stigma and discrimination leading to the exclusion of persons with diverse SOGIE from rights and opportunities that cis heterosexuals enjoy. This emphasizes the need for national legislation that acknowledges and defends the rights of people with diverse SOGIE.
To provide a space to discuss the prevalent issues faced by persons with diverse SOGIE along with the legislative advocacy to tackle these issues, IMGLAD conducted an Online Rainbow Session on April 23, 2022, entitled LGBTQIA+ issues and SOGIESC Rights.
The session was held via Zoom and Facebook live where Atty. Romeo T. Cabarde Jr. and Ms. Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana provided insights on the LGBTQIA+ as RHG: Current Issues and SOGIESC Prospects & the Legislative Agenda for the LGBTQIA+. The discussion was also attended by IMGLAD Iligan, Rogongon, Kolambugan, SND members along with friends, and allies from Palawan State University.
During the preliminaries, Prof. Jazelle Dyana Lizz Zerrudo, Head of the College of Arts and Humanities extension office at Palawan State University for expressed solidarity with IMGLAD’s advocacy to establish safe spaces for the LGBT across the community.
The first topic centered on LGBTQIA+ as RHG: Current Issues and SOGIESC Prospects. Under the topic, Atty. Cabarde introduced the ‘Genderbread’ Person which divides the concepts of gender into three aspects namely sex, gender identity, and gender expression. The Genderbread person allows for an easier understanding of SOGIESC basics. To demonstrate this, pictures of personalities like Jake Zyrus, Angela Ponce, Angie King, etc. were shown. The plenary then had to identify the SOGIESC of the celebrities based on what is known to the public. This activity provided the participants with a further understanding of SOGIESC and cemented the idea that everyone has SOGIESC and that it isn’t exclusive to the LGBTQIA+.
Everyone has SOGIESC, but people with diverse or non-normative SOGIESC are more vulnerable to stigma and discrimination. Everyone should enjoy equal rights, resources, and opportunities but people with vulnerable SOGIESC have difficulty accessing these "universal rights". Due to marginalization, the LGBTQIA+ have to work twice or thrice as hard just to get accepted or promoted in the workplace, in comparison to cis heterosexual persons. Due to stigma, persons of non-normative SOGIESC are subject to abuse, hate speech, bullying, rejection, and other manifestations of homophobia and transphobia.
Given these issues, there is a strong need to empower the members of the community to defend the rights of persons with diverse SOGIE and educate the masses for them to empathize and realize that we are not all so different and deserve the right to express ourselves without repercussions. This also serves as a reminder of the importance of passing the SOGIE bill into law as a legal counter to gender-based discrimination.
Legislative advocacy really plays an integral role in the safe and inclusive society we are trying to achieve. Without policies and legislation, it is difficult to establish long-term change within communities. Ms. Mags discussion primarily focused on the Legislative Agenda for the LGBTQIA+.
Prior to discussing the Legislative Agenda, Ms. Maglana provided an overview of the context of the LGBT in the Philippines which highlighted the more than a decade-long fight to establish a national law that protects the rights of the LGBT. The twenty-plus years of struggle to establish this national anti-discrimination law really represents the strong opposition of various social institutions here in the Philippines.
During her discussion, she provided a visual guide for the proposed LGBTQIA+ Agenda which begins with the Anti-Women Discrimination Legislation. Under this legislation is the Priority Women Legislative Agenda which is a set of proposed projects that seeks to change or repeal the discriminatory provisions within existing laws. Included in these is “Enacting a Law Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation”. This agenda not only protects the rights of women but is also inclusive in defending the SOGIESC of everyone.
In addition to the Anti-Women Discrimination Legislation, we also have the SOGIE Equality Bill and other Specific Legislation. These include the proposed elements of the SOGIE Equality Bill such as the review, appeal, and amendment of policies that discriminate against the LGBTQIA+ which covers the amendment of laws such as the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children (Anti-VAWC) Law along with other laws that protect women's rights to be inclusionary to lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender women.
Atty. Cabarde and Ms. Maglana also stressed that the SOGIE Bill does have a legal basis, all of which were built upon the principle of non-discrimination. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights all serve as the core international human rights instruments. Additionally, for the sector-specific legal basis, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are some examples of these non-discriminatory policies. This means that there is already a strong foundation to push for an Anti-discrimination/SOGIE bill here in the Philippines. Many are hesitant to support or are outright rejecting the idea of passing the SOGIE Bill based on the misconception that what the bill advocates for is 'special rights. However, despite its stigmatization, so long as we continue our efforts to educate the public and raise awareness, we can pass the SOGIE Bill into Law.
Following the discussions were the reactions of Bryan Nelcon Guarin and Jacinth Mabayag – both political science students at Palawan State University, and Karl Ong, an active member of IMGLAD. They synthesized the discussion, sharing takeaways on both of the topics and reminding everyone of the importance of the upcoming elections on May 09, 2022.
After the synthesis, the question of whether there is still a need for a SOGIE Bill was also discussed. They discussed that if the nature of the SOGIE Bill is present in other laws, why do we need it? To this, Ms. Mags replied that we should not trivialize the pursuit of this law when it is specifically the oppressed LGBTQIA+ saying it's necessary. Everyone benefits from the SOGIE Bill, as it doesn’t exist as a means to give privileges to LGBTQIA+ members, but rather to establish equal rights and opportunities for all.
The session concluded with a trivia game recapping the topics discussed during the session.
This drawn-out struggle for society to validate the LGBT and their rights presents a strong need to empower the members of the community to defend the rights of persons with diverse SOGIE and educate the masses for them to empathize and realize that we are all equal and doing our best and that we deserve the right to express ourselves without repercussions.
“As modern philosopher Lady Gaga once said” Atty. Cabarde quoted, “No matter straight, gay, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life. I’m on the right track baby I was born this way” Serving as a reminder to everyone that there is nothing wrong with you. Being LGBT is not a disease, not an anomaly, there is nothing wrong with you, you are perfectly in accordance with God’s will. Let us be colorful and proud and live our lives on our own terms.
In the spirit of IMGLAD creating safe spaces, these photos are posted with the consent of the participants.
IMGLAD is currently implementing a project entitled "IMGLAD to Consolidate Pride in Mindanao." This project is hosted by Mindanao Peoples' Peace Movement (MPPM) and supported by Voice. This activity is under the project’s three-pronged strategy, Unfurling the Pride along with IMGLAD’s #IVoteforPride campaign.
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