Duterte supports gender equality -Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte supports gender equality even as he leaves the fate of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE) Equality bill to Congress, Malacañang said Thursday.

The SOGIE bill includes provisions such as prohibition on discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, and queer people (LGBTQ) in the workplace and educational institutions.

“Malinaw na malinaw po ang paninindigan ng ating Presidente, naniniwala po siya na lahat po ng Filipino ay pantay-pantay anuman ang kanilang kasarian,” Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque told a news conference in Catanduanes.

“Pero hinahayaan na po natin sa Kongreso kung ano ang magiging pinal na bersiyon ng SOGIE bill.”

Roque was reacting to the statement of a representative of the Coalition of Concerned Families of the Philippines during the House committee hearing on Wednesday that the bill sought to transform the LGBTQ community into a “super special elite class.”

But Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman, the first transgender person to be elected to Congress, said the “right to study” and “right to work” being pushed for the LGBTQ community are “basic rights.”

Aside from gender equality, Duterte had also voiced support for same-sex civil unions.—AOL, GMA News