Rainbow Radio Pilipinas will be opening the airwaves for listeners who will be sending their love letters and short but sweet shout outs on Valentine’s Day. All you have to do is to send an email to: rainbowradiopilipinas[at]gmail.com on or before February 5 (Friday).

Rainbow Radio Pilipinas will choose the shout-outs and stories to be read on air. If your entry won’t be chosen, don’t fret because they will post the other stories on their website (with your permission of course).

Guidelines:

Short and sweet shout outs:

• Email Valentine shout-outs, greetings, or messages from today to 05 February 2010 to rainbowradiopilipinas@gmail.com for your submission to be included in our recording.
• Shout out should be a maximum of 50 words.
• Anonymous shout-outs will be allowed. Foul language is prohibited.

Love Letters:

• Email letters from today to 05 February 2010 to rainbowradiopilipinas@gmail.com
• Letter should have words not exceeding 300 words.
• Letter recipient can be a romantic partner, a family member, a colleague or a personal hero. Letter must express love, thanks, appreciation, congratulations, etc. Story must have LGBT theme. Example: Transgender female writing to her grandmother who loved and supported her throughout her transition
• The three most inspiring letters will be read on air and will get prizes from Rainbow Radio Pilipinas!
• Anonymous letters will be allowed. Foul language is prohibited.

Prizes are as follows:

1st prize: Romantic dinner for 2

2nd prize: Movie Date for 2

3rd prize: 2 Rainbow Pilipinas Shirts

Keep posted for details

The new season of Pinoy Big Brother just started and one of our sisters in the Pinoy LGBT community is part of it. Ms. Rica Paras, of Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), has just became a housemate. This is something that I am looking forward to see in the upcoming episodes of Pinoy Big Brother. I hope that her being a part of the show will enable to let the public understand our basic issues and get a different perspective in mainstream media. It’s seldom that mainstream media showcases our plight but let’s see in the upcoming episodes. But anyway let’s support our sister!

Here is the statement of STRAP (taken from my orgmate in Babaylan, Mushy Mae):

10 October 2009

Dear Friends, Allies & Supporters,

We, the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), a transgender rights advocacy organization and support group for girls and women of transsexual experience, are very proud to announce that one of our very own, Ms Rica Paras, is now a Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) housemate. Housemate Rica, the Math Goddess of Bacolod (although she is really from Iloilo, entered the PBB house tonight, 10 October 2009, Saturday, and we believe that given the dearth of positive and empowering media images of transgender Filipinas or transpinays, her addition to the cast of PBB housemates marks a significant milestone both in the history of Philippine TV but as well as in the local transgender liberation movement. Rica is the first out and proud transpinay who will ever enter the PBB house and be watched by millions on national TV.

This is perhaps just rightly so as Rica’s story, indeed, is one that needs to be told. Growing up in a lower middle-class household in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, Rica at a young age displayed an affinity for science and mathematics. This led her to attend the prestigious Western Visayas campus of the Philippine Science High School where she was a consistent A-student. Later, Rica won a scholarship to study Mathematics at Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) where she graduated with honors. The last six years, Rica has been working as a globally certified IT consultant for a multi-national company training people in sales, product distribution and finance.

That Rica’s story may serve as an inspiration to people who are dealing with difficult gender and identity issues at a young age is not lost on us. Many of us, her sisters in STRAP, know all too well how it is like to grow up with no one to look up to, deprived of role models on TV who look like us and are going through the same things in life. We would therefore like to invite you to watch Rica on PBB so that she can tell you her story in her own words. There is so much more to know so watch and see the amazing person that we have all come to love and cherish. More importantly we hope that you will join us in supporting our dear sister and ensuring that she emerges the Big Winner of this season’s PBB.

