Philippine celebs come out in support of LGBT equality

Philippine celebrities have been comiH7HPCjqaA1rWs!EGtrXHTaledT7=AU_h4V6HHF*PfVLKw$)FOang 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 fiR9jhssdxEpz907yNs)fputQ*vW-MM#I)Q(vnDtBedJXuNk$pl2led the bill in 2016. And, lawmakers and rights activist originally drafted the law nearly 20 years ago.

The House of Representatives passed the bill in 2017 with unanimH$oLmK6eYqLh)agxxxS04-m!zDmfWC([email protected]ous support from 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.

BJHoKDq11XgJiy6#9+Y%vALz^OKA6rcMtuVLsaEyS13vM*L5tM-ut, conservative lawmakers, including anti-LGBTI boxer Manny Pacquiao, have stalled it in the Senate.

Actress, TV host, and renowned socialite Heart Evangelista took to Instagram to support the bill, slh5401-5=L=a2Wvjcl-Ck(6^z([email protected]@1ct7aying "Equality is everything".

Flipino-Australian 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 HUMA[email protected])[email protected]*F#c3#%d%vwX7%dQ1c5PN BEINGS" in an Instagram post.

Angelina Mead King, a transgender businesyRc32RiPSY1*tqRFOzSmfNVtN(UaQK$F)7lqH11i!WWgeEUsperson and wife of TV personality Joey Mead King, said: "The bill, once passed into law, ensures equal access of everyone to social services, education, and employment."

Hello everyone! I need your help to create awareness about the SOGIE Equality Bill it aims to protect the rights & welfare of everyone against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity & expression. The bill, once passed into law,

Hello everyone! I need your help to create awareness about the SOGIE Equality Bill it aims to protect the rights & welfare of everyone against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity & expression. The bill, once passed into law,

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.