MANILA — A former official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (CBCP-ECFL) lauded the election of Senator Vicente Sotto III as Senate President.
“I personally am glad that Senator Tito Sotto was elected Senate President. Except for that particular issue on the death penalty, he is generally pro-life,” said Fr. Melvin Castro, former CBCP-ECFL executive secretary.
The Catholic priest said that with Sotto taking the Senate’s helm, such measures as divorce and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE), also known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill, will not be passed.
“I believe divorce and the SOGIE bills would not prosper under his term,” he added.
Earlier, Sotto said the Senate is unlikely to pass the divorce bill.
The House of Representatives approved last March House Bill 7303, or the proposed Act Instituting Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage. The Senate has not filed its version of the measure.
]As for the SOGIE bill, it has been in the period of interpellation since December 2016 in the Senate.
Sotto succeeded Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who resigned as Senate president on Monday. (PNA)