Add Rica Paras on Facebook, Multiply and Friendster. Do not forget to text in your vote for her also so that she can stay in the PBB house until the Final Four. Help us bring Rica’s story of succeeding against all odds and breaking stereotypes and barriers to the millions of Filipino households that watch PBB every day and every night. Remember that a vote for Rica is a vote for our desire for change—change in the kind of people we see on TV and change in the way people will see people like us. A vote for Rica is a vote for the dreamer in us—that anyone, regardless of gender, religion, social status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. can dream big and work hard for a better life. A vote for Rica is a vote for self-determination—that ultimately we are the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls. Only we can decide for ourselves who we want to be and who we really are!

In love and peace,

Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
www.tsphilippines.com

I am the currently at the Bebe Gandanghari Blogger meet up at Mag:Net High Street. The event is sponsored by P.O.C (Philippine Online Chronicles). Bloggers get the chance to ask questions to her, no holds barred.

She arrived around 4:30 pm. The moment she entered Mag:Net, she stopped to pose for the cameras. Bebe was very warm and already thanked the people.

Here are some of her quotable quotes:

Is Bebe Gandanghari a character that you play? (asked by Mark)
“it’s the character i discovered. i thought that it’s the character i wanna play.”

[I already rephrased it but I got her point ] I think that God will not ask my why you love this person (pertaining to another man) but he will ask me HOW YOU LOVED HIM.

I also asked a question ” How do you feel being one of the LGBT icons here in the Philippines?”. She said that when she was still a gay man and been living in US, she was able to meet a gay organization in UCLA (where she studied Film). That’s when she was able to learn about the information on the LGBT community. She also realized that it was really hard especially for the adolescent kids on being out. Being an LGBT icon is a responsbility. This is for the LGBTs who feel alone and confused. I thanked her for being one of OUR LGBT icons here in the Philippines and can also empower change especially in the mainstream.

What are your plans for the 2010; your LGBT agenda? Do you plan to run? (asked by Mark)

UNEQUAL UNDER THE LAW: Transgender women in the Philippines

Speakers:
Pau Fontanos (Ang Ladlad, STRAP)
Sass Rogando Sasot (Ang Ladlad, STRAP)

Reactors:
Atty. Carol Austria
Atty. Bing Guanzon

March 10, Tuesday, 1-4 pm
UP College of Law
1st Floor, Sarmiento Room ]]> http://pinoylgbt.com/unequal-under-the-law-transgender-women-in-the-philippines/feed/ 0 http://pinoylgbt.com/rustom-padilla-is-dead-here-comes-bb-gandanghari/ http://pinoylgbt.com/rustom-padilla-is-dead-here-comes-bb-gandanghari/#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:56:00 +0000 Sharlyne Ang http://pinoylgbt.com/rustom-padilla-is-dead-here-comes-bb-gandanghari/ Continue reading →]]>

This was just show yesterday at a Philippine showbiz talk show, Startalk. Rustom Padilla unveiled his new name and image: Bebe Gandanghari. From what I know, this is for a tv series that will be shown soon. So basing it from the interview, I am not sure if this is a preparation for a role. I remember the concept of method acting like what Robert de Niro and Al Pacino do to study the roles that they will be portraying.

According to Bebe, she did not undergo any medical procedure and everything was done naturally. I know that people will already judge her as a weirdo. I’m actually reading some blogs which actually show a bit of bigotry about it. Well, what can I say for those uneducated people?

I salute you Bebe for coming out (again? ) and not being ashamed of who you really are. I think that in this day and age, being hypocrites and tertainment, Transgender, BB Gandanghari, bigots are the biggest losers.

Above is the trailer of “The Thank You Girls”. The movie will be shown from January 21 to 27 at Robinson’s Indiesine (Robinson’s Galleria Cinema). The movie is written and directed by Charliebebs Gohetia. Basically it’s a Visayan film with a gay lingo twist.

Synopsis
Tired of losing in all the beauty competitions in Davao City, five gay beauty pageant veterans decide to travel north to Cagayan de Oro City, in the island of Mindanao, with a mission to conquer the grandest competition of beauty, personality and brains in the province.

They believe that being city dwellers, gays in the province will never stand a chance against them.