aldric de ocampo,
Opinion: So “G” with SOGIE
Photo Credits: Ulap Coquilla
No matter how recent the news is, the issue on gender and sexuality remains as a constant and relevant discussion in our society. In particular, there have been acts of discrimination against those not identify with established norms of heterosexuality. These individuals are also restrained from freely expressing themselves due to the fear of being stigmatized.
Due to the realization of the need to address the issues of discrimination and self-expression, there have been legal initiatives spearheaded by gender and sexuality advocates from the LGBT+ community locally and internationally. One significant appeal in the Philippine legislation is the long-running House Bill (HB) No. 4982, or the “Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill.”
But what is the SOGIE Equality Bill in the first place?
It is an anti-discrimination bill which aims to protect the rights and opportunities of individuals in relation to their SOGIE. This means whether someone identifies as “straight” or part of the LGBT+ community, they would be able to receive the opportunities and services they deserve as a human, since every person has a SOGIE and is entitled to their identity and expression. Consequently, this also means the policy recognizes the diversity of genders and sexualities in society.
Particular to the aforementioned, the individuals protected by this bill are all people at the national level, in every social institution such as the family, school, workplace, and government among others, as these have been recognized as possible avenues for discrimination. One thing to note here too is that aside from LGBT+ individuals, this bill is able to protect people who are mistaken as LGBT+ because they are also prone to stigma, discrimination, harrassment, and violence from others.
This bill has also been pitched in the senate and congress since 2000, but has not yet passed as law due to constant interpellation. This stems from the unending doubts, criticisms, and therefore, debates of legislators that hinder its approval.
What then are the criticisms on this bill?
The first criticism pertains to the SOGIE Equality Bill being a form of bandwagonism. Netizens, with comments on social media, rapped at this policy to be a copycat of LGBT+ initiatives in other countries.
However, according to Mr. Gio Potes from the UP Diliman Gender Office (DGO) in an interview, it is not really bandwagonism since the issue of discrimination and violence against LGBT+ individuals has been here in the Philippines for a long time, as per the influence of patriarchal colonialism. In fact, we historically have LGBT+ people in our country like the non-binary babaylan.
“If the Supreme Court holds an online same-sex marriage survey, then that’s more likely to be bandwagonism, since it’s not appropriate to suddenly hold surveys when in fact, the government knows many ways on how to conduct them properly,” said Potes in a mix of Filipino and English.
In addition, how would imitating other countries be bad in this context? If the Philippines would copy its neighbors worldwide to push for an equal and harmonious society, then would that not be much more beneficial to the greater good?
The second, and generally, the main criticism of the opposition to the bill is that it gives “special rights” instead of equal rights to the LGBT+ community. This comes from the apparent bias of the bill in protecting LGBT+ people over “straight” people.
This is said to be seen in the various social institutions included in the policy. For education, critics question how the bill is supposed to give equal opportunities to all students for admission regardless of their SOGIE to exclusive schools, since it allegedly forces trans students into all-boys/girls schools. For families, there is the lingering fear of parents losing the rights to their child, whether by their influence to the child’s identity or their literal custody of the child.
Another example of this “special rights” instance would be the general penalization of “hate speech” in terms of the LGBT+ people’s SOGIE. The bias applies here because, according to Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Church founder Eddie Villanueva, there is a threat of punishment to the expression of those against the LGBT+ community.
According to Potes, the issue on admissions is a long process and can be arranged through conversations or negotiations, so it really does not force trans students into exclusive schools. Also, trans men and women are indeed men and women respectively, so their gender or sexuality does not have any bearing as to how they will interact with others. Instead, the basis for admissions should be the values and qualifications of the student and not their gender.
For families, parents, in fact, do not lose their rights to the child. Also noting that, from studies, children can already identify their gender by the age of three, it is preferred that parents and counselors guide the child in understanding, instead of suppressing, their identity. Though it may be a long process of acceptance for some parents, children being able to decide for themselves is a big step in improving their freedom of expression.
Potes also said that the bill does not give “special rights” to LGBT+ individuals, since it merely aims to give opportunities to the oppressed, who happen to be them, instead of removing the rights of the privileged. As for the punishment concern, there would and must be an investigation first about the allegations on “hate speech” and discrimination. This means accused offenders will not automatically be imprisoned, as they will undergo due process before being judged whether they may just need to receive counselling or pay collateral to the victim.
In other words, traditional and religious beliefs may still be expressed even with the bill enacted. The Church and LGBT+ communities may coexist in society, even if they may clash on certain aspects like SOGIE.
There is no need to be alarmed by this bill, since it only tries to achieve a compromise in giving everyone equal privileges that all humans deserve. Really, if there is something here that is actually undeserved, then that would be the criticisms on the bill.
If the SOGIE Equality Bill gets refiled again in the next congress, it would be best to share correct information about it first to the Filipino community. This is because a major contributor to the constant dissent to the bill comes from the prejudice and fear from the empowerment of the LGBT+ community.
Yes, it is hard to accept and it takes time to normalize things we do not fully understand, such as the diverse identities and expressions we have in society, but gaining the proper knowledge and education regarding this matter helps a lot in confirming that these LGBT+ people do not inherently pose a threat to anyone.
If anything, the SOGIE Equality Bill takes a good step in protecting everyone from discrimination and violence, while promoting the education of SOGIE. This is why it is good to support and back this bill whenever possible: we all benefit from it. //by Aldric de Ocampo and James Tolosa
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