Lawmaker urges agencies to enact ordinances vs SOGIE-based discrimination

MANILA, Philippines — A House lawmaker has called on local government units to enact ordinances that would protect LGBTQ persons against discrimination based on four existing laws that focus on safe spaces and protection from sexual abuse.

Even without a specific law against discrimination over sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics (SOGIE), Rep. Angelica Natasha Co (BHW Partylist) said that local officials can already adapt four laws for the welfare of LGBTQ members in their provinces, cities or towns.

These are Republic Act 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act, Republic Act 11930 or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC), Republic Act 9028 or the Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act and Republic Act 10364 or the Anti-Human Trafficking Act.

These laws should be the focus "while we wait for the SOGIE bill to make further progress and reach the desk of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr," Co said.

"While Congress exercises its oversight and budget powers, there can also be continuing multisectoral efforts to have more cities and towns enact ordinances that give added protections for the LGBTQ, give more funding to LGBTQ welfare programs, and adapt these four laws to the situations on the ground in the provinces, cities, and towns," Co added.

Co also said that local government units and national government agencies can utilize their gender and development budgets for "LGBTQ matters" and "not just the welfare of women."

Several lawmakers have filed their version of the SOGIE bill in various Congresses, generating support from civil society organizations focused on gender and LGBTQ advocacies. The SOGIE bill is also endorsed by the Commission on Human Rights, which said in 2022 that protecting Filipinos from discrimination based on SOGIE complies with the international human rights obligations to which the Philippines is a state party.
 
Congress, however, has refused to pass the law for over two decades since its first version was filed. In 2023, lawmakers in both chambers used delaying tactics to stall the bill and argued against the need for a law that specifically addresses SOGIE-based discrimination. 

Meanwhile, the bill's sponsors, including Sen. Risa Hontiveros, have repeatedly clarified that its provisions do not make same-sex marriage legal nor privilege LGBTQ+ persons above others.