SOGIE Equality Bill passes Senate committee; still in limbo due to anti-LGBTQIA senators

Rainbow movement in the Philippine Senate.

The SOGIE Equality Bill – the latest iteration of the proposed anti-discrimination law that will protect the human rights of LGBTQIA Filipinos – was passed at the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality led by Senator Risa Hontiveros.

With Hontiveros, signing the committee’s report were Sens. Nancy Binay, Leila de Lima, Franklin M. Drilon, Imee R. Marcos, Grace Poe, and Ralph Recto.

With this, the bill now advances to the plenary; though whether it will be discussed at all is uncertain, considering that Senate President Vicente Sotto III has long insisted this law won’t see the light of day under his watch; and that at least 15 lawmakers would vote against the passage of the measure.

If the SOGIE Equality Bill fails to pass the Senate before the 18th Congress ends in 2022, it has to be re-filed (and has to be reconsidered by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality), repeating a process that has been going on for 20 years now.

Though the bill basically only prohibits discrimination against people based on their perceived or actual SOGIESC, a lot of misconceptions continue to float (and be floated/promoted) about it, particularly among/by anti-LGBTQIA people.

Lagablab Network, a gathering of select LGBTQIA organizations has released information to counter the misconceptions.