Sotto says Sogie bill ‘against women’s rights’

MANILA, Philippines — They may go under the knife for cosmetic surgery and take hormones and similar drugs all they want, but gay men will never turn into women, Senate President Vicente Sotto III maintained on Wednesday, in reaction to the sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (Sogie) bill filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

Sotto expressed his opposition anew to the passage of the bill, saying it was tantamount to a class legislation.

“Many of us are opposing (the bill) as it is, the way it is written now,” Sotto said, adding that the possibility of the measure surviving the plenary deliberations was “very doubtful.”

The Senate official said Hontiveros and others supporting the Sogie measure should refrain from comparing women’s rights with those of members of the LGBT community.

“They should not compare women, the entirety of one half of the world, to a certain group. Women cannot be compared to a group,” he said.

“I hate to say this, but I have to. If you are a man, you will never be a woman no matter what you do because you cannot reproduce,” Sotto said.

“You cannot give birth, you do not have ovaries. You will never be a woman. The Sogie bill is a bill against women’s rights… It’s class legislation,” he added.

In the continuation of the Senate committee hearing on the controversial measure, Hontiveros maintained that the Sogie bill being crafted would consider the concerns of the religious sector and other faith-based sensitivities.

“We are all against any form of discrimination. We want what is best for each other and we want to preserve our values and the Filipino family,” Hontiveros said.

Veteran broadcaster Kata Inocencio, of the Christian media outfit 700 Club, said the proposed measure might infringe on the freedom of the press as faith-based media entities like them had been discussing the evils of homosexuality in their programs.

The Sogie bill introduces and defines the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and considers discriminatory and unlawful the denial of rights of the LGBT community on the basis of their sexual identity.