City haven

What a welcome surprise to see the City of Cebu at the vanguard of the fight against discrimination. With its proposed ordinance banning (at least in some forms) discrimination within the city, Cebu fulfills a promise to be progressive.

Nope, not all discrimination is tackled by the ordinance, only those that are based on disability, sexual orientation, age, health, religion and ethnicity. That means someone can still discriminate on the basis of beauty, although banning ugly-ism may be difficult to expect, given the penchant for beauty contests displayed by our public officials.But while legal, it may not be a good idea to be so open about being biased for beauty, or else, suffer the consequences of being labeled superficial.(It’s probably not a good time to admitI’ve been labeled shallow).

The prohibited acts include the denial of access to public programs or services, including medical or health services.That means that, if passed, the ordinance would prohibit a hospital from turning away a patient just because he is disabled, or because he is gay, or because he is ancient, or because he has a different religion.Also included within the ordinance’s coverage is that of refusing admission to or expelling from a school, which should mean schools can’t send someone home because of their drag queen outfits.Or force Muslims to join in Catholic prayers.At least, that’s what the proponents of the bill intend.

At the forefront of the ordinance is a woman who has experienced discrimination herself, former First Lady of the city Margot Osmena.If you will recall, Margot was barred from entering a Korean store near the airport because she was, surprise surprise, Filipina.The store said it was open to Koreans only, which was bizarre considering it was open for business in our own country.

There’s been no confirmation as to whether the bill intends to capture that specific snafu, although it would be great to be reassured indeed, the City Council intends to also cover that scenario.Maybe they can also prohibit discrimination on the basis of height, and I can finally get revenge for not making it to the varsity volleyball team.

What’s the possibility of success of the ordinance?One would have thought this bill would be easy-peasy, but detractors have surfaced.One such oppositionist is a councilor named Roberto Cabarrubias, who reportedly interrogated a supporter of the bill with questions on where she stood on same sex marriage.The tactic is absurd, if it is meant to derail the passage of the ordinance. What is the relevance of same sex marriage to a city ordinance on discrimination when the city doesn’t regulate (and can never regulate) marriage?

Now, if we were speaking of a bill filed in Congress, maybe gay and straight marriages could be relevant to the topic of equality and discrimination.But this is only a city ordinance.The Cebu City legislature has no power to ever pass a bill sanctioning same sex marriages, and so even if the ordinance intended to suddenly redefine marriage to include gay couples, that bill would never pass muster in any court in the country. At least, not until Cebu secedes from the rest of the great Philippine Republic.

The boogeyman raised by Councilor Cabarrubias has no place in the debate, except as a decoy to divert the discussions, and perhaps, as a ploy to derail the proceedings.Makes you wonder what the agenda ofthe councilor is when he questions an anti- discrimination bill. Mayhaps he should get to experience first hand the sting of a bigot, and then let’s see what his position would be on the bill.As they say, walk in another’s shoes first (or as transgender resource person Jude Bacalso testified, in her Cavalli dress) before you can judge that person.

Here’s hoping that despite the naysayers, Councilor Osmeña and her fellow advocates are successful, and this city can boast that it is a safe haven for people of all color, shapes and sizes. Even sexes!