Mayor Isko Moreno started his week by rescuing children who are staying around the streets of Manila City during late hours.

In his latest night roaming, Moreno who was supposed to go home and rest received a report from a concerned citizen about a commotion involving two groups of children happening around Delpan Street.

However, when Moreno arrived at the exact place, the two groups already left the area.

Instead of ending his night roaming, Moreno decided to continue traveling around Manila to tell the minors to go home and sleep.

During his roaming, Moreno rescued many children who are using a solvent in public place; one minor was even spotted consuming the substance near a police outpost.

The said night roaming became one of the most action-packed videos posted by Moreno because he even personally chased the minors to rescue.

“Nagsosolvent ka? Loko kang bata ka,” Moreno said.

He ordered all the rescued children to transport to Manila City Hall and then transfer them in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

After seeing that there are many children still roaming the streets of Manila even at late hours, he also decided to impose a curfew for minors.

Moreno also expressed disappointment over Barangay Chairmans and Police officers that not trying to rescue the minors.

“Ano ba namang mga barangay chairman to, asan yung mga barangay chairman? Hindi na ako magtataka na dapat talaga kayong kasuhan ni (DILG Sec) Año,” said Moreno.

He also asked his followers why there’s so many minors are now using solvent and not staying at home during late hours.

“Bat nagkaganito ang mga bata ngayon? Sino ba ang nagkulang? Ang Gobyerno, pamahalaan o pagkukulang din ng mga magulang?” Moreno said.

“Noong araw, alas sais ng gabi tiklop na ang telon, uwi na,” he added.

As of writing, the video already reached 1.8-M views on Facebook.

Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said that he would help janitress Chayra Ganal to find a new job after she reportedly lost her post after stopping trans woman Gretchen Diez from using a comfort room designated for females.

In a post, Atienza praised Ganal for using her “common sense” from stopping the trans woman from using the women’s restroom which sparked the debate on the rights of the LGBTQA+ people.

“I’d like to offer you a job. Binabati kita dahil ginamit mo ang iyong common sense at iniisip kung ano ang mas nakabubuti para sa lahat. Pakinggan natin ang panig ni Ms. Ganal, may mga babaeng lumapit sa kanya sa CR at nagsabing hindi sila komportable sa sitwasyon,” said Atienza.

He believes that the LGBTQA+ community is already trying to dominate the other genders by asking the people to adjust for them.

“Ginigiit ng isang grupo na bagamat may bilang sila yung pinaglalaban nila para bagang baguhin natin ang pag-uugali, ang takbo ng buhay sa Pilipinas, na tanggapin natin at i-adjust natin ang lahat doon sa kanilang mungkahi at personal na kagustuhan. I’m talking about the LGBT community,” he said.

In another interview, Atienza said that he would defend the LGBTQA+ community, however, their demands should not affect the rights of the other people.

“I will defend the rights of anyone who belong to the LGBTQ+ community BUT DO NOT IMPOSE on the other party, do not impose on the household even, do not impose on your community, definitely do not impose your own thinking sa ating bansa by making a law,” Atienza said.

Aside from Atienza, CIBAC party-list Representative and Jesus is Lord (JIL) founder Eddie Villanueva showed his support to Ganal, saying that the people should also hear the side of the janitress.

Bataan 1st District Representative Geraldine Roman said that females should share the women’s bathroom with the transgender people or just ignore them if they feel uncomfortable sharing their space.

In a press conference, Roman who’s the first transgender women elected to the Congress of the Philippines said that women should also respect the rights of the other genders who only wanted to use the female restroom.

Roman also pointed out that there’s no valid reason for any woman to be uncomfortable sharing their restroom with some transgender.

She even pointed out that transgenders using the female restroom in the Congress building is already normal.

“Pumasok nalang sila sa cubicle and do their thing, wag nilang kausapin,” Roman said.

“Ano ngayon kung transgender? There’s no valid reason… if you have a problem… magtiis ka, pero h’wag mong ipagkait sa kapwa tao mo yung karapatan niyang pumunta sa banyo,” she added.

The transgender lawmaker said that incidents like what happened to trans woman Gretchen Diez might be prevented if the Congress just passed the SOGIE bill last year.

Roman urged President Rodrigo Duterte to certify SOGIE bill as urgent so it would be prioritized by the lawmakers.

