17 October 2016 - Committee on Women and Gender Equality hearing on House Bill No. 51 (Anti-Discrimination Bill), which was the first measure that Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao filed in the 17th Congress.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair, fellow legislators, and guests.
Ako po si Kaka Bag-ao. Sa araw ng pagbubukas ng 15th Congress sa aking unang termino noong 2010, inihain ko ang Anti-Discrimination Bill. Matagal na itong ipinapanukala, noong panahon pa nina Akbayan Representative Etta Rosales, labing-pitong taon na ang nakararaan. Napakatagal na panahon na. Sa pagitan noong panahon na iyon at ngayon, patuloy ang diskriminasyon laban sa mga ating mga kapwa Pilipino at mamamayan, na nagkataon lamang ay iba sa inyo—ang mga Pilipinong lesbian, gay, bisexual, at transgender o LGBT.
For the longest time that this bill has languished in the legislative mill, one thing is certain: The debate has long been over. As I have said in the past, this bill does not grant new or special rights. It only seeks to uphold the basic rights of LGBTs as our fellow citizens, which has been neglected by many in our institutions of employment and education, in the delivery of goods and services, and by the government itself.
The bill that I have filed this 17th Congress is the version approved by an overwhelming majority of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality in the 16th Congress. This was the farthest that the bill has gone in 17 years.
Hindi ko na patatagalin pa ang aking pag-sponsor ng panukalang ito, Madam Chair, dahil matagal nang nag-aantay ang ating mga kapwa mamamayan para sa pagsasabatas nito.
Today, let us give LGBT Filipinos hope—hope for a society that is safe for them and respectful of their dignity as human beings. Let us show them that the 17th Congress will be the first body of legislators that said ‘yes’ to the protection of their basic rights as citizens of this country.
Maraming salamat at magandang araw sa inyong lahat.
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