PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured members of the LGBTQIA+ community that under his government any forms of discrimination would not be tolerated.
To celebrate Pride Month, the President and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos hosted a meeting in Malacañang Thursday with LGBTQIA+ group LGBT Pilipinas.
“I just wanted to say hello and to let you know that we in the Philippines want everybody is treated not for any other thing, not for race, not for creed, not for orientation, but just as Filipinos,” said the 65-year-old President.
He added Filipinos were more open-minded compared to other countries when it came to sexual orientation.
LGBT Pilipinas is proposing the creation of an advisory group under the Office of the President to push more visibility and representation in the country.
The group sought support from the First Lady to further push their proposal.
“Knowing my husband, I’m sure he will grant the wish because he knows that you all campaigned for him and he wouldn’t be there without you guys,” said Mrs. Marcos.
For the past years, various LGBT groups were calling for the passage of legislation against discrimination over sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics (SOGIESC) bill, which is still being deliberated in Congress.
The late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and former Akbayan party-list Representative Etta Rosales originally passed the legislation back in 2000.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates the country to provide equal protection laws to everyone and full respect for human rights.