GOOD – YET MISGUIDED – INTENTION?
Quezon City Mayor Herbert M. Bautista signed a memorandum directing all heads of City Hall departments and offices to submit a list of all employees – whether permanent, contractual or with job orders — who identify themselves as belonging to the LGBT community. This move is said to be aligned withCity Ordinance 2357-2014, otherwise known as The Quezon City Gender-Fair Ordinance.
According to The Quezon City Gender-Fair Ordinance, it is the policy of the Quezon City government “to actively work for the elimination of all forms of discrimination that violate the equal protection clause of the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution, existing laws, and The Yogyakarta Principles; and to value the dignity of every person, guarantee full respect for human rights and give the highest priority to measures that protect and enhance the right of all people; regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE).”
In his memorandum, Bautista stated that “the purpose of the said list is for registration, profiling and inclusion for (sic) the Quezon City Transgender Employees and Gay Association (QC TEGA).”
The same memorandum, however, fails to deal with forced outing, which is an issue that continues to plague the LGBT community, and even in places – such as Quezon City – with anti-discrimination ordinances (ADOs).
The deadline set for the submission of this list is on 15 September.
