President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he would certify the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (Sogie) Equality Bill as urgent, to speed up its passage in Congress.
“Yes,” Duterte said in response to a reporter’s question on whether he would certify the bill, which guarantees protection for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBTs).
Duterte took questions from reporters after administering the oath to the new officers of the Malacañang Press Corps.
“Whatever would make the mechanisms, whatever would make them happy,” Duterte said, borrowing from the campaign slogan of an ex-senator, Juan Ponce Enrile. “Gusto ko happy siya,” Duterte said.
Certification means the bill can be passed on second and third readings on the same day.
The president’s statement came nearly a month after meeting LGBT advocates and Gretchen Diez, the transgender barred from using the female restroom in a Quezon City mall.
In the meeting, the president and his top aide, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, expressed support for the bill.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III had said support for the Sogie bill, as written, was low in the Senate, over concerns it would encroach upon religious and academic freedoms. (PressONE.ph)