Philippines: SOGIE Equality Bill passes Senate committee; still in limbo due to anti-LGBTQIA senators

By Kiki Tan

Rainbow movement in the Philippine Senate.

The SOGIE Equality Bill – the latest iteration of the proposed anti-discrimination law that will protect the human rights of LGBTQIA Filipinos – was passed at the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality led by Senator Risa Hontiveros.

With Hontiveros, signing the committee’s report were Sens. Nancy Binay, Leila de Lima, Franklin M. Drilon, Imee R. Marcos, Grace Poe, and Ralph Recto.

With this, the bill now advances to the plenary; though whether it will be discussed at all is uncertain, considering that Senate President Vicente Sotto III has long insisted this law won’t see the light of day under his watch; and that at least 15 lawmakers would vote against the passage of the measure. Read more via Outrage