DAVAO CITY—The City Government will establish the first “all-gender” comfort room that will open next week to accommodate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender or LGBT community.
The restroom will be installed at the first floor of the Sangguniang Panglungsod building here.
In 2016, the Ateneo de Davao University established the first all-gender comfort room in the country to avoid discrimination against LGBTs.
Vice Mayor Bernard Al-ag, who presides over the city council, said the comfort room “will reduce discrimination in the preferred gender of the people,” especially since the city has an anti-discrimination ordinance.
“We are just finalizing the signage, anytime next week we will launch it. It will be placed on the ground floor. The person with disability [PWD] comfort room will now be an all-gender and PWD CR,” Al-ag said.
He said it is high time to put up the all-gender washroom now, especially after the incident last year when a transgender person who tried to enter the women’s comfort room had a heated altercation with a woman at the SP building.
“Following our anti-discrimination ordinance, it will be an opportunity for the LGBT community not to be discriminated against with this all-gender comfort room,” Al-ag said.
The vice mayor said the Sanguniang Panglungsod should serve as the avenue of the LGBT community to express their gender preference without discrimination, starting with the restroom.
Under the anti-discrimination ordinance, Davaoeños are prohibited from discriminating against people based on gender, religion, life status, and other qualifications.
Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte proposed an amendment of the ordinance to include health status of a person following reports of workers being dismissed because they have Hepatitis B.