Members and allies of the LGBTQ community participate in the 2023 Manila Pride March themed “Samo’t saring Lakas, Sama-sama sa Landas” in Circuit Makati on June 24, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

Members and allies of the LGBTQ community participate in the 2023 Manila Pride March themed “Samo’t saring Lakas, Sama-sama sa Landas” in Circuit Makati on June 24, 2023. The march aims  to provide safe, informed, intersectional, educational, and empowering spaces for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

PRIDE 2023

Josiah Eleazar Antonio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173079625921220230624-manila-pride-march-MT-14.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Members and allies of the LGBTQ community participate in the 2023 Manila Pride March themed “Samo’t saring Lakas, Sama-sama sa Landas” in Circuit Makati on June 24, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members and allies of the LGBTQ community participate in the 2023 Manila Pride March themed “Samo’t saring Lakas, Sama-sama sa Landas” in Circuit Makati on June 24, 2023. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — A bill allowing queer couples to make medical decisions for their partners through the Right To Care (RTC) card program was filed in Congress on Monday.</p><p>According to a document obtained by ABS-CBN News on Tuesday, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña filed the bill, making the Department of Health the facilitator of the application for the health care proxies.</p><p>The &quot;health care agent&quot; or the partner will have the authority to make decisions for their partners, get records and information for informed decisions, and priority to decide on their behalf unless decided otherwise.</p><p>With the bill, health care providers are obliged to comply with the decisions of the proxy, but they are not liable for their decisions.  </p><p>The Right To Care card program was first introduced in Quezon City in 2023. It uses the Special Power of Attorney, describing it &quot;as though you held the power of a civil marriage contract.&quot;</p><p>In an earlier report by ABS-CBN News, the Quezon City government said it has tallied 800 couples registered for the RTC card, while around 423 healthcare providers have already committed to accepting the RTC cards.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/6/19/the-birth-and-progress-of-quezon-citys-right-to-care-card-2332">800 queer couples in line, 423 healthcare providers: The birth and progress of Quezon City&#x27;s &#x27;Right To Care&#x27; card</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/10/16/qc-govts-right-to-care-card-for-queer-couple-wins-good-design-award-2111">QC gov&#x27;t&#x27;s &#x27;right to care&#x27; card for queer couples wins Good Design Award<br/></a></div><p>Adrian de Guzman, one of the people behind the RTC card program, welcomed the progress of their project hoping for more inclusive laws legislated.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yung may biglang nag-file to automatically mainstream the impact of the card is beyond words. Same pa rin naman ang vision — hope it opens more doors for conversations about the LGBTQIA+ community finally getting the rights we have been longing for,&quot; de Guzman said.</p><p>&quot;And sana isa siyang collective effort to pull each other up, including our other efforts like the SOGIESC Bill, and sana ma-receive din ang program ng QC about Trans Health Care to the national level,&quot; he added.</p><p>The SOGIESC Equality Bill has been filed in Congress in various iterations and has languished there for more than 20 years.</p><p>Opponents of the bill — including Sen. Joel Villanueva and his father, religious leader and CIBAC party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva — worry that passage of the bill would create &quot;special rights&quot; for LGBTQIA+ people and threaten &quot;social order.&quot;</p><p>Sen. Villanueva last year suggested a more &quot;holistic&quot; anti-discrimination bill to benefit all marginalized groups.</p><p>RELATED VIDEO:</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ma4MfyPUGvQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>A bill allowing queer couples to make medical decisions for their partners through the Right To Care (RTC) card program was filed in Congress on Monday.</p>

A bill allowing queer couples to make medical decisions for their partners through the Right To Care (RTC) card program was filed in Congress on Monday.

'Right To Care Act': Bill allowing queer couples to make medical decisions for their partners filed | ABS-CBN

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'Right To Care Act': Bill allowing queer couples to make medical decisions for their partners filed

'Right To Care Act': Bill allowing queer couples to make medical decisions for their partners filed

Josiah Eleazar Antonio,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 05, 2024 04:46 PM PHT

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