MANILA - Sen. Imee Marcos on Monday said she will file a bill seeking protection for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community from discrimination.

“We know gay rights are human rights. It’s important that an anti-discrimination bill be passed,” Marcos told reporters.

She added she would also file a bill that would make it easier for LGBT couples to manage their properties.

The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Equality bill, sponsored by Sen. Risa Hontiveros in the previous Congress, seeks to remove uniform restrictions in schools to protect students from discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The SOGIE Equality bill does not only protect the LGBT community from discrimination, but all people with real or perceived class, status, ethnicity, color, disability, and religious and political beliefs.

After 17 years, the bill finally overcame resistance in the lower house and reached the Senate plenary in 2016. The bill however languished in the period of interpellation, making it the longest-running bill under interpellation in the Senate.

Hontiveros vowed to refile her version of the bill, noting that “we have gained new allies, we have gathered momentum, we are inspired more than ever to fight and hope.”

Meanwhile, Marcos said she would also prioritize bills aimed at reducing poverty in her first term as senator.

She said she would seek the reduction of value-added taxes on basic goods and services, as well as ensure that local government units get the internal revenue allotment they deserve.