Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
MANILA, Philippines – As the 19th Congress of the Philippines adjourned, key equality and anti-discrimination bills were again sidelined, with their fate now returned to the committee level.
While Congress passed 40 priority bills under the Marcos administration’s legislative agenda, the sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) equality bill and other protective measures for the LGBTQ+ community remain excluded from the list.
Despite two decades of clamor, legislators have repeatedly evaded and stalled its passage for a staggering 25 years, surpassing even the once-controversial reproductive health bill, which took 15 years to become law.
Transactional dynamics, delays
LGBTQ+ groups, advocates, and champions say efforts to pass it have been consistently delayed, blocked, or avoided often by procedural moves, lack of political will, or opposition, alongside continuous disinformation campaigning against what the bill is supposed to do.
In the June 27 Be The Good episode with outgoing Bataan 1st District representative Geraldine Roman and re-elected Akbayan representative Perci Cendaña, they noted that the measure has been repeatedly pushed back in the 19th Congress, always under the lower chamber’s ‘unfinished businesses.’
Roman alleged that there might have been prominent figures who are against the bill who have become prominent on other issues that were prioritized by the House leadership.
“Not just in [the 19th] Congress, but in past ones too. There are transactional dynamics at play. You know, those closer to the kitchen get more of the feast. Those who are favored, get more favors,” she added.
“Since May [2024]. It’s been more than one year of ‘unfinished business’ on the floor. And I kept reminding our rules committee. ‘When will we discuss?’” Roman recalled how the SOGIESC equality was always left out of the agenda.
The SOGIESC equality bill, originally filed as an anti-discrimination measure as early as the 11th Congress in 2000, fundamentally seeks to protect at-risk people from discrimination and penalize harmful practices such as forced disclosure, denial of services, exclusion from schools, and other forms of abuse.
What is SOGIESC equality really for?
When asked to explain the SOGIESC Bill, Roman and Cendaña jokingly shared in the Be The Good episode that it’s often easier to clarify the bill by first pointing out what it is not.
Does the bill entail giving extra rights to LGBTQ+ individuals? Is it about allowing same-sex couples the right to marry? Will it prevent people from practicing their religion?
“So I ask people, ‘true or false, SOGIESC equality bill is a same-sex marriage bill.’ And still, 25 years after, I hear members of the committee say, true, true.” said the outgoing Bataan representative.
“No, it’s not a same-sex marriage bill. There is nothing in this bill that will actually allow marriage between two persons of the same sex,” she added.
Akbayan’s Cendaña said that the bill is a basic “fundamental, constitutional, and human rights-based legislation.” But apparently, a lot of people, even those in the LGBTQ+ community, seem to fall for misinformation on what the bill stands for.
Disinformation against the said equality measure insists that the bill will push for special rights and privileges that the LGBTQ+ community shall only benefit from.
However, even cisgender heterosexual men or women can face discrimination based on perceived SOGIESC, such as having a nonconforming gender expression, which can lead to various forms of abuse.
“So we don’t understand why those spreading fake news are against a bill that simply says discrimination is wrong. In the end, does that mean they’re okay with LGBTQ+ people or anyone being discriminated against? It’s almost like they’re saying yes to that.” said Cendaña.
The bill seeks to protect all Filipinos from such bias, though most cases still come from the LGBTQ+ community.
Just this year, four transgender women have reportedly fallen victim to violence, noting a pattern of what the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has called “transfemicide”.
“These killings, marked by cruelty and impunity, reflect a disturbing pattern of transfemicide — the gender-based killing of transgender women — driven by misogyny, transphobia, and the systemic belief that their lives are disposable. It is imperative that our society name this violence for what it is.” CHR said in a statement condemning these recent transgender killings.
Two outspoken transgender women, Ali Macalintal, a broadcaster and activist, gunned down at her workplace, and student Gian Molina, whose lifeless body was found in a river, were killed in separate, brutal tragedies in June 2025 .
Discuss and put to a vote
While the measure failed to reach the floor for interpellation in the previous congress, the challenge is to bring it again to the floor for discussion. Cendaña and Roman believe that when the bill is discussed in the plenary, the measure has a strong chance for approval.
“We want the 20th Congress to take it seriously and, in the end, take a stand and put it to a vote. It can’t just be hidden or buried in the process.”
Those opposing the bill historically argued that it should be the least of the plenary’s priority as it’s not a gut issue. But advocates think otherwise.
“When they say that discrimination is not a fundamental and basic issue, they are denying the lived experiences of stigma and discrimination of many LGBTQ+ Filipinos in workplaces, schools,” said Cendaña.
Another way to counter the supposed delaying tactics sent out by the bill’s opposition is to certify it as a priority legislation. Cendaña said that it will be the “ultimate measure of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s commitment to equality and the LGBTQ+ community.”
“So let this be an open challenge to President Bongbong Marcos that this Pride Month, or even after Pride Month, in your SONA, certify the SOGIE equality bill as urgent.”
Marcos has voiced support for gender rights and anti-discrimination, even backing LGBTQ+ rights in 2023, yet a SOGIESC equality bill remains absent from his priority legislation. – Rappler.com
All quotes have been translated into English for brevity.
