The House of Representatives Committee on Women and Gender Equality recently approved the proposed Anti-Discrimination Bill, which seeks to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity while providing penalties for such acts.
The bill was first filed by then Akbayan Party-List Representative and now Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales in the 11th Congress. Since then, it has been refiled and shelved by the Legislature in the midst of the growing clamor for its passage.
Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, the principal author of the measure, said that "this is not only a triumph for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, but for all Filipinos because the Anti-Discrimination Bill will protect the rights of each and every citizen regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity."
