Ineffective anti-discrimination ordinance?
In Mandaue City, a member of the LGBTQIA community has claimed that she was discriminated against by a bar – Club Flex – solely because of her SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics). Such discriminatory act is supposed to be against the law, with Mandaue City having an anti-discrimination ordinance (ADO) that protects the human rights of LGBTQIA people, passed in April 2016.
In a Facebook post, Janna Fernan – a transgender woman – alleged that while attending the soft opening of Club Flex, she was hindered by two men who informed her that, allegedly according to the management, transgender women are not allowed inside the premises.
“I was shocked because I did not read in their page that transgender people are not allowed inside the bar,” Fernan said in the vernacular, adding that “there were also no signs stating this policy at the entrance of the bar.”
Mandaue City’s ADO specifically states that it is unlawful to deny LGBTQIA people goods and services on grounds of their SOGIE. The ADO specifically states that “it shall be unlawful to refuse entry and/or disallow a person or a group of people from entering any establishment such as bars, stores, movie houses, shopping malls, and other places or entertainment or other business which are open to the general public.”
Fernan added that she was eventually informed that transgender women will only be allowed inside Club Flex if they have a VIP table.
Even this is illegal, according to the ADO.
As per the ADO, it is illegal to impose “onerous terms and conditions to a person on the grounds of one’s actual or perceived SOGIE as a prerequisite for providing… goods and services where said terms and conditions are not imposed on another person under the amendment or similar circumstances.”
Perhaps not serving as deterrent are the penalties for violators of the ADO, with violators supposed to be penalized only with a fine amounting to P1,000 to P5,000, and/or imprisonment from three to 12 months.
Outrage Magazine reached out to Fernan for additional information; no response was received as of press time.
Outrage Magazine similarly reached out to Club Flex via the company’s official Facebook account, but no response was received after days of waiting, and as of press time.
According to Cebu City-based transgender-led organization Cebu United Rainbow LGBT+ Sector (CURLS), the issue was already referred to the city government. To date, “Mandaue City is in the process of operationalizing implementation and enforcement of the LGBT Code of Mandaue,” said Ms Magdalena Robinson, with CURLS assisting the city agencies in the development of the IRR and convening of the DASOG Commission (i.e. the committee supposed to oversee the implementation of the ADO).
