Team Pilipinas
Facing Inequality
By Kiki Tan
PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 2010

Team Pilipinas' prime movers: Jeth, Bruce and Francis.

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While remaining optimistic, both Bruce Portugal Amoroto and Jethro Patalinghug, two of TEAM PILIPINAS’ key people, notes how the Filipino LGBTI community remains fragmented.

“I am disappointed that sometimes so-called leaders of the LGBT community can be myopic in their view of equality and diversity. Some do not even see the intersectionality of issues that is important in achieving genuine, meaningful and long-lasting justice for all equally,” Amoroto says.

Patalinghug adds: “That it is fragmented due to the class separation innate in the Philippine economic set-up (is a disappointment in the local community).” 
Nonetheless, “that we are survivors, and that we all seem to have that drive become relevant in whatever fields were in, or whatever class we belong to (is inspiring),” Patalinghug says. 

Adds TEAM PILIPINAS Ambassador Francis Martin Baraan: “I believe our colourful lives are a source of inspiration. Despite the physical and emotional battles we have gone through and all the transformations and questions we have growing up – the discrimination, the bashing and all the negative things, we still manage to put a smile on everyone's faces even when we're down. We are true fighters, survivors, natural comedians and we never give up the fight for what is right – for equality.”

For TEAM PILIPINAS, the main challenges in growing the group include finding like-minded people, sustaining their commitment to the vision, clearly identifying the mission and goals of TEAM PILIPINAS, and sustaining the operation of the organization – after all, even as TEAM PILIPINAS continues to seek out institutional support for its projects and campaigns since it has yet to receive sustained funding, it relies on donations of friends and supporters, even while it maximizes resources that are free and readily available.

“Our focus should be on renewing and celebrating pride in being Filipinos and in being LGBTIs and SGMs. The only way for the Philippines to go forward is for Filipinos to celebrate their identity and diversity