Re-electionist Senator Sergio Osmeña III, a grandson of former President Sergio Osmeña Sr., has expressed his support for LGBT rights.
Interviewed by “Bilang Pilipino 2016”, Osmeña said that “it’s not fair to them (LGBT people). Just because they feel differently than we do, ’cause I mean, I have a right to say: ‘No, you’re not allowed to feel that way’. As long as they don’t harm anybody, what’s wrong with it? If a man can get married to a woman and not harm anybody, why can’t a man not get married to a man and not harm anybody?”
Osmeña also said that he has “many friends who have been living together for 30, 40, 50 years. Some have already passed away. Dami (A lot). And also, women who have lived with each other for an interminable period of time and they have been very productive members of the society. So, why will I prevent them from doing what they want to do in the privacy of their rooms, ‘di ba?”
Osmeña was educated in the US (at Harvard, Georgetown) and the University of the Philippines. He is married to Bettina Mejia Lopez; they have six children.