The government can create a commission to promote the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ+) community while the anti-discrimination bill against them has yet to be passed by Congress.
READ: Certify SOGIE bill as urgent, Duterte told
The idea was pitched during the meeting of President Rodrigo Duterte and Gretchen Diez on Monday night, according to Senator Christopher Go.
Diez earned media attention when she was barred from using a female restroom in a mall in Quezon City.
Go said Tuesday Duterte was planning to call for an LGBTQIA+ convention to hear the concerns of community members.
READ: Gender-free CR? SOGIE bill pushed
Go said Duterte thought of the convention, which most likely would be held after the President’s visit to China at the end of the month, after his meeting with Diez and other members of the community on Monday.
He said Duterte had vowed that the Palace would work with both Houses of Congress to push for the passage of a version of the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression) Equality Bill that would protect the rights of individuals against discrimination.
He said the President had expressed his full support to the LGBTQ community.
As shown in photos released to the media, Duterte met Diez and other LGBTQ+ rights advocates amid the calls to pass the SOGIE equality bill into law.
“Go mentioned that one of the proposals that was also discussed in the meeting is the possibility of creating a commission for LGBTQ pending the enactment of a SOGIE [equality] law,” a statement from Go’s office said.
Go said the government was eying an “LGBTQ+ convention” that “will serve as a venue for the LGBTQ community to raise their concerns and come up with policy proposals.”
Meanwhile, the janitress who barred Diez from the restroom use broke her silence Monday in an interview by the online site PressOne.
Chayra Ganal, 25, said she had been allowing transwomen to use the female restroom on many occasions in the past.
But two women complained about Diez’s presence in the toilet, prompting her to recommend the nearby male restroom.
Diez took out a mobile phone and went live on Facebook, Ganal said in the interview.
Ganal said she brought Diez to the mall security office on the ground floor because she had refused to delete the video.
Ganal, who was pregnant, said Diez had resisted and elbowed her in the belly. With Macon Ramos-Araneta
