Philippine celebs come out in support of LGBT equality

Philippin[email protected])y)_O!*%na2esP6EB)R6RJtzULCz5YnKtNaPaazXjXNe celebrities have been coming out in support of LGBT rights as a bill to protect rights continues to stall in the nation's congress.

A long-awaited bill that would criminalize discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity expression (SOGIE) is one of the slowest-moving bills in the nation's history.

Senator Risa Hontiveros filed the bill in 2016. And, lawmakers and rights activist originally drafted the law nearly 20 yetQ*M5mI7HX8mC2DRH&8Z*R5LANh2uws%!mo+5pw_1ru1%vNZ3^ars ago.

The House of Representatives passed the bill in 2017 with unanimous support fromzp5mmj=bFo+ob-Mbnb^##*zy93m^[email protected]_7QMgbvtbkc0dS$ 198 lawmakers.

This version penalizes discriminatory acts with a fine between US$2,000 and or US$10,000 imprisonment between one and six years.

But, conservative lawmakers, including anti-LGBTI boxer Manny Pacquiao, have stalled it in the [email protected]&J=xmIzW54kHxXz%0N9HpP%ESenate.

Actress, TV host, and renowned socialite Heart Evangelista took to Instagram to support the bill, saying "Equality is everything"1yucoGe-%d^g7)H2q3+ukm*IxEI7IjRzOk)9OXr1jV(69^Cd*g.

Flipino-AustraKvieCGLn30Gxyag-zeObaR9P&---tI-woVkZAf9f+RgfYb4HZXlian actress, model, television host Anne Curtis-Smith-Heussaff said "It breaks my heart and saddens me that people are so against the passing of the bill when in fact, it all boils down to equal rights as HUMAN BEINGS" in an Instagram post.

Angelina Mead King, a transgender businessperson and wife of TV personality Joey Mead King, said: "The bill, once passed into law, ensures equal access of everyone to social servicemhIjec6p^=MZu+J5Up2qI3MXwIUw-QRG^E)=&l+mSK&U%yGJR#s, education, and employment."

Model and beauty-pageant winner Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, meanwhile, said "very effort creates ripples of positive change that we need to finally stop stigma and discrimination (both external and within the community itself)" and shared an image explaining the differences between gender identity and sexual orientation.