The House committee on women and gender equality’s move to stay the course despite being halted, forcing evangelist-turned-lawmaker Eddie Villanueva of CIBAC party list to pull himself out in the hearing he deemed “illegal.”
Minutes into Wednesday’s hearing, tensions flared as the panel took its first step toward deliberating eight bills intended to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, or SOGIE, after Villanueva attempted to defer the deliberations until the rules committee resolves the opposition he filed.
“We just want to state that this hearing, it appears, is illegal. Illegal because this is a clear forum shopping,” said Villanueva, founder of Jesus is Lord Church and a known critic of the proposed anti-discrimination law.
The panel’s chair, Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman, a transwoman herself, denied Villanueva’s motion after Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe confirmed that her committee still controls the SOGIE bill.
But Villanueva maintained his opposition, alleging Roman’s panel of “forum shopping” and breaking House rules since the human rights committee had already been working on a more comprehensive anti-discrimination bill and tackled measures with similar provisions.
A baptist pastor, Manila Representative Benny Abante, who chairs the human rights panel and advocates the rights of heterosexuals to express their views on homosexuality and to practice their religious beliefs, also alleged the LGBTQ member-lawmaker of railroading the bill’s passage.
“I want to put on record that this is not an illegal meeting. We have been given clearance by the Committee on Rules to proceed,” Roman said, referring to Dalipe, chair of the rules panel, whom she called over during the minute-long suspension.
During her sponsorship speech, Roman emphasized the long-standing problem of discrimination against LGBTQ individuals, where daily incidents go unpunished.
“The time is ripe. The time is now. Pass the SOGIE equality bill,” Roman said.
On the same day, the Senate also had the same scene after Senator Joel Villanueva, son of the party list solon, moved to have the SOGIE bill sent to the powerful rules committee he chairs.
The younger Villanueva’s move was prompted by the backing of 18 senators who were persuaded by a flood of letters from evangelical groups that they needed more time to air their views on the measure.