By Gabriela Baron
Lone opposition senator Risa Hontiveros filed her 10 priority bills on Monday, July 4, including the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Bill, as senators started filing their bills and resolutions ahead of the opening of the 19th Congress on July 25.
Hontiveros reintroduced the proposed measure in the 18th Congress but failed to pass the third and final reading.
The SOGIESC Equality Bill seeks to ban discrimination based on an individual’s SOGIE.
Hontiveros is also pushing to ban hospital detention through the Anti Hospital Detention Bill which seeks to impose stiffer fines on hospitals and clinics that detain deceased patients or patients who have either fully or partially recovered with outstanding bills.
The senator also filed a bill on universal pension for all senior citizens through Universal Social Pension Bill.
Also filed by Hontiveros were the Bantay Dagat Welfare and Incentives Bills, Rights of Nature Bill, Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Bill, Anti-ENDO and Contracting Bill, Philippine Rise Marine Resources Reserve Bill, Dissolution of Marriage Bill, and Maternity Benefit of Women in the Informal Economy Bill. – ag
