President Marcos has issued an executive order creating a special committee to tackle issues from the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBTQIA+) community.
Under Executive Order 51, the Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs, which will be under the reconstituted Diversity and Inclusion Committee (DIC), will be led by a chairperson with a rank of an undersecretary and will have three members with the rank of assistant secretary.
The President will choose the chairperson and members of the special committee from reputable organizations representing the LGBTQIA+ community, according to the EO.
The five-page EO No. 51, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin on Dec. 22 and released on Saturday, reflects President Marcos’s “recognition of the imperative to fortify the DIC and reorganize its Inter-Agency Committee to ensure the nation’s ongoing adherence to its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” President Marcos emphasized that the creation of the Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ aims to enhance existing mechanisms addressing persistent discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community, providing them with a platform to participate in government policy formulation actively.
“The Inter-Agency Committee on Diversity and Inclusion is hereby reconstituted as the Diversity and Inclusion Committee,” President Marcos said, adding the Committee will be led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The co-chairmanship of the Committee will be held by the Secretaries of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), with the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) serving as Vice Chair.
The Committee will include the Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) as a member, alongside the Secretaries of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health (DOH), as well as the chairpersons of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs.
President Marcos affirmed that the Committee will sustain its functions under existing mandates, with the flexibility to establish sub-committees and working groups to aid in its responsibilities, all in compliance with prevailing laws and regulations.
Concurrently, the Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs is established within the framework of the Inter-Agency Committee, with the rank of an Undersecretary and three members holding the rank of Assistant Secretary.
The President will appoint these members from the distinguished ranks of the LGBTQIA+ community.