Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 14) — LGBTQ+ group Bahaghari on Tuesday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to reveal his position on the bill penalizing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
This comes after the proposed SOGIESC Equality Act was again pushed back to the committee level by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, who said the measure needed “further study.”
Villanueva and his father, CIBAC Party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva, oppose the measure – saying they have received letters from various religious groups complaining that they were not consulted about the bill.
Bahaghari chairperson Reyna Valmores said the bill has always been challenged in Congress.
“The question is, beyond Sen. Villanueva and his father, what is the position of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. That’s what we want to ask and what we want to confront him on,” she said.
“We’re going to fight tooth and nail for this. This is not a privilege issue, it’s a survival issue for so many of us,” Valmores added.
Villanueva has yet to reveal the dates of the next Senate hearings on the SOGIESC bill.
