Imee Marcos files own version of SOGIE bill; rejects same sex marriage, divorce bill
Senator Imee Marcos at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado forum on July 25. INQUIRER.NET PHOTO/CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday said she is against legalizing same-sex marriage and institutionalizing divorce in the country.
During a weekly press forum at the Senate on Thursday, Marcos said she is not in favor of same-sex marriage because it is “too complicated.”
This even after she filed her own version of a bill that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression (SOGIE).
Another version of the SOGIE bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading last 2017 but remained pending at the Senate, was filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros.
READ: Hontiveros makes fresh bid to push SOGIE bill
Article continues after this advertisement“Wala, ayoko…nun,” Marcos said when asked if her version of the SOGIE bill has a provision on legalizing same-sex marriage.
Article continues after this advertisement“I think masyado siyang komplikado. Hindi mo kasi maihahambing yung union sa konsepto ng marriage na nasa Saligang-Batas,” she added.
The neophyte senator argued that the government should take “little baby steps” in social change.
“Ang sense ko, mas mainam na we take little baby steps. Unti-unti tignan natin kung it works. Ayoko nang radical na mga kilos kapag pamilya ang pinaguusapan. Pwedeng radikal pag ekonomiya, maski politika, sige magbatuhan tayo ng ideya,” she said.
“Pero pag pamilya, mga anak, masyadong masakit yan sa sa kalooban. The consequences of making a mistake are dire, mortal. Kaya wag na tayong masyadong mag-experiment ng radikal,” she added.
Aside from her version of the SOGIE bill, Marcos also filed a measure on conjugal partnership.
“Yo’ng partnership lang talaga ng property. Walang labelling kung marraige ba yo’n o kung ano. Basta yung property lang yung pinag-uusapan,” she explained.
“Kasi kawawa naman yung isang partner sa gay union na wala, naiiwan, tumanda, wala man lang bahay, walang pag-aari,” she further added.
Marcos also said that she is against the divorce bill.
Earlier, Hontiveros also refiled a measure that would institute absolute divorce in the country.
READ: Hontiveros renews struggle for divorce law
The Divorce Act of 2019 seeks to make psychological incapacity of either spouse, irreconcilable marital differences, marital rape, or being separated for at least 5 years as grounds for divorce, among others.
But Marcos said that the “welfare of the children of a broken marriage and the situation of the abandoned spouse” should be “primordial.”
“I am not so concerned about the legal status of consenting adults. Ang primordial dapat should be the welfare of the children of a broken marriage and the situation of the abandoned spouse. I think there are insufficient safeguards and no safety nets for both,” she said.
“Ang tutukan natin yung mga children at saka yung abandoned spouses yun ang mahirap yung solo parents tulungan natin ng buo. Pagkatapos yo’ng anak ng mga solo parents dahil kahit papano kahit pilitin natin na hindi totoo, talagang they’re operating at a disadvantage,” she further said./ac
