Canete SOGIE Bill Reaction Paper

Mary Anne C.
Cañete 1450054
SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE)

EQUALITY BILL
Coming out of the closet is probably one of the hardest things a lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender has to do. Whether he or she can be accepted by the family, by the church or by the
people he or she works with plays an important part in shaping their lives. Years have passed,
times have changed, laws have been consequently filed and yet homophobia, transphobia and
discrimination against the members of the LGBT community still remain to be a global
phenomenon. Such discrimination is underpinned by the idea that heterosexuality is the only
“normal” sexual orientation and that each sex plays a specific role in life (gender roles).
The Philippines, being a secular country has for its majority, citizens who are Catholic.
While it is true that the Church condemns violence and discrimination against the LGBT
community, the Roman Catholic Church has also, in practice denied and resisted laws and
policies which would protect LGBT rights. This is because the Church has oftentimes used the
Bible to justify the preservation of an unequal and unjust status quo and thus, the demonization
of the LGBT community classifying them as deviations from creation and persons of sexual
depravity.
Article II, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines provides that the
separation of Church and State shall be inviolable. However, the segregation of the Church and
State is not always enforced. Due to the majority of the citizens of the Philippines being
Catholic, the impression and concept of the church with regard to sexual orientation, gender
identity and expression strongly influences the views of the Filipinos in general towards the
LGBT community. This has also caused the delays in the passage of bills which aim to protect
the rights of the LGBT sector against discrimination.
The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, particularly provides that, “no person shall be
deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied
the equal protection of the laws.” The state thus recognizes the fundamental right of every person
regardless of sex, age, class, status, ethnicity, color, disability, religious and political beliefs and
that every person should be free from any form of discrimination. The State though guaranteeing
full respect of human rights and that every person has the right to the equal protection of laws,
the law does not however expressly include sexual orientation and gender identity.
The proposed House Bill No. 4982 or the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity or Expression) Equality Bill aims to introduce the terms sexual orientation, gender
identity and expression into Philippine legislation and make discrimination a crime.
1
Additionally, House Bill No. 4982 and its counterpart, Senate Bill No. 1271 does not claim to
include special rights or additional rights nor does it claim to legalize same-sex marriage. What
the bill seeks to enforce is the observance and recognition of the same human rights that are
granted by law to all human beings, which shall include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people and to provide penalties therefore whenever such rights are violated.
Human rights of the LGBT Community which are at stake and which are vulnerable to
discrimination and abuse are the following:
 the right to security of person;

 the right to equality and non-discrimination;
 the right to the highest attainable standard of health;
 the right to privacy;
 the right to education;
 the right to be free from bullying, harassment and violence; and
 the right to freedom of expression.
With these at stake, it is important to note that all human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and right. Such human rights are universal and are interrelated and cannot be made to
exclude some from their protection on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, social status, sexual
orientation or gender identity. Hence, the exclusion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people from these rights or from the equal protection of such are a violation of the international
human rights law and of the Philippine Constitution.
SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression) rights are human rights
that need to be protected by law and should therefore be free from any form of discrimination.
To date, however there is no national law protecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
community nor is there any mechanism by the state which monitors events of prejudice,
discrimination and violence that the LGBT people face on the basis of their sexual orientation,
gender identity and expression.
Although there are international laws and local government ordinances that have been
approved, such laws however have not been adequately enforced. In the absence of effective
implementation and a national law which would cover all of the citizens of the Philippines, many
of the LGBT people will continue to experience discrimination. Hence, it is high time for the
passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill, also known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB) into law
which aims to protect the rights of the LGBT community and seeks to eliminate discriminatory
practices based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression by prohibiting such
and providing penalties therefore.

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Mary Anne C.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE)

 the right to security of person;

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