Senator Dick Gordon said all people should be treated equally and with respect, whatever gender they may be.
“Everyone has to live with who they are. The problem is society would not let them (LGBTQIA+) live for what they are…Convention has forced us to take traditional positions that we are going to have to make adjustments to. I would just like to emphasize that I AM FOR EQUALITY. I respect the individual for what he or she is,” Gordon said.
The veteran legislator made the pronouncements after Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed at the Senate floor the discrimination trans woman Gretchen Diez experienced at a shopping mall in Cubao, Quezon City.
“We should not judge them based on the life they choose.”
“Our society should start acknowledging the members of the LGBTQIA+ community for what they are and what they choose to be. We should not judge them based on the life they choose; rather, we must embrace them as members of our society. It’s high time we end the stigma against them, for they are, after all, our fellow Filipinos. I have friends and staff who are members of the LGBTQ+ community and they live and work really passionately and virtuously. They exert tremendous effort to make sure that they live their life with utmost pride. And I commend them for that,” the seasoned lawmaker said.
The senator pointed out that it may be a challenge to fine-tune society to accept the reality that there are people born outside of the conventionally-accepted genders and adjustments would have to be made in terms of culture, language and even in some infrastructure.
“We will definitely strive to make sure that everybody treats everyone equally.”
“It may be a challenge to fine tune society to a new reality but we will definitely strive to make sure that everybody treats everyone equally. After all, the Constitution assures us that all men are created equal and everyone has the right to life, liberty and property,” he said.