Albayalde lukewarm on SOGIE bill: Bald folks need protection vs discrimination, too

MANILA, Philippines — The nation’s chief of police was not all too supportive of the proposed law that seeks to criminalize discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Sought for his opinion on the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Equality (Sogie) bill, Philippine National Police (PNP) director General Oscar Albayalde said a law should not be made to protect only a certain group of society.

He even quipped that if laws are made to be so, then bald people like him must also have a law to protect them against discrimination.

“Pwede rin sana ako. Paano ‘yung mga walang buhok? Dapat hindi ka dini-discriminate. Eh ‘di sana gagawa sana ng batas ng ganun,” Albayalde noted in a press conference.

“We cannot make laws that [are] tailor-fit to a certain group. Let us not make laws to satisfy a certain person, a certain individual or a certain group. Otherwise everybody will have their own laws,” he also said.

According to Albayalde, the 1987 Constitution already mandates the protection everyone’s rights.

“We are all protected by no less than our Constitution. Our Constitution provides ample protection for everyone already,” he pointed out.

The Senate committee on women has been deliberating on the Sogie bill, principally authored by Senator Risa Hontiveros. /kga

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