She believed that it’s already the right time for the government to give equal rights to the LGBTQA+ community to prevent another inequality incident again.

Roman is one of the first lawmakers who expressed support to trans woman Gretchen Diez after a janitress stopped her from using women’s restroom.

However, it seems that the SOGIE bill would receive opposition from several lawmakers including Senate President Tito Sotto.

“If you are infringing on the rights of others, particularly the women, then you have no right to do it,” Sotto said.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III revealed that a transgender person was plotting to replicate what happened to Gretchen Diez several days ago at Farmers Plaza in Cubao, Quezon City.

In an interview with the reporters, Sotto said that he heard a report of a transgender person standing by in one of the restrooms located at the Senate building and seems to wait for something to happen.

Sotto speculated that the said transgender was only waiting for someone to let him out of the restroom so she could make a scene like what happened to Diez.

“Meron daw transgender kanina diyan na iista-istambay lang dun, nakaupo lang daw dun, ewan ko parang nag-iintay na magkaroon ng issue na paalisin siya or something; eh meron namang bi-gender toilet dito sa 2nd floor kasama nun sa PWD na toilet dito,” Sotto said.

“Aba eh ano ginagawa mo dun? Di ba naghahanap ka lang ng gulo. But I already told the Sergeant-at-Arms to get rid of him,” he added.

According to Sotto, there’s also some incident that members of the LGBTQA+ community are trying to strike fear among straight people by telling them that they’re going to make a live video featuring them.

Sotto believes that they should not forget that straight person, especially women have the most right to use the female restroom

“Doon pa lang kita mo, wala pa ito (SOGIE bill), ina-abuso na. So that’s another problem,” he said.

“This is now an issue on women’s rights because I feel that a woman’s body is a temple and to her, the toilet is sacred. It’s where she has the weakest point,” he added.

He also had advice for the transgender people.

“Kung may sandata ka ng lalaki, doon ka pumunta sa comfort room na panglalaki. Kitang-kita ngayon pa lang eh,” he said.

The debate about SOGIE bill sparked after trans woman Gretchen Diez was stopped by a janitress to use the women restroom after they received a complaint from two females being uncomfortable with the former’s presence.

Journalist Erwin Tulfo criticized Gretchen Diez for saying that she’s open for running in public office after she became famous because of the inequality incident happened to her at Farmers Plaza Cubao, Quezon City several days ago.

In a social media post, Tulfo expressed his disappointment over Diez latest statement, saying that the trans woman should tell the public on his intention to enter politics earlier.

According to Tulfo, he would be very supportive to Diez if she didn’t discuss her possible entry in politics.

“AYUN NAMAN PALA!!! Sana sinabi mo kaagad ineng na GUSTO MO LANG TUMAKBO SA SUSUNOD NA HALALAN para hindi na nasibak si ateng na janitress…kawawa naman.” Tulfo said.

“I WOULD HAVE FOUGHT FOR YOU ALL THE WAY BECAUSE I ALWAYS BELIEVE THAT THE LGBTQ+ SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY AND FAIRLY. Sayang,” he added.

On Saturday, Diez told the press that she’s open to run for public office as a way for her not to waste the opportunity and popularity she received to become the voice of the LGBTQ+ in the government.

“I’m willing to maximize all of the power that’s in front of me para makapag-advocate ng change sa ating bansa. If it takes running for office, then I’m open for that. Siguro wala naman pong masama na ang isang transgender na katulad ko ay mabigyan ng pagkakataon na magkaroon ng boses lalo na po sa ating pamahalaan,” Diez said.

“Sabi na gusto pa nila akong tumakbo. Ako po ngayon ang gusto ko lang naman po ay mabigyan ng katarungan ang nangyari po sa akin kasi po 28 years po akong nabubuhay sa mundo, 28 years ko pong naranasan ang diskriminasyon,” she added.

The said statements of Diez received mixed reactions from the netizens and some critics cautioned her not to use her popularity to enter politics.

It seems that trans woman Gretchen Diez would not waste the popularity she received from the viral comfort room incident happened at Famers Plaza Cubao, Quezon City several days ago.

In an interview, Diez said that she’s open to run for public office to push the agendas of the LGBTQA+ community more effectively.

According to her, only a few members of the LGBTQA+ community could have the chance to have a voice in society, especially in the government.

