MANILA — The creation of a committee on LGBT affairs is appreciated but the panel needs to be more inclusive, advocacy groups said Monday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr issued Executive Order No. 51 to "strengthen existing mechanisms to address the continued discrimination being experienced by the members of the LGBTQIA+ community."

But Bahaghari chairperson Reyna Valmores told ABS-CBN News that the special committee will be led by national government agency officials and not by advocacy groups who could guide the panel and represent the sector.

Under EO 51, the special committee will be headed by the Department of Social Welfare secretary, with the secretaries of Migrant Workers and Labor and Employment serving as co-chairpersons.

It will also have three members with the rank of assistant secretary appointed by Marcos "from among the members of reputable organizations representing the LGBTQIA+ community."

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"Bluntly speaking, the committees under Marcos Jr.'s EO 51 are far from inclusive," Valmores said.

"The compositions of both the Diversity and Inclusion Committee as well as the Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs under EO 51 only clearly state government secretaries and heads as part of it, not concerned citizens, civil society organizations, and non-government organizations with a specialty and track record on LGBTQIA+ and human rights," Valmores told ABS-CBN News.

MEANINGFUL REPRESENTATION NEEDED

While welcoming the Palace initiative, Babaylanes executive director Jap Ignacio stressed that the committee should engage with the LGBT community to address their concerns.

"The committee should have mechanisms of meaningful engagement with the community (like) consultations ... while we welcome the formation of this inter-agency body, we need to ensure that there is meaningful representation of us in the community," Ignacio said.

"Inclusion should not merely stop (at) consultations or (listening to the) concerns of the community, but also give us opportunities to lead," he added.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAM

The EO mandates the special committee submit to the President within six months “a Diversity and Inclusion Program (DIP), which shall serve as the blueprint of the national government in implementing programs, activities and projects against discrimination of persons.”

The panel is also expected to “coordinate with concerned government agencies to ensure availability of sufficient and reliable data on the status, challenges and opportunities of the LGBTQIA+ community” as well as to “develop a consultative mechanism allowing continuing dialogue between the government and the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Valmores noted that the idea of the special committee is already in the pending SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics) Equality Bill and hopes that the President will voice support for its passage.

Various versions of a bill penalizing discrimination, exclusion and harassment based on someone's SOGIE have languished in Congress for more than two decades.

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"We must make it clear that while this move is appreciated, it is insufficient and imprecise," she said.

"Hindi po komite o espesyal na grupo ang kailangan ng LGBT. Ang kailangan po natin at napakatagal na nating malinaw na hinihingi ay ang SOGIE Equality Bill: isang kongkretong batas na magpoprotekta sa lahat ng Pilipino laban sa diskriminasyon batay sa kasarian."

(LGBT people don't need committees or special groups. What we need and have been clearly demanding for a long time is the SOGIE Equality Bill: a concrete law that will protect all Filipinos against discrimination based on gender.)

She said that Marcos can go beyond a "token" executive order by "publicly [declaring] support for and certification as urgent of the SOGIE Equality Bill."

—with reports from AC Coloma and Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

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