What President Rodrigo Duterte wants to certify as urgent is the Anti-Discrimination Act, not the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression) bill.

This was the clarification issued by Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday morning through a text message sent to reporters.

Sotto said he cleared the matter with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go.

“I am told the President is not certifying the SOGIE bill. He is willing to certify an Anti-discrimination bill sans LGBT issues. A general anti-discrimination bill like the Davao ordinance,” Sotto said.

“He might have said SOGIE but I know he means Anti-discrimination [bill],” Sotto added.

Senator Sonny Angara is the author of Senate Bill 137, or the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act of 2019, to cover a wide a range of discriminatory practices while the SOGIE bill is primarily for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) sector.

“Discrimination remains a problem be it for women, children, persons with disabilities or the LGBTQ community. We are currently enjoying remarkable economic growth, but while there is still discrimination taking place, we cannot call ourselves a truly progressive nation,” Angara explained.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo confirmed Sotto’s statement.

“The President was referring to an anti-discrimination bill, not SOGIE bill, much like the anti-discrimination ordinance existing in Davao passed when he was still the mayor there,” Panelo said.

But despite being certified as urgent, the Senate chief invoked the separation of powers among the three branches of the government.

“Anyway, a bill [certified] as urgent is only needed to rid of [the] three-day rule. It does not mean the bill will pass. Did we pass the death penalty bill certified [as] urgent last Congress? Did we pass TRAIN 2 certified urgent? You all know the answers,” Sotto said.

On Tuesday night, Duterte said during his speech at the Palace that he would do whatever would make the LGBT community happy.

“Yes, whatever would make the mechanisms, what would make them happy,” said Duterte.

The Senate is deliberating on the SOGIE Bill filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros. The measure aims to prevent and penalize discriminatory acts against a person’s sexual orientation.

Several senators, however, have already expressed their reservations in passing the said measure.

Earlier, Sotto also announced the SOGIE bill might be endorsed in the plenary but it has “no chance” of passing in the Senate.