A bill eyeing to simplify the process to change entries in the legal documents of intersex Filipinos was passed by the Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives (HOR), and is now headed to the plenary.
House Bill No. 9555, or The Cagandahan Law, was filed in the HOR in November 2023.
In its 2008 ruling on the Republic of the Philippines v. Jennifer Cagandahan (G.R. No. 166676), the Supreme Court of the Philippines actually already allowed intersex people to change their gender markers in government issued documents.
However, as stressed by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Geraldine Roman, in the explanatory note of the bill, “to date… most of them cannot avail of the remedy themselves as they still need to undergo the costly and tedious court litigation.”
This bill eyes to “rectify this oversight by providing a straightforward and accessible legal process for intersex individuals to change their sex and first names in the civil register without the need for a judicial order.”
If this bill is passed, only the “concerned city or municipal registrar or the consul general shall have the authority to change, without a judicial order, the sex in the civil register of an intersex person upon proving that he or she is an intersex based on his or her primary and/or secondary sex characteristics… provided that the changing of sex and/or first name shall be made de jure applicable to intersex people of legal age due to the inborn nature of their medical condition.”
In a statement, Intersex Philippines, Inc. (IXPI), which is pushing for the passage go this bill, stated that this is “a significant milestone in the advancement of the Cagandahan Bill. With the support of the Congress Committee on Justice, the bill has successfully passed this crucial stage, marking a significant step forward in safeguarding the rights of intersex individuals in the Philippines.”
In a statement to Outrage Magazine, Jeff Cagandahan, who heads the Intersex Philippines, Inc. (IXPI) said that this is a big development for the intersex community in the country since “kahit papaano po e nakakakita kami ng pag-asa na possible palang pumasa itong bill (somehow we’re seeing that there’s hope that this bill will pass).”
Rep. Juliet Marie de Leon Ferrer helms the HOR Committee on Justice. And side from Roman, the bill was supported by Reps. Ysabel Maria Zamora and Jaime Fresnedi.
“As the Cagandahan Bill moves to the plenary, we call upon all lawmakers to support this vital legislation,” IXPI stressed. “Let’s unite in our mission to ensure that the rights of intersex Filipinos are not just acknowledged but fully protected. Together, we can make a difference.”
In the Senate, the version of the bill (Senate Bill 2626, filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros) has hardly moved.
According to Cagandahan, the call is for the senate to “start to discuss na din po yung bill especially now that it passed sa HOR Committee on Justice.”
