MANILA, Philippines – Lost in translation, again: a congressman supposedly gave gay groups wrong information that Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III opposed the inclusion of persons with “different sexual orientation and gender identity” from groups entitled to state protection in a sweeping anti-discrimination law, sparking a backlash.
But the office of Sotto, who in recent days has drawn flak over issues of reproductive health, plagiarism, and blogger rights, clarified to InterAksyon.com that he in fact supports the bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender, race or creed. What Sotto did, said his media officer, was propose an insertion affirming that the Family Code of the Philippines stays as is and is not being repealed or amended with respect to same-sex marriage.
The Senate Journal validated the claim of Sotto’s office that he did not seek the exclusion from state protection of SOGIs, but simply wanted a clear affirmation of the Family Code provision.
After earning the ire of bloggers and netizens for his allegedly plagiarized speech against the Reproductive Health Bill, Sotto on Thursday morning faced another backlash from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos.
In a statement, the Progressive Organization of Gays (ProGay Philippines) protested against Sotto’s reported move to remove state protection for SOGI’s from the proposed Anti-Racial, Ethnic and Anti-Religious Discrimination Act.
The alleged “Sotto position” was reported by Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Brawner Baguilat Jr., a member of the House of Representatives panel that crafted a version to be reconciled with the Senate version in a bicameral conference.
“We are saddened that Senator Sotto, whose successful showbiz and political careers are in part supported by hardworking LGBTs, now [considers them] second-class citizens who for him do not deserve equality before the law," said Goya Candelario, spokesperson of ProGay.
ProGay urged Congress to include SOGI as a protected status because this was one of the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Council during the Philippines’ Universal Periodic Review in May 2012.
The UN upheld the SOGI rights against discrimination but did not champion same-sex marriage, a matter that is left to individual lawmaking bodies and states of different countries.
“We appeal to Senator Sotto to give back to the LGBT community which had suffered long enough from a spate of hate crimes, workplace discrimination, and ridicule from homophobic elements of society," the group added.
Reached for comment, Sotto’s office said the lawmaker definitely did not oppose the bill, but instead wanted to include a phrase in Section 7 of Senate Bill 2814, which would make it clear that the new bill, while outlawing discrimination against LGBTs, is not replacing the Family Code of the Philippines by way of allowing same-sex marriage.
“Mali ang interpretasyon ng Pro-Gay sa gustong ilagay ni Senator Sotto sa bill. [Hindi niya tinutulan ang bill] kundi naglagay lamang siya ng isang phrase sa Section 7 upang matiyak na hindi maibabasura ang Family Code of the Philippines (Pro-Gay wrongly interpreted what Senator Sotto wanted included in the bill. He did not oppose the bill but put in a phrase in Section 7 to ensure that the Family Code of the Philippines is not disregarded),” Mike Caber, Sotto’s media relations officer, explained.
The Senate Journal dated November 24, 2011, said the body approved, subject to style, the insertion of the phrase “except the statutory provision of the Family Code of the Philippines, as amended, which shall remain in force.”
The Journal said: “Senator Sotto pointed out that Section 7 of the bill grants all persons the right of equality and non-discrimination regardless of their sexual orientation, gender and gender identity.
“To allay fears of some sectors that the measure could be misinterpreted to mean that same sex marriages would be allowed, he [Sotto] underscored the need for the clause that he introduced to clarify that the Family Code of the Philippines was not being repealed,” the Senate journal said.
The bill is an Act "prohibiting discrimination, profiling, violence and all forms of intolerance against persons based on ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, languages disability, or other status." (Lourdes Fernandez, with Karl John Reyes, InterAksyon.com)
source: interaksyon.com
