Villanueva sees no urgency in passing SOGIE bill

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva sees no urgency in passing the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) bill, saying this is not part of the list of measures certified as urgent.

“I don’t know who is following it up or saying it is a priority measure because it is not. Number two, there are members of the committee on rules who have given us letters and reservations. So, it’s still there as well as some other measures. So again, I don’t see any urgency for that particular measure,” Villanueva said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.

In December last year, Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, released Committee Report No. 15 under Senate Bill 1600 in substitution of three bills seeking to prohibit discrimination on the basis of SOGIESC.

However, it was not sponsored in the Senate plenary due to the opposition from several religious groups and various sectors. This prompted the body to remand the committee report to the committee of rules, which Villanueva chairs being the majority leader.

In explaining the current status of the measure, Villanueva cited the position of at least seven senators who argued that an anti-discrimination bill should cover all sectors and not only one group.

“Hindi kailangan na isang sektor lang when you talk about anti-discrimination. Nadidiscriminate din yung iba,” Villanueva said.

SB 1600, or the SOGIESC Equality Bill, prohibits discriminatory practices on the basis of SOGIESC, such as refusing admission to or expelling a person from any educational or training institution; imposing disciplinary sanctions harsher than customary that infringe on the rights of students; and refusing or revoking accreditation of organizations, groups, political parties, or institutions.

It recommends a penalty of not less than P100,000 but not more than P250,000 or imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years for individuals who would commit such discriminatory practices. —VAL, GMA Integrated News