Sans SOGIE law, LGBTQ+ holds on to anti-discrimination ordinances

Gib Gabiana woke up to the sound of notifications popping up on her screen.

She opened her phone which was flooded with comments mentioning her in a certain Facebook post. A high school student in their community had been kept from taking an exam because she refused to cut her hair.

It happened in an inclusive school, where all students, including members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or another diverse gender identity (LGBTQ+) community, were allowed gender expression with the city's anti-discrimination ordinance (ADO) in place.

A member of their barangay's "pride council” dedicated to the gender minority for five years, Gib is not new to these kinds of stories. Still, she said she found it  disheartening to hear such tales everytime.

She reached out to the victim and learned that her social media post was just the tip of the iceberg.

The victim, Patricia (not her real name), had earned her teacher's ire after she missed submitting an assignment. She said she was shamed and even received a sexual slur from her advisor during the outburst.

She was also told she couldn't take her exam because she refused to follow the standard hair length for cisgender heterosexual men.

Patricia, who was born a male, told her parents about the incident, but they advised her to comply with the teacher's demand. Confused and frustrated, she later wrote a social media post calling out her teacher, which eventually caught Gib's attention.

The barangay pride council member helped the victim file a complaint with the school administration, and this led to a meeting with the guidance counselor.

The teacher apologized to Patricia, and the case ended with the student being moved to another section. Her adviser is still under investigation by the Department of Education.

The school administration allowed the victim to take her examination and let her keep her hair the way she wanted it.

Patricia's case is not an isolated incident.

With no national anti-discrimination law in place, Gib said members of the LGBTQ+ community remain vulnerable to discrimination and harassment over their gender identity.

Anti-discrimination ordinance

According to a policy map of the Lagablab LGBT Network, out of the 81 provinces in the Philippines, only 10 have local anti-discrimination ordinances.

Of these, a total of 73 ordinances are being enforced nationwide covering 69 LGUs from the barangay to the provincial level.

Launched in 1999, Lagablab is a broad, non-profit, non-partisan network of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) organizations and individuals working towards a society free from all forms of discrimination, particularly those based on gender and sexual orientation.

The 69 LGUs cover 36 million Filipinos out of the 108 million population.

This leaves 66.6% or more than 72 million at risk of discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) and with very limited legal remedies available.

Quezon City was the first LGU to pass an ADO addressing discrimination in workplaces in 2003. This was later amended to the "Gender Fair Ordinance" in 2014.

In the National Capital Region, among the cities implementing their version of the ordinance are Manila, Marikina, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela. Other areas in the country with local ADO include Ilocos, La Union, Albay, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, and Zamboanga City, among others.

However, the study found that the enactment of ADOs in specific areas had resulted in diverse ordinances, with some being "specific" and protecting people of diverse SOGIESC, particularly LGBTQI individuals, while others are "comprehensive" and protect people from discrimination based on SOGIE, among other characteristics.

In addition to the differences in the type of ADOs enacted, the study said the ordinances also lacked "uniformity and sometimes adequacy in the legal provisions that seek to provide legal remedies to people of diverse SOGIESC".

"Hence, the need for a national legislation remains. A national anti-discrimination law is crucial in the institutionalization of equal opportunities and protection from SOGIESC-based discrimination," it added.

23 years in Congress

Senator Risa Hontiveros, the sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1600, or the SOGIESC Equality Bill, said the passage of the ADOs highlighted that discrimination based on one's SOGIESC remained a "very true problem" in the country.

She said the ordinances were essential in enforcing the principles outlined in the 1987 Constitution at the local level, as well as aligning with international human rights standards and obligations.

"That is also what the SOGIE Equality Bill desires—for all of us to be protected against any level of discrimination, which is one of our most basic rights as humans," Hontiveros told GMA News Online.

"Every day, so many people are abused and discriminated based on their SOGIE. But no one takes the brunt more than the LGBTQIA+ community. And each day we delay, many suffer. Some even lose their lives. The cost is too high," she added.

The SOGIESC Equality Bill prohibits discriminatory practices based on 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 the accreditation of organizations, groups, political parties, or institutions.

