Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 17) – Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday urged President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to support laws that would elevate the plight of women and the LGBTQ+ community, as the latter is set to deliver his second SONA on July 24.
“Bilang chairperson ng Senate Committee on Women, [sa tingin ko] hindi dapat kaligtaan ng presidente ang pinakabunerable sa ating lipunan, lalo na nag kababaihan, kabataan at ang LGBTQIA+ community,” Hontiveros told reporters.
[Translation: As the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, I think the president should not neglect the vulnerable sectors in our society, especially women, the youth and the LGBTQIA+ community.]
Hontiveros said laws such as the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act and the Gender Responsive and Inclusive Pandemic Management Act are still pending in the legislature.
“Ang batang pagbubuntis ay isang social epidemic na kailangan nang lutasin,” Hontiveros said. “Kitang-kita nitong pandemya na triple ang hirap na naranasan ng kababaihan – mula sa paglala ng domestic violence hanggang sa kakulangan ng sexual and reproductive health access.”
[Translation: Teenage pregnancy is a social epidemic that needs to be solved. We see that during this pandemic, women experienced triple hardships from the worsening domestic violence up to the lack of sexual and reproductive health access.]
Hontiveros said once the https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/3463731456!.pdfGender Responsive and Inclusive Pandemic Management Act is passed, addressing the gender-differentiated need of women during national emergency responses will be institutionalized.
The senator also said she still hopes the president will support the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) bill, as Marcos promised during his presidential campaign to advocate laws protecting the LGBTQ+ community.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Joel Villanueva earlier said the SOGIE bill is not considered a priority measure as more important bills need to be passed.
READ: SOGIE bill ‘not a priority,’ says Villanueva
However, the Commission on Human Rights called for a “swift progress” of the SOGIE bill, stressing that the LGBTQ+ community faces different kinds of discrimination.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, meanwhile, said the president is likely to approve an advisory body or commission on LGBTQ+ affairs under his office.
