Taylor Sheesh pushes for SOGIE Bill after concert attack
Taylor Sheesh revived calls to push the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression (SOGIE) Bill into law days after she was attacked by a crowd member during her April 6 show in Bayambang, Pangasinan.
On her social media accounts, the country’s foremost Taylor Swift impersonator gave more details about the incident that left her traumatized, detailing that she was "physically assaulted" by a man who she "didn't even know."
"The security escorted him out and brought him to the police station. And yesterday, he was arrested and I filed a case against the guy," wrote Taylor Sheesh, whose real name is Mac Coronel.
It was there that the drag artist found out that the man already had multiple pending cases filed against him.
Coronel went on to reiterate the importance of passing the SOGIE Bill into law to safeguard the queer community.
"I will not tolerate violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. We need SOGIE Bill or a law to protect us from any kind of homophobic or transphobic activity," she underscored.
"Hope we get the justice we deserve," she continued.
The drag artist went on to express her gratitude to Bayambang Mayor Niña Jose Quiambao for helping her amid the attack as well as to her followers who had shown concern for her after the incident.
Quiambao also made her statement regarding the attack, stressing that she will "not tolerate homophobia and physical abuse in [her] town."
"I will make sure that justice will be dealt with. I am sorry to Taylor Sheesh that someone assaulted her during her performance! Don’t worry. Authorities have the person in question and this matter and incident will be dealt with accordingly," she wrote.
In the comments section of Coronel's statement, many of her supporters echoed her calls to pass the SOGIE Bill, using hashtags such as #SOGIEqualityNow and #SOGIEBillNow.
"We're here for you Taylor Sheesh, I'm happy that you are fighting back on what happened to you, 'di dapat tinotolerate 'yung mga kabastusan na 'yan dahil 'di naman dapat talaga eh. Don't worry, we are fighting with you as well," one supporter commented.
"I hope you feel better po Ate Mac Coronel, these people who call themselves "conservative" are homophobic and deserve to go to jail because these beliefs are outdated already," another one wrote.
The SOGIE Bill seeks to protect everyone from any form of discrimination, including heterosexuals as they also have a sexual orientation and a gender they identify with.
It will penalize any person, corporation, or any group that will harass or attempt a criminal act against a person because of their sexual orientation, which includes promoting negative beliefs and inciting abuse.
While the proposal passed the third reading in the lower house, it was subsequently stalled in the Senate and it has since gone back and forth among lawmakers up to this date.