‘Cagandahan Bill’ ipinaglalaban ni Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendana

AKBAYAN lawmakers seek to translate the landmark Supreme Court ruling on intersex Filipinos (Republic vs. Cagandahan) into law, allowing them to easily change their names and gender markers in government documents.
Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendana filed House Bill 5474 or the “Cagandahan Bill” on Monday, seeking to simplify the process of changing the entries in the legal documents of intersex persons without the need for a judicial order.
“Sa kasalukuyang batas, kailangan pang sumuot sa butas ng karayom ng Intersex Filipinos para mapalitan ang pangalan at kasarian nila sa legal documents. Bakit pa ito idadaan sa korte kung pwede namang sa munisipyo na lang?,” he said.
“Deserve ng mga Intersex Filipinos na kilalanin sa mata ng batas. They should have the right to live in alignment with their identities without the tedious and expensive process of hiring a lawyer, proving themselves before a court, and waiting indefinitely for a ruling,” Rep. Cendaña added.
The bill seeks to amend RA 9048 (as previously amended by RA 10172) to include the sex characteristics of intersex persons as a ground for change in first name, nickname, or sex. This may be petitioned through the city or municipal civil registrar and the consul general, instead of local and higher courts.
Other authors of the bill are Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, and Akbayan Rep. Dadah Kiram-Ismula. (Vina de Guzman)