Trigger Warning: Brief mentions of SOGIE-related acts of violence.

There is a lot of buzz surrounding recent antics of Philippine legislators: A senator used profanities during hearings and sessions. A district representative flirtatiously interrupted a colleague in the plenary hall. Legislators danced for a TikTok post on the session hall floor of a highly urbanized LGU.  And to top all this, there’s a mustache that does not respect time and place for its maintenance.

Some personalities have expressed their concern regarding this “erosion of prestige” of the Congress. Social media-savvy Filipinos have taken to various platforms to criticize legislators and decry the quality of the statespersons being elected. Some have even gone so far as to blame voters for electing clowns to Congress. In response to these unparliamentary acts and languages, measures have been proposed and set into motion to curb their proliferation. It is as if this is the gravest problem plaguing our legislature.

As long as Congress passes measures that promote human rights, give back to the poorest and protect the most vulnerable, I could not care less about decorum and unparliamentary acts. What erodes the prestige of the Congress and steals its dignity is its constant failure to pass social legislation and the greatest evidence of its collective shame is the 23-year limbo of the SOGIE Equality Bill.

The SOGIE Equality Bill was first filed in the 11th Congress, in the year 2000. Initially known as the “Anti-Discrimination Bill,” it was introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago in the Senate, and by Representative Etta Rosales of the Akbayan Party list in the House of Representatives. Notably, the first time this bill was filed coincided with the first inclusion of party-list groups in Congress, before the party-list system was largely captured by the ruling political elite and became a “backdoor” for political dynasties. Akbayan won seats in the 13th to the 17th Congresses, and have since been joined by other progressive groups in filing and refiling the bill. Akbayan would then lose two consecutive national elections, further proof of shrinking political space for true representatives of the marginalized.

In the Senate, the measure has been filed and refiled up to this day without having its day on the plenary debate floor. The bill’s current main champion in the Senate is former Akbayan (surprise!) party-list representative and second-term Senator Risa Hontiveros.

The closest the SOGIE Equality Bill got to becoming a law was in the 17th Congress (2017), after it was passed in the House of Representatives with 198 affirmative votes with none against. In the same Congress, the bill reached the period of interpellations in the Senate. More than 2 years passed (902 days!), and the 17th Congress ended without the passage of the bill. According to anecdotes, those who vehemently opposed the measure registered their intent to question the contents of the bill, but never showed up to tackle their questions—ensuring that the measure wouldn’t pass.

On the final day of the 17th Congress, I remember watching Senators on the plenary hall floor manifesting their approval of the SOGIE Equality Bill on the Senate floor had it been up for deliberation. I guess that is a safe way to not offend senators who openly and vehemently opposed the bill. Senators Tito Sotto, Manny Pacquiao, and Joel Villanueva were absent, as far as I can recall.

What is equality under this bill? Will it make the those who do not identify as LGBTQIA+ as an inferior class? Will it end the Filipino family as we know it? Will it lead to the incarceration of the religious, and of religious school administrators?

A quick reading of the bill will show that these questions are preposterous.

SOGIE refers to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Sexual orientation refers to physical and emotional attraction and love, gender identity refers to a deep sense of own experienced gender and gender expression refers to how a person expresses their gender externally. Everyone has SOGIE, as everyone experiences attraction and love, knows themselves deeply and expresses themselves to the world.

SOGIE also provides space for those who do not have attraction and refuse to express and identify as a particular gender. The bill seeks to mandate that everyone should not be judged, excluded, and prejudiced on the basis of who they love, what they identify as and how they present themselves to others. Surely, one should not be arrested, denied service, and be turned away by government offices on the same basis. No-one should be deprived of education and livelihood for the same reason.

The SOGIE Equality Bill is enshrining into law the promise of freedom to live our lives without fear and with the hope that we can be anything we want to be without hiding who we are.

This is why this is Congress’ gravest blunder for the past 23 years. Congress has become a haven for those who harbor prejudice in their hearts without being held accountable. They were left to run wild with their illogical statements and their unfounded claims about the SOGIE Equality Bill with little opposition from their colleagues. They have refused to listen to the vast numbers of victims of discrimination, advocates and even career bureaucrats of the executive branch (who are unlikely champions of human rights). Congress has given prime space for unfair conservative and religious rhetoric in its halls violating the separation of the Church and State.

And because of all of these, the foes of true equality have only been emboldened, enabling more abusers and their acts of hate.

There are LGBTQIA+ children who are prevented from accessing education because they act differently but not immorally. They sport non-conforming hair styles and clothes, and identify differently without causing harm to anyone. They are systematically deprived of bright futures because of their sense of being, which does not in any way affect their ability or anyone’s ability to learn.

There are workers who cannot be hired or promoted, and are abused in workplaces because of unfair preconceived notions. They and their families are prevented from achieving any form of economic advancement.

There are people denied access to comfort rooms and risk their health and safety whenever they are barred from its use.

There are people who undergo torture and rape with the consent of their own families, in order to change their sexual orientations and gender identity. 

There are people denied much-needed accommodations, service, medical care, and government services for the way they wear their hair, their clothing, and the way they speak.

There are people ridiculed, assaulted and killed just for being who they are.

Congress need not project an “image” of dignity and prestige. Legislators can comb every mustache in their session and plenary halls as long as they make right with the marginalized, especially a sector that suffers through discrimination they have enabled by not passing the SOGIE Equality Bill for more than two decades.

Pride is a protest. If you believe that the SOGIE Equality Bill must be passed, share your voice with thousands of LGBTQIA+ people and allies at the many Pride Marches taking place on June 24, 2023. For those in Metro Manila, you can attend the Metro Manila Pride organization’s march at the Circuit Event Grounds in Makati City, and Pride PH‘s march at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. For people outside Metro Manila, check with your local Pride and LGBTQIA+ advocacy organizations.