MANILA, Philippines — Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman has a message to critics of the proposed Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Equality bill who dubbed the measure as being anti-family: “Maghunos dili kayo.” (Control yourself).
During the online hearing of the House committee on women and gender equality on Wednesday, Roman, the first transgender woman to be elected to the lower chamber, explained that the measure is simply an anti-discrimination bill and “will not redefine what a family is.”
“This bill will not redefine what a family is. So to those who accuse this very positive and welcome legislative measure as being anti-family, mag hunos dili kayo, basahin nyo bill instead of repeating like a mantra na para kayong mga trolls na ito ay anti-family,” Roman said.
(This bill will not redefine what a family is. So to those who accuse this very positive and welcome legislative measure as being anti-family, control yourself. Read the bill instead of repeating like a mantra, like trolls who say that this is anti-family.)
“Yes to SOGIE Equality Bill, yes to the family dahil bahagi din po kami ng pamilya bahagi kami ng lipunan,” she added.
(Yes to SOGIE Equality Bill, yes to the family because we are also part of families, and we are part of the society.)
Roman clarified that the SOGIE Bill does not cover other topics such as same-sex marriage, civil unions, and gender recognition that will allow the change “our legal markers” as these are “totally different issues” from the anti-discrimination measure.
“It hurts me as a Catholic, to see comments on FB live na sinasabi that SOGIE Equality Bill is anti-family. Malinaw na sinabi ng ating mahal na Santo Papa that LGBT people deserve to have families and to be in families, and that they should not be shunned away and ostracized or marginalized,” Roman said.
(It hurts me as a Catholic, to see comments on Facebook Live that SOGIE Equality Bill is anti-family. It is clear from the Pope that LGBT people deserve to have families and to be in families, and that they should not be shunned away and ostracized or marginalized.)
“Equality bill is anti family? It hurts me. Take into consideration na napakaraming LGBTs na sumusuporta mga pamilya, nag assawa mga kapatid nila… napaka dami contributions ng LGBT sa dating lipunan,” she added.
(Equality bill is anti-family? It hurts me. Take into consideration that there are a lot of LGBTs supporting their families because their siblings would marry. LGBTs have a lot of contributions to society.)
In the 17th Congress, the House approved the SOGIE bill on final reading but its counterpart bill in the Senate only languished in the period of interpellation.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the committee approved to adopt the 17th Congress-approved version of the measure as their working draft in the discussions.