Freedom delayed

One unfortunate day, a woman’s dead body was found on the riverbank in Caloocan City and was later identified as Madonna “Donna” Nierra, a 23-year-old transgender woman (CNN Philippines, 2020). This news left not only the family of the victim devastated but also the LGBTQIA+ community.

A similar case was reported one year earlier wherein a transgender woman Jessa Remiendo was found dead on the shores of Patar Beach in Bolinao (CNN Philippines, 2019).

According to Naomi Fontanos, co-founder and Executive Director of Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas, violence directed against transwomen has long existed in the Philippines. She says advocates once told her that a transgender woman was found dead, but the case was left unreported since no one cared about her (Redfern, 2021).

These reports reflect how gender is one basis of violence. I once witnessed a scene where a group of tambay was picking on a group of gay men, and this does not even sum up all of the discrimination experienced by the people of the LGBTQIA+ community.

uproar among the LGBTQIA+ community and their supporters. Lawmakers took this opportunity to hasten the passage of the SOGIE bill. However, some Filipinos on social media expressed opposition to the bill because women’s privacy is at risk since transgender women are still biologically male and have intact male organs (Astudillo, 2019).

Furthermore, they (concerned groups) say that some provisions are culturally insensitive, such as same-sex unions, which goes against their beliefs (Hapal, 2023). Though, the bill does not include same-sex marriage because it does not at all touch on the issue. Also, restrooms could be added that are specifically for transgender people to avoid issues similar to the bathroom incident of Diez and to not put the privacy and safety of heterosexual people at risk.

Science High School, Mrs. Kimberly Calabria, the school’s electricity bill was already paid, and the school is expecting a reconnection.

The biggest problem is the undisciplined electricity usage by teachers and students.

The unmindful electrical consumption of teachers, which is not related to teaching, is burdening the school. Teachers must stop using rice cookers and heaters for cooking meals at school to unburden the school of additional expenses.

For students, charging their cellphones at home will significantly help the school. Even charging a cellphone does not cost electricity much, but a collective of this usage would indeed be expensive.

Finally, students, teachers, and administrators should help the school conserve electricity. Simply checking that lights, fans, and other electrical devices are turned off before leaving the classrooms and offices would surely make a difference.

Paying the enormous electrical bill is actually not the problem we must solve.

To battle this issue of discrimination, the Senate passed a bill prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and orientation, which is believed to have been first filed in 2000 by the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Akbayan Rep. Etta Rosales (Deslate, 2020). This bill was later reintroduced with modifications in 2022 through the SOGIE (sexual orientation, sexual identity, and expression) bill by Senators Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, and Mark Villar in the 19th Congress (Abad, 2022). The reports of gender-based violence, which has ranged from verbal harassment to murder, just strongly prove that the SOGIE bill should be approved for the safety of the people, especially LGBTQIA+ members, against discrimination.

However, protests from concerned religious groups arose, which caused delays in the bill’s passage. They say some provision in the measure violates the privacy of heterosexual people, especially after the bathroom incident involving a transgender woman, Gretchen Custodio Diez who was prevented from using the women’s restroom in a shopping mall and was then handcuffed and taken to the police station. This issue caused an

The bill protects the LGBT QIA+ community and promotes programs for non-discrimination and diversity in school and the workplace. It also does not only protect LGBTQIA+ members, but the bill extends equal rights to all persons, whether gay or straight. In addition, contrary to what some religious people believe, it does not penalize people who practice religious and academic freedom and does not dictate churches on their teaching and hiring process (Bonnete, 2019).

Everyone has the right to be themselves. If we cannot freely express ourselves without being discriminated against and harassed in this country, then in that case, the government failed to protect its citizens and robbed them of their rights.

We are living in a world where change is inevitable. Throughout the years, beliefs and norms have evolved. Having an old mindset is just blatantly denying change. The SOGIE bill being culturally insensitive, as they (protestants of the bill) say, is not the genuine reason, but the toxic homophobic mindset of these “concerned” groups who uses any means, including religion and beliefs, to defend their stand. Everyone has the right to be themselves. If we cannot freely express ourselves without being discriminated against and harassed in this country, then in that case, the government failed to protect its citizens and robbed them of their rights.