by Angelica Dela Cruz
Calls for justice echoed the names of Ebeng Mayor and Junjie Bangkiao in an indignation rally held last May 25 by progressive LGBTQ+ groups who condemned their brutal killings and the government’s gross indifference in ratifying the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, the longest-running legislation under interpellation in Philippine Senate history.
Almost every year, we hear of hate crimes and cases of discrimination against the LGBTQ+, proving time and again that clear prejudice against their community exists, even within the country’s legal system; and almost every year, we face the same question: how many more lives and opportunities will have to be lost for the state to finally accept and address the plight of the LGBTQ+?
Last May 20, Transman Equality and Awareness Movement - Philippines posted on Facebook news about the rape and murder of Ebeng Mayor, a non-binary transgender person from Batasan Hills, Quezon City. Mayor’s body was found three days after he went missing, mutilated. On the same day, the body of Junjie Bangkiao, also a transgender person, was found naked and bloodied in a remote cemetery in Alangalang, Leyte.
These two separate incidents both surfacing just a few days after the celebration of the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, stress the lack of national anti-discrimination policies aimed at protecting the Filipino LGBTQ+.
Who SOGIE Equality is for
After two decades of inaction from the Congress, the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, or the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB), has yet to be passed into law.
Although a glint of hope was seen in 2017 when the House of Representatives approved the bill on its second reading, it was eventually dismissed by the Senate two years later after numerous contentions from legislators. The excuse that it would impede on people’s “religious and academic freedom” were thrown around by Senators Manny Pacquiao, Joel Villanueva, and Tito Sotto, all conservative Christians.
Weaponizing the Church’s teachings to dehumanize the struggles of minorities like the LGBTQ is an old and shameless tactic used to preserve inequality.
The initial version of the SOGIE Equality Bill was filed in 2000 and has since developed into a more inclusive and detailed legislation that simply seeks to prevent and penalize any form of discrimination toward Filipinos based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
The argument that its enactment would grant members of the LGBTQ community “special rights'' has long been refuted by its principal authors and advocacy groups. Every person is entitled to their own SOGIE, which means that under the stipulations of this bill, everyone is protected from gender-based discrimination.
It is apparent that members of the LGBTQ community need this the most, as they are one of the most common targets of harassment and bigotry in a society as heteronormative and patriarchal as the Philippines, as proven by the deaths of Mayor and Bangkiao, along with Donna Nierra in 2020, Jessa Remiendo in 2019, and countless others in the past years.
Just last September, public outrage grew over President Duterte’s decision to pardon the US Marine who murdered transgender woman Jennifer Laude in Olongapo CIty in 2014. Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton only served six years of detainment out of the already short 10-year sentence he was given.
Homophobia, Transphobia not mere opinions
An Anti-Discrimination Law would not only enforce a more comprehensive movement to protect individuals from gender-based violence, it would also serve to educate Filipinos about gender sensitivity and inclusivity. The lack of common knowledge about what constitutes SOGIE is evident in how the LGBTQ+ are treated, often made the butt of jokes and constantly misgendered.
Filipino transman singer Jake Zyrus recently opened up about his experiences. In an Instagram story post, he expressed dismay over fans and online users constantly using his deadname, or the name assigned to him at birth, to comment on how much his voice has changed and how they want his old self back.
This and many other discriminatory incidents are neither circumstantial nor isolated. It is a reflection of how homophobic and transphobic sentiments are often downplayed as ‘opinions,’ when in reality, it is this system of thinking that perpetuates a culture of violence and sexism toward the LGBTQ, which endangers their lives, jobs, and futures.
Hopefully, through the re-filing of another version of the bill in the Senate plenary, the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, and Sex Characters (SOGIESC) Anti-Discrimination Bill, our country can finally take that long-awaited step forward in the age-long fight for gender equality.
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