The Anti-Discrimination Bill: AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR

I did a little extra research on how the Anti-Discrimination Bill is faring in the current sessions of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights website (which is hosted under Sen. Chiz Escudero’s website), there is a list of six pages of bills which have been filed in the current session, their authors, and the status of each bill. I’m not sure when the page was last updated but the Anti-Discrimination Bill has not been read or filed yet. I certainly do hope a Senator sponsors the bill soon.

In the House of Representatives, the Anti-Discrimination Bill (House Bill 00956 - HB 634 in the 13th Congress – download PDF file here) has already been filed and is sponsored by Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel (PL - Anakbayan). The House Committee on Human Rights is now being chaired by Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III (4th District, Quezon City). The Committee’s former chair Rep. Bienvenido Abante, who once called homosexuality “morally reprehensible,” is still a member of the committee and holds the vice-chairmanship post.

Here are the details on HB 00956 from the 14th Congress website:

NO. HB00956

FULL TITLE : AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR
SHORT TITLE : “Anti-Discrimination Act“
ABSTRACT : “Anti-Discrimination Act”. The bill cites the need to correct discrimination against lesbian and gays. It defines discriminating practices and provides penalties for violations.
BY CONGRESSMAN/WOMAN HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL, ANA THERESIA “RISA”
DATE FILED ON 2007-07-10

REFERRAL ON 2007-08-01 TO THE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
SIGNIFICANCE: NATIONAL
SUBJECT:SEX DISCRIMINATION

DATE READ: 2007-08-01

After the first reading, the bill is still pending with the House Committee on Human Rights(time and date Congress site accessed: 8:34 AM March 26, 2008).

It looks like it is good news, but sadly, the bill still has to go through a lot of stages. The image below, courtesy of Lagablab, explains how a bill becomes a law (a four-page PDF guide is available here):

legislative-process how a bill becomes a law

So there you have it my friends, we still have a lot to work on to stop the numerous violations of our human rights.

If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-gendered, or whatever term you like to call yourself, or if you are straight and support this call, I am urging all of you to write or talk to your respective districts’ congressman/woman (list of members of the House and their contact information) to prioritize the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Bill. Let’s all unite to fight for our rights. And remember, we are just asking for equal rights, not special rights!

Contrary to some people’s belief, the Anti-Discrimination Bill does not have provisions for gay marriage. It is likewise not a precursor for a law enacting same-sex marriage.

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Last update: March 26, 2008 9:20 AM

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