2 weeks ago, I attended a Coffee Session of Mulat Pinoy because I’ve been out of the lgbt circuit for quite some time and I’m eager to thirst my intellect with stuff outside my work. Thanks to Bubbles for sharing this in her Facebook. Anyway, the topic was about Population and Gender with speakers coming from different sectors (DSWD, UP Population Institution, LGBT groups and advocates and representatives from Feminist Groups as well). The LGBT representation is really evident, and the discussion revolved around the LGBT situation here in the Philippines.

Ms. Rina Jimenez-David pointed out that in our way of thinking that is being imposed on children is very heterocentric. I very much agree to this, the conservatism of the Department of Education seem to wary away the existence of LGBTs in Philippine society. Why is there fear? Why is there a perception of LGBTs being imposed on the child very negative? To prevent children in doing bad things, some adults would say “sige ka, ibibigay kita sa bakla”. This statement alone already has a pre-conceived notion that gays or LGBTs are monsters. Children who are socialized in this kind of homophobic statements, whether it was intentional or unintentional, can lead to hatred against LGBTs. Angie Umbac of Rainbow Rights and Ang Ladlad suggested that children today should have good role models. I assume that this “good role model” is not in the absolutely related to religion but role models who simply respect other people’s differences.

Dra. Zablan from the Population Institute stated with conviction that we should have a paradigm shift. I guess this is the ideal thing to do but in reality, it can’t happen overnight. Education is the key to gear up this shift that we need; the shift from heterocentric to gender-sensitive paradigms as well as prioritizing human rights. Theories and Ideals should’t only be kept inside our brains but also in practice. By continuing to question on the existing heterocentric paradigms, we will be able to achieve a gender sensitive way of thinking wherein no one will ever care on one’s sexuality but the his/her capacity. Suntok sa buwan ito, ika nga. But rather than spreading hatred on the LGBTs, spreading gender equality among ourselves would be a worthy thing to do.

I know that this song really sucks but I guess this is a catchy way for me to instruct how you’ll vote the partylist I am campaigning for.

Ang Ladlad Partylist has gone through the needle just to be part of the roster of partylists that can participate in the elections. If you may have heard or read in the news, Ang Ladlad has been constantly being denied by the Commission of Elections to participate for various reasons. The last attempt to reject Ang Ladlad (again) even used biblical quotations to justify their reason of not letting Ang Ladlad run. How odd is that when it is clearly stated in the Philippine Constitution that The Church and the State are separate entities? Anyway, they were not successful in their homophobic motives because the Supreme Court already issued a Temporary Restraining Order stopping the Commission on Elections of disqualifying the partylist.

The ballots have been printed and the Supreme Court resolution has not changed from January 25, 2010, thus Ang Ladlad is part of the roster of partylist candidates.

Ang Ladlad’s platforms are as follows:

• Support for the Anti-Discrimination Bill that gives LGBT Filipinos equal rights and opportunities in employment and equal treatment in schools, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, entertainment centers, and government offices. The bill makes discrimination versus LGBTs a criminal act.
• Support for LGBT-related and LGBT-friendly businesses.
• Setting up of micro-finance and livelihood projects for poor and physically-challenged LGBT Filipinos;
• Setting up of centers for old and abandoned LGBTs. The centers will also offer legal aid and counseling, as well as information about LGBT issues, HIV-AIDS, and reproductive health. These centers will be set up in key cities of the country.
• Support for the the bill repealing the Anti-Vagrancy Law that some unscrupulous policemen use to extort bribes from gay men;

Take note that there is no option for gay/lesbian marriage here. All we wanted is to have a specific law that can protect us from discriminating behaviors and acts by homophobics. This is the time for Filipino LGBTs to  be represented by LGBTs.

To know more about Ang Ladlad, please visit http://www.angladlad.com/.

(photo from www.angladlad.com)

I stumbled upon this article from GMA News Tv about having additional public toilets exclusively for the use of LGBTs. Leo Martinez’s party list group, Alyansa ng Media at Showbiz Inc, pushes that gays and lesbians should have their own toilets with labels “gay male” and “gay female” on it because they experience discrimination whenever they use the usual male and female toilets.

Yes, I agree that discrimination happens whenever a member of the LGBT go inside the usual male and female toilets because of the physical manifestation that they don’t belong there BUT I don’t think that having “gay toilets”, as their group wants to call it, is the solution to eradicate discrimation. I believe that having one only creates separatism to the heterosexual world. The LGBT right that I pursue is the one that will make us LGBTs live harmoniously with the dominant heterosexual world. We need to let heterosexuals not see us as individuals that need special treatments such as this but we want to live in a world wherein gender and sexuality will not matter. We wanted to live in a world wherein our own strengths and capacities will be recognized not because we are LGBTs but because we are human.

It is the mindset of the people that we need to change and not by adding “gay toilets”. Building physical structures won’t change anything. There will still be homophobia. There  will be discrimination.

Thanks Mr. Martinez and to the people involved with Alyansa ng Media at Showbiz for thinking about LGBT rights. We need to attack the root of the problem and not be contented in solving the problem from the surface.

Ang Ladlad partylist was denied to run as such because of immorality. The Commission on Elections allowed plunderers, corrupt individuals and liars to run.  Now where is justice there? Where is democracy? Why not let the people decide?

Even Jesus does not discriminate.

