Sotto: ‘No chance’ SOGIE bill will be approved in Senate

FILE: Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

Despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s support, passing the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Equality bill in the upper chamber won’t happen, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on Wednesday, August 21.

In a text message to reporters, Sotto said they may pass an anti-discrimination bill that includes other sectors of the society, however, a bill “focused on gays, which the SOGIE bill is, and religious and academic freedom impeded plus smuggling of same sex marriage?” He said it has “no chance.”

Many have pushed for the passage of the bill that will protect members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community from any discriminatory acts, following an incident with a transgender woman, Gretchen Diez, in a mall in Cubao, Quezon City where she was barred from using a female comfort room.

One of them was Senator Risa Hontoveros, chair of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, saying Diez’s experience underscores the “grave and urgent need” for the measure.

“Panahon na para sabihin na hindi tayo papayag na may LGBTQI na poposasan, sasampalin, aalipustahin dahil sa kanilang kasarian (It is the time to say that we won’t allow a member of the LGBTQI community to get handcuffed, slapped, or insulted because of their sexual orientation). It is time that we say we will stand by those who speak their truths,” Hontiveros earlier said. She refiled the measure at the 18th Congress.

Aside from Hontiveros, Senators Imee Marcos and Francis Pangilinan also filed their own versions of the bill.

The SOGIE Equality bill passed on the third and final reading by the House of Representatives during the 17th Congress but its counterpart measure at the Senate did not.

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, also a supporter of the bill, previously said the Chief Executive ‘fully supports’ it.

“Magpapadala rin daw siya ng position paper niya (He said he will also submit his position paper [on the matter]) and maybe he will sign an executive order creating an LGBT commission while waiting for the SOGIE bill to be approved by Congress,” Go said.