In Hindsight...
Top 10 Newsmakers in GLBTQIA RP in 2009
By M.D. dela Cruz Tan
PUBLISHED: JANUARY 2010

	Share |

5
COMELEC vs. Ang Ladlad.
On November 12, 2009, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) rejected the petition of a group representing the "third sex" to be accredited for the party list on the ground that it "tolerates immorality, which offends religious beliefs."  Specifically, in an eight-page resolution, the COMELEC cited the Ang Ladlad’s advocacy of sexual immorality with same-sex relationships, simply for being pro-LGBT.

The move showed discrimination, that is already accepted – especially as the commissioners (two Christian church leaders, and one Islamic leader), cited NOT the law, but their (and some American – NOT even a Filipino) interpretation of the Bible and Koran.  But it also showed the stupid lack of knowledge of COMELEC itself on laws governing it – e.g. separation of State and Church, and, get this, NON-MENTION of the Republic Act 7941, the party list law, of immorality as a ground for banning a group from the party list accreditation.

And so, legally, GLBTQIA Filipinos exist at the fringes, if at all.

4
More hateful laws filed.
Cong. Bienvenido Abante – the one who, in 2007, said he will “always block an anti-discrimination bill” without realistically seeing how evil, how inhuman that makes him (to ALWAYS block EQUALITY, of all things) – has passed a bill to criminalize same-sex unions, calling to penalize the act that he described as “highly immoral, scandalous and detestable” in society.  Abante, a pastor (yet another one giving God a bad name by promoting a hateful version), wants violators to face 15 years’ imprisonment and up to P150,000 fine, among others.

Abante’s bigot move actually mimics the earlier moves of the likes of, say, Miriam Defensor Santiago, who earlier filed Senate Bill No. 1276 to bar same-sex marriages celebrated abroad from getting legal recognition in the Philippines – also because of the assumed higher morality of heterosexual marriages that, supposedly, should be the only one recognized by laws.

Quoting Abante’s misinterpreted source of inspiration, Jesus Christ: “Forgive them for they know not what they are doing…”

3
Anti-Discrimination Bill continues to… crawl in both Houses of Congress.
No, the bill doesn’t allow for same-sex marriage.  This is the commonly stated excuse why many (conservatives) oppose the Anti-Discrimination Bill.  Even if, in fact, there is no provision in it that grants legal recognition for same-sex partnerships or unions.

This is why, even if the bill was prepared as early as 2002 (after a series of consultations between the Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network Philippines or LAGABLAB-Pilipinas and Akbayan), it continues NOT to gain a lot of grounds.  Surprising, really, since the Anti-Discrimination Bill is, simply, a legislative proposal that seeks to criminalize a wide-range of practices and policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (covering discrimination in the workplace, educational institutions, health centers, commercial establishment, police force, and the military, among others).

Online, there have been numerous discussions about Filipinos and racism – with a BASIC law that pushes for equality not passing, that Filipinos discriminate is not a farfetched concept at all.

2
Dominance of Mini-Groups.
Think clans.

Think partees.

Think…

You get the point.

In the GLBTQIA community – at least in the Philippines – it’s the small people who matter. Consider the Task Force Pride, the body formed to organize the annual Pride celebration in the Philippines, which, year-on-year, proves that its existence relies on the existence of these small groups.  And then there’s Ang Ladlad, a group that is, really, a GATHERING of these small groups.  No, we’re not even talking of the likes of UP Babaylan or TLF Share Collective Inc., non-profit GLBTQIA groups out to try to do the community some good.  Instead, enter the likes of KonZepto Productions (GLBTQIA photographers), Beavers Group International (Tagaytay-based MSM group), Rainbow Bloggers Philippines (yes, GLBTQIA bloggers), One Bacardi (MSM club goers), et cetera, to show that the GLBTQIA community in the Philippines is not only alive, but is thriving.

Now, if we can only gather the small groups to form a super-group, so we’d have better representation…

1
Pride 2009.
There’s the squabble between former Task Force Pride (TFP, the group formed to oversee the annual parade) movers and current caretakers on how best to run the annual event.  There’s the obvious non-participation of some community pioneers – others losing interest, while others completely unaware the event is happening at all.  There’s the… well, the point is made that this year’s Pride celebration wasn’t exactly the smoothest sailing of all. 

Nonetheless:

1. Some 50 GLBTQIA groups (one of the biggest gatherings ever) registered for the parade on December 5, 2009.
2. Arguably, social networking was – for the first time on a relatively larger scale – put to effective use.
3. The noticeable somewhat merging of politics (Ang Ladlad., Akbayan, et cetera) and business sense (Bed Bar is not just a participant, but with Great Ancheta, a prime mover) is finally happening.
4. Networking of the Filipino GLBTQIA groups is finally happening, so the “strength in number” tag can be put to effective use.
5. Et cetera.

And with bigger plans for 2010 for TFP (e.g. legitimizing group existence, broadening Pride celebrations, et cetera), expect more of Pride in the news.