Below is a repost from a fellow LGBT advocate, Anne Lim of Galang:

As we were savoring the last few hours of the work-free holiday season (in typical NGO fashion, i tuned out of work mode after december 19th as best as i could), lala and i saw this poster (see photos) in at least 2 street posts in katipunan avenue corner santolan. this poster was definitely a rude welcome to 2010. nothing jerks one from vacation mode as quickly as a poster that has the words “lesbian”, “gay”, “satan”, and “hell” all in one sentence and all within a stone’s throw away from the house i grew up in. like the haters during the pride march, this poster must energize us and remind us that we have our work cut out for us in the months to come. bigotry and religious fundamentalisms were alive and kicking even during the season of giving. to fellow believers in and advocates of human rights, let us stay focused and relentless in working for LGBT rights. the haters are getting bolder and ever closer to home.

Despite the foregoing, however, this Petition is dismissible on moral grounds. Petitioner defines the Filipino Lesbian, Gay, Biseual and Transgender (LGBT) community, thus:

“xxx a marginalized and under-represented sector that is particularly disadvantaged because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.”

and proceeded to define sexual orientation as that which:

“xxx refer to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender, of the same gender or more than one gender.”.

This definition of the LGBT sector makes it crystal clear that petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs.

And they used passages from the bible and Koran…

Now where is the separation of the church and the state??

I am furious on how COMELEC argued its way to reject Ang Ladlad from running as a party-list in Congress. COMELEC should’ve used the arguments using the Philippine Constitution. Our constitution is not the bible. Isn’t this an insult to our constitution? These COMELEC Commissioners, Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucienito Tagle, and Elias Yousoph exercised blatant bigotry and homophobic behaviour.

If you’re reading this and judging what my religious beliefs are, I’m sorry but this issue does not have anything to do with my religious beliefs. I would understand if they used logical arguments based on the constitution but using statements from the bible and koran?? Oh come on. The last time I checked, we are living in the 21st century not Medieval times. I remember during a debate class back in high school to never use religion in arguing, especially in debate, because there will never be a resolution of point of views.

I am waiting for the time when these Medieval thinkers in public service will retire and be replaced by progressive thinkers.

We, the LGBTs, need representation in Congress because we cannot expect other party-lists will help us. We appreciate the help of other party-lists such as Akbayan and Gabriela but they also have other agendas to do. If we have our own, it clearly represents the needs purely of the Filipino LGBTs.

You can view the Resolution of COMELEC released last November 11th here.

Here are some blogposts/articles written about this matter:

Rainbow Rights
Jonas Bagas
Risa Hontiveros

Anyway, I’ll leave you with a satirical note here posted by one of our sisters from STRAP, Sass Sasot:

My dear Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Philippines,

I wish to congratulate you for doing such an act of pure love and piousness when you upheld God’s Law in your decision regarding the petition of Ang Ladlad LGBT Political Party. Invoking Romans 1:26-27 was a brilliant idea! I feel so blessed that you guys are doing the job that the Constitution of the Philippines mandated you to do. And I feel so relieved that you guys are there to save my soul from being infected by the presence of a lesbian,gay, bisexual, and transgender political party in the 2010 elections.

I try to share the wisdom of your decision with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I’m really convinced that you are very right. You know, just like you, I take the Bible seriously in a very literal way because the Bible is the word of God and God is definitely very clear in whatever He’s saying. However, I do need some advice from you regarding some God’s command in the Bible. I will deeply appreciate if you tell me how to best follow them:

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exo. 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? How much did you sell your daughters for? I’m really, really curious.

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. Do you allow your female staff in COMELEC to work during their menstrual period?

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this doesn’t apply to us, that only Chinese people can have us as slaves and not the other way around. Can you clarify? Why can’t I have a Chinese for a slave?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exo. 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself? Oh, am I allowed to kill President Arroyo when she works during the Sabbath? And, YES, am I allowed to kill you if I caught you working during the Sabbath?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? I know a lot of our political candidates eat selfish! O No! Please the 2010 Elections can’t be infested by them!

g) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. A lot of political candidates are wearing glasses, a lot of our former Presidents wore glasses. Are they immoral too?

h) Most of our male political candidates get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. Can we tolerate such immorality among our political candidates?

i) I know a political candidate who has a farm. I think he violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev.20:14)

j) A lot of Filipinas work as domestic helpers in other countries. A lot of them are beaten by their employers. Should I condemn their employers or should we just allow them to be beaten up as long as they can get up after a day or two as what Exo. 21:20-21 wants us to do: “If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.”

k) Erap Estrada seems intent to run again as President. I just wonder whether you’ll approve his candidacy, specially that he is a well-known adulterer. The Bible say the punishment is death, why is he still alive? Is there something fishy going on?

l) Deut. 23:20 said that we shall not demand interest from our countrymen on a loan of money. Are our banks immoral? How should they be punished?

I know you guys have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. I still have many questions but that’s all for now. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Faithfully yours,
Juan de la Cruz

GAY RIGHTS ADVOCATE, EDUCATOR, WRITER AND 2010 SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, PROF DANTON REMOTO’s phones began to ring in earnest yesterday, as they have done so in the last two weeks, when political operators and campaign teams would call him and ask if they could make appointments with Remoto. He set one appointment, with one major political party that belongs to the Opposition, and they have included Danton Remoto in the pool of senatorial candidates that their Executive Committee has to vet as its official 12 candidates for senator. Official announcements will be made later this month, and a formal oath-taking will follow. And so, the candidate that Comelec did not want to run in 2007, who was called a nuisance candidate, now belongs to a political party that will slug it out block by block, town by town, city by city, province by province, and region by region, in the great, grand battle of the May 2010 elections.

Let the games begin!