Roman slams ‘slow’ progress of SOGIE measure

By Maricel V. Cruz

BATAAN Rep. Geraldine Roman, chairperson of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality on Thursday lamented the slow progress of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Equality (SOGIE) Bill in the Senate.

Roman said Congress should not have missed the chance of enacting a piece of legislation aimed at protecting every person, regardless of their gender identity, from any form of discrimination, and it seems to not be a priority in the Senate.

“It is sad that there is still no certainty as to when the Senate version of the SOGIE bill will be passed,” Roman said. More than two decades ago, former Akbayan party-list Representative Etta Rosales and the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago pushed for the first version of the SOGIE bill.