Gay and Lesbian Activist Network for Gender Equality Inc.
Grassroots Empowerment
By Mikee dela Cruz
PUBLISHED: APRIL 2009

GALANG Core Members A development worker at heart, Anne Lim manages GALANG’s affairs as president, while working full-time in the export industry.  She has degrees from both the Ateneo de Manila University (cum laude) and the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.  Anne considers herself as a dog-lover first before a lesbian feminist, and believes that her greatest achievement in life is being a devoted wife and doting mom to four lovely dogs. Lala Ravacio’s passion is many-fold.  As GALANG’s corporate secretary and training director, she inspires a passion for thinking out of the box, while pursuing her passion for urban planning, environmental management, and architecture.  Lala works for a government development institution and is currently completing her postgraduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning in UP Diliman.  In 2008, she placed 7th in the Environmental Planning Board Examinations. GALANG’s treasurer Shao Masula feels fortunate that she gets to do what she loves for a living.  She not only gets to devote her time to GALANG but also to children television programming, while nurturing her love of writing and her dream of publishing a book of children’s stories someday.  A big “Batibot” fan, Shao also dreams of producing a program that will capture the heart and imagination of children, like her son, Kahlil.  Shao’s college years in UP Diliman and her stint with the UP Repertory Company had not only made her an effective performer, but also taught her real life lessons that inspired her to help her community. A media industry veteran, Rocky Gacho coordinates GALANG’s fundraising solidarity events and other resource-generating projects as director for special projects, while heading music research and production of one of the Philippines’ leading broadcast network.  Rocky graduated from the University of the Philippines Los Banos with a degree in Communication Arts. Armi Velarde is a gifted artist and writer.  As GALANG’s creative director, she creates GALANG’s collaterals while working full-time in the advertising industry.  Armi holds a degree in creative writing from UP Diliman, and is a long-time member of UP Babaylan.  She recently designed and edited UP Babaylan’s 15th Anniversary Literary Folio.

GALANG is currently led by a board of trustees (core members) composed of five lesbian-identified women with various professional backgrounds and persuasions (namely Lim as president, Lala G. Ravacio as corporate secretary, Sharon Rose A. Masula as treasurer, Racquel S. Gacho as director for special projects, and Armina T. Velarde as creative director).  The core members are supported by an advisory committee composed of LGBT professionals considered to be trailblazers in their respective fields, including feminist lawyer Eleanor C. Conda, pioneering lesbian rights activist Giney Villar, and Agrarian Reform Law expert Edgar dL. Bernal.  The core members are also assisted by volunteers from the Filipino LGBT community (currently reaching 15 individuals, with several volunteer applications being processed).

“We could not have achieved as much in the past nine months since we started if we didn’t have the support of our friends and benefactors.  The confidence that they have shown in GALANG’s work continues to inspire us to work hard on the goals that we have set for ourselves,” Lim says.

Aside from meeting with several LGBTs living in depressed communities in Quezon City “to understand the most pressing issues and concerns of vulnerable LGBTs in urban areas,” Lim says, GALANG also joined the celebration of the launch of the Yogyakarta Principles and the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in December 2008; and “stood up against homophobia and discrimination as we marched alongside LGBTs from one of our pilot communities as well as a vast spectrum of LGBT groups in the Philippines during the annual LGBT Pride March in Manila (also in December 2008).”

STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY

“One of our main differences from other LGBT organizations is our focus.  We believe that the first step in consolidating and strengthening the Filipino LGBT sector is by bringing help where it is needed the most — low-income grassroots LGBTs,” Lim says.

The back-to-basics approach isn’t the only one to differentiate GALANG from other LGBT groups.  “Another facet that distinguishes us is our approach and methodology.  We allow our stakeholders to take part in the process of identifying and implementing development projects that can assist them in achieving their individual and collective aspirations,” Lim adds. 

Yet another differentiator for GALANG is “that our organization is composed of a healthy mix of individuals with diverse personalities, interests, and backgrounds.  We have long-time activists, writers, media and advertising professionals, artists, public servants, lawyers, educators and entrepreneurs.  Some are G&D (grim and determined) in our advocacy, while others prefer a non-traditional approach.  GALANG and our pilot communities benefit from the different perspectives and experiences that each of us brings to the table.  Despite our differences, we are bound by our common vision of a better society for Filipino LGBTs.”

Already, GALANG is looking forward to furthering its programs to further respond to LGBT needs. 

“In the next five years or so, we will be busy with our community-based programs and projects.  Our training program will be launched this (2009), and it will be supplemented with the publication of a quarterly newsletter for LGBTs in our pilot communities.  We will be exploring other forms of interventions as we continue to listen to and learn from our stakeholders and respond to the demands of the times,” Lim says. 

And so, while necessity has driven the establishment of GALANG – a group whose name plays with the Filipino word for respect – it has continued not just to attempt to satisfy needs, but represent the very community it services.  All in the way to attaining equality for all.

“We envision a just society that respects all persons, treats everyone equally, and allows everyone the enjoyment of human rights regardless of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation,” Lim ends.

To volunteer for GALANG, or to simply get more information, email galangnetwork@gmail.com or visit galangnetwork.org.