President Rodrigo Duterte is in favor of creating distinct restrooms for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community, his spokesman said Monday.
“There is a need for a third restroom for them so we will not have any problem. If you’ll enter a female restroom, some might not be comfortable because it might be a man. Vice versa,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a television interview.
“That’s what he told me yesterday,” Panelo added.
Panelo’s remark came after the incident in a mall in Quezon City where a transgender woman was barred from entering a female restroom.
The incident triggered a call for the passage of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) equality bill which failed to be approved in the 17th Congress.
Distinct restrooms for LGBTQ+ were not part of the version of the SOGIE equality bill filed in the 17th Congress, but Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed optimism that it might be included in the new version of the bill.
If passed into law, denial of access to establishments, facilities, services and utilities on the basis of sexual orientation will be prohibited. The proposed measure will also penalize verbal and physical harassment against LGBTQ+.
Panelo also said that Duterte is in favor of the SOGIE equality bill which was refiled by Senator Risa Hontiveros in the 18th Congress.
1-PACMAN party-list Representative Eric Pineda also proposed the creation of distinct restrooms for LGBTQ+, saying it will prevent them from feeling uncomfortable whenever they go to a male or female restroom.