The first version of the proposed measure was filed by the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and former Akbayan party-list Representative Etta Rosales in 2000.

There have been subsequent attempts for its passage in every Congress since then.

Heterosexual rights

Manila 6th District Representative Bienvenido Abante Jr. in November last year filed a measure that sought to provide for the "protection" of "heterosexual rights".

“These [SOGIE] bills not only recognize but worse, promote and give reward to 'genders' not created by God. Any gender, gender identity or gender expression outside of God's creation is man's choice and creation,” Abante had explained.

“If, therefore, we seek to 'grant' and/ or 'protect' rights to homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders and queers, in the spirit of justice, equity, and fair play, we must also 'grant' and/ or 'protect' rights to heterosexuals who are the actual and direct creations of God,” he added.

GMA News Online sought Abante's views on ADOs and would publish them as soon as they become available.

In May, the House Women and Gender Equality panel approved the proposed SOGIESC bill but its counterpart measure in the Senate was remanded to the committee on rules due to opposition from several religious groups and various sectors.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva had said there was no urgency in passing the measure.

"The LGBTQIA+ community has never wavered in their fight, for over 23 years now and counting. The community and the allies who have been campaigning for the SOGIE Equality Bill have always been prepared and ready for every pushback, for every heartbreak, but we also recognize that good things take time," Hontiveros said.

"Experience has taught us that we only have to soldier on, power through, regroup from time to time to revisit strategies, and always remind ourselves that every day is a chance to fight again," she added.

Villanueva said at least seven senators argued that an anti-discrimination bill should cover all sectors.

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

(It doesn't need to be about just one sector when you talk about anti-discrimination. Others also suffer discrimination.)

DILG backs ADOs implementation

In support of ADOs, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) highlighted that the Local Government Code of 1991 empowers LGUs to enact resolutions and ordinances that promote the general welfare of constituents.

This includes programs and policies for gender and development (GAD) advancement.

"We believe that ADOs are necessary to ensure inclusivity and rights-based development. We support the policy that every citizen is valuable and has a place in our society," Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said.

He  expressed the DILG's commitment to promoting inclusive and human rights-based governance at the local government level, including the allocation of funds for GAD-sensitive programs and projects.

Abalos also mentioned coordinating with local government leagues, such as the Leagues of Provinces, Cities, and Municipalities, to discuss the passage of ADOs as part of the DILG's "call to action" for LGUs.

As for the cases of harassment and discrimination, the DILG chief said law enforcers should protect the gender minority and encouraged the LGBTQ+ community to utilize the civil society accreditation and participation mechanisms in LGUs to take part in local development planning and policymaking in their localities.

"Mayroon ding iba’t ibang konsehong lokal gaya ng Peace and Order Council kung saan maaaring idulog ng komunidad ang kanilang mga isyung kinakaharap, at makipagtulungan upang gawing mas inclusive ang peace, order, and public safety plans ng kanilang lokalidad," he added.

(There are also different local councils such as the Peace and Order Council where the community can bring up the issues they are facing and collaborate to make their locality's peace, order, and public safety plans more inclusive.)

Fight for rights continues

Driven by their goal to push gender-based discrimination and harassment cases in their locality to zero, Gib said their council had been actively spreading information on SOGIESC by holding free orientation to various sectors in their barangay.

They also offer support to members of the LGBTQ+ community who suffer from such incidents.

But while reducing cases of gender-based violence is important, seeing queer people being empowered by knowing their rights is also what keeps them going.

"Someone asked me bakit daw namin ginagawa to eh hindi naman kami bayad lalo na yung pagbibigay ng free orientation. Wala kaming bayad. Anytime pwede namin siyang balewalain na lang. But we have a goal," Gib said.

(Someone asked me why we continue our programs if we are not being paid. We do not receive anything from this so we can just overlook it. However, we have a goal.)

"Ayaw namin na maranasan pa ng susunod na generation 'yung naranasan namin. That's why we're working so hard na ma-educate ang lahat patungkol sa SOGIE," she added.

(We don't want the future generations to experience what we experienced. That's why we're working so hard to educate everyone about the SOGIE.)—LDF/NB, GMA Integrated News