Senator defends company policy vs cross-dressing
A company policy prohibiting cross-dressing should not be considered as a form of discrimination, Sen. Joel Villanueva said Thursday.
Villanueva said he believes company policies against cross-dressing are not discriminatory to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community since they can choose whether or not to enter a company that does not recognize their preference.
In an interview on ANC, the chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employement and Human Resources Development was asked about a scenario of an employer not accepting an applicant who crossdresses.
"I would support the company, because that's company policy, it's company culture," Villanueva replied.
"It is a company policy that they do not allow cross-dressing. So, it is your choice if you want to apply for this company or not. I don't see it [as a form of discrimination]," he added.
Villanueva said employees "have to submit" to company policies, saying the prohibition against crossdressing, specifically, has "nothing to do" with competence and the job being asked of them.
He said he has yet to raise the issue before the plenary debates on the proposed law against the discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE).
Calls for its passage in the Senate mounted anew following a viral incident on the alleged discrimination of comedian and impersonator Jervi Li, more popularly known as "KaladKaren Davila," who was supposedly barred from entering a bar in Makati City.
Sen. Riza Hontiveros, sponsor of the SOGIE bill, said the incident was a "wake-up call" for the Senate to pass the bill.
Villanueva, however, said the bill could face rough sailing if companies, particularly, are told to bend their policies for the LGBT community.
Filing his own version of the SOGIE bill, Villanueva disagreed with certain provisions in Hontiveros' measure, such as identifying as among the "discriminatory acts" the denial of entry in an establishment or an institution based on SOGIE.
"Baka sa public sector, pwede pa. But if it's a private company, they're [already] established," he said.
Villanueva also noted that workplace policies against cross-dressing are also similar to the rules in religious schools and universities.
"If you cannot submit to the culture and the policy, beliefs of these religious organizations, then you have to respect it," Villanueva said.
"You cannot trample on one’s right to give [way for the rights of another]. If that happens, it will become a special right. Even the LGBT community doesn’t want that, all they want is equality," he said.
Villanueva is the son of religious leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva, who, also, is vocally opposed to the passage of SOGIE bill.
Meanwhile, he reiterated his appeal for a "concrete measure" that will address discrimination.