“I’m willing to maximize all of the power that’s in front of me para makapag-advocate ng change sa ating bansa. If it takes running for office, then I’m open for that. Siguro wala naman pong masama na ang isang transgender na katulad ko ay mabigyan ng pagkakataon na magkaroon ng boses lalo na po sa ating pamahalaan,” Diez said.

Diez revealed that some people are pushing her to run for politics while she only wanted to seek justice on the inequality she experienced at Farmers Plaza after a janitress stopped her from using female restroom.

“Sabi na gusto pa nila akong tumakbo. Ako po ngayon ang gusto ko lang naman po ay mabigyan ng katarungan ang nangyari po sa akin kasi po 28 years po akong nabubuhay sa mundo, 28 years ko pong naranasan ang diskriminasyon,” Diez said.

“Noong mga panahon na ako’y bata pa at wala pa akong edukasyon at wala pa po akong kaalaman tungkol sa pagsulong ng mga karapatan ko. Now that I’m given the education, now I’m given this privelege to be the voice of the LGBTQ+ community or being the voice for equality,” she added.

WATCH: Gretchen Diez says she is open to running for public office to “maximize all the power” in advocating for equality and change for the LGBTQ+ community. | via @Ted_Cordero /GMA News Online pic.twitter.com/QdhyhrV7Up

— GMA News (@gmanews) August 24, 2019

The incident happened to Diez made the SOGIE bill being pushed by the LGBTQA+ community became one of the most discussed topics this month nationwide.

Several politicians, celebrities and other famous figures also showed their support to Diez and to the SOGIE bill.

However, politicians like Senate President Tito Sotto are still not convinced that the said bill should become a law.

He even accused Diez of deception because the trans woman didn’t tell the whole story to the public.

“May pila sa ladies’ room. Paglabas nung isang babae, nagreklamo sa dalawang janitress na may lalaki sa loob. Parang ganun ang sinasabi. Hindi naman nila pinansin kasi wala naman silang nakitang hitsurang lalaki,” the senator said.

“May isa pang sumunod, tinuro nagturo na sa linya daw hindi raw babae, nakabihis na babae. Nilapitan nung janitress, sinabi sa kanya na huwag na lang dito dahil may nagrereklamo. Itinuro siya dun sa PWD, or doon sa other nila, third toilet nila.” he added.

An OB-GYN specialist countered the claims of Lagalab LGBT network President Naomi Fontanos that the gender being included on birth certificates are only guesses that could be proven wrong in the future.

In a post, Dr. Ryan Borja Capitulo who introduced himself as a member of the LGBTQ+ community said that he’s a specialist when it comes to OB-GYN and also a specialist in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.

According to him, the gender of the baby should be based on anatomy and genetics. It contradicted the thoughts of Fontanos who said that the gender should not be based on the body of the newborn.

He also pointed out that as an expert, he’s not trying to guess the gender of the child.

“Batid ko ang KATOTOHANAN ng kasarian ng sanggol ayon sa “anatomy” at “genetics”! Naniniwala ako sa KATOTOHANAN ng kasarian base sa kaalamang SIYENTIPIKO at MEDIKAL,” Capitulo said.

“Kapag pumipirma ako sa Birth Certificate, sigurado akong TAMA at HINDI HULA ang nakalagay na kasarian!” he added.

Capitulo is a known critic of the SOGIE bill which being pushed by Fontanos and other members of the LGBTQA+ community.

During the Senate hearing on the SOGIE Bill, Fontanos said that her gender was only wrongly guessed during her birth because she was labeled on her birth certificate as a male, while in reality, she’s a transwoman.

“In our case as trans people, as a transwoman, I was assigned male at birth. It was incorrect, it was just a guess and it was a wrong guess. gender assignment is predictive, it is not final,” Fontanos said.

She said that in some first world countries like Australia and New Zealand, they’re already following international standards on how they would prevent the baby’s gender being wrongly labeled on their documents like birth certificate.

Fontanos explained that the said countries are already allowing parents to put “x” or “double dash” which means that they’re not trying to assume the gender of their child.

The Sogie bill advocate also said that putting x or a double dash to the official documents of an individual will help other people communicating with them to ask first how should they be addressed.

An advocate of the SOGIE Bill said that parents should not assume the gender of the newborn baby because someday they might learn that their guess may be wrong.

During the Senate Committee hearing on the said bill, Lagalab LGBT Network President Naomi Fontanos showed a presentation to the lawmakers explaining the difference between gender identity and biological characteristics.

“Example, I identify myself as a transwoman, my gender identity is female, but I’m attracted to males for now… so currently I’m exclusively heterosexual identifying,” Fontanos said.

“But I have sisters or transwomen just like me who are attracted to other women,” she added.

She mentioned the case of Angelina Mead King who kept her relationship with her wife Joey Mead who’s a female despite coming out as a trans woman.

After the presentation, Senator Nancy Binay who was very curious about the topic asked Fontanos

Binay asked the difference between her as a person born as a female who’s attracted to male and other gender identities.

“Ma’am you were born a baby and you are assigned as female at birth, but your gender identity matches your gender assignment at birth,” Fontanos told Binay.

The Senator followed it up with a question asking Fontanos if she wants to stop labeling the gender of babies in their birth certificate after they were born.

The LGBTQ+ advocate answered it by saying that as much as possible people should not assume the baby’s gender by putting Male or Female on their birth certificates.

“In our case as trans people, as a transwoman, I was assigned male at birth. It was incorrect, it was just a guess and it was a wrong guess. gender assignment is predictive, it is not final,” 

Fontanos added that in some first world countries like New Zealand and Australia, the parents could now choose if they wanted to include the gender of their baby on their birth certificate.

According to her, some parents in the said countries may put “x” or “double dash” to the gender information of their baby to show that they’re not assuming the gender of their child.

The same system also applied to their passports so they could address their gender freely.

“Basta if the x or double dash is indicated, therefore they’re not male or female. So if they pass the immigration for example or having a business, then the people doing business with them have to ask ‘how would you like to be addressed, how would you like to be called?'” she said.

Not only the Manila City Government is the one planning to bring back the Marcos-era Nutribun program in their place, even Marikina City already implemented the said project to solve the malnutrition in their jurisdiction.

According to Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro, he wanted the children in his place to avoid suffering from hunger while they’re studying.

He said that public school students of Marikina City who are studying from kindergarten to Grade would receive a piece of the free nutritious bread with a free glass of milk.

There are around 21,000 kinder and Grade 1 public school students in the city.

“Sa public schools maraming undernourished, kaya ang intervention namin ay feeding program,” Marcelino said.

“We found out na ang ibang bata ay walang mga baon kaya wala silang makain na masustansya,” he added.

Mayor Marcelino and Mayor Isko Moreno

Teodoro also revealed that their nutribun is made up of nutritious ingredients like, eggs, squash, and malunggay.

Marikina City Government is aiming to end malnutrition by next year.

Nutribun program became popular under the leadership of former President Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s.

The government took over the production of the bread in 1975 which originally came from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The said program was considered a success after the rate of malnutrition in the Philippines fell drastically.

Some Marikeño who lived during the Marcos period said that the nutribun made by the Marikina City government tasted like the bread made during the 1970s however, the current version of it is softer.

Despite the bad weather, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is still doing their job to serve the people by giving them free ride under “Oplan Libreng Sakay.”

Manila Police District started the “Oplan Libreng Sakay” to assist the people who are stranded during the bad weather on Thursday.

The photos were taken at Sampaloc, Manila shows the cops enduring the flood just to prevent the civilians from getting wet.

Cops are using chairs to help the civilians from passing the flooded area, while some of them decided to carry the people to make the job faster.

MPD also used their mobiles to help the stranded civilians to arrive on their destination.

“Due to bad weather condition, this afternoon of August 2, 2019, different PCP’s of this Station conducted “Oplan Libreng Sakay” utilizing their respective Mobile Patrol and assisting stranded passengers on flooded areas following the heavy downpour caused by tropical storm enhances Southwest Monsoon (Habagat).” Sampaloc MPD Manila said in their post.

“Nothing’s gonna stop us!” they added.

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno also praised the cops for serving the people despite the bad weather.

“Thank you Gen. Danao and Sampaloc Mpd Manila police sa pagtulong nyo sa mga kababayan natin na stranded sa baha! Keep it up,” Moreno said.

While the netizens praised the cops for doing their job, some of them expressed their concern because the police are not wearing any boots to protect their feet from the dirty flood water.