Marcos urged to go beyond ‘toothless’ EO for LGBT concerns

MANILA, Philippines — Discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons cannot be sufficiently addressed by a "special" government body led by non-experts in gender equality and human rights, an LGBTQ+ rights advocate said on Wednesday.

The chairperson of Bahaghari Philippines, an alliance of LGBTQIA+ advocates and organizations, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should go beyond “political doublespeak” and command the speedy passage of the long-stalled SOGIE bill in Congress instead. 

“We hope that President Marcos will no longer skirt around the issue, because we have never failed to be vocal about our demand: an actual law that would protect us from discrimination,” Bahaghari Chairperson Reyna Valmores said in Filipino in an interview with ANC’s "Headstart."

Valmores said that the recently issued Executive Order (EO) 51 creates a special committee “with constituents who are not experts in gender equality and human rights.”

The LGBTQ advocate also pointed out that the EO is “not a new EO” as it amends a previous order issued by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019.

“To say it bluntly, this was not felt by ordinary Filipinos, especially ordinary LGBTQ persons. We feel that this EO (51) will also be toothless. In fact, the SOGIE equality bill — the whole idea of having a body that oversees LGBT concerns — it is already included there,” Valmores added.

On December 23, Malacañang issued EO 51 reinforcing the government's Diversity and Inclusion Program (DIP) with the goal of addressing the "continued discrimination" experienced by LGBTQ persons. Under the program, a special committee on LGBTQ affairs will lead the implementation of the DIP and review all existing policies related to LGBTQ issues.

According to EO 51, the special committee will be chaired by a government official with the rank of an undersecretary and will have members with the rank of an assistant secretary, “who shall all be appointed by the President from among the members of reputable organizations representing the LGBTQIA+ community.”

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Valmores said that the special panel might be reduced to "another means to obtain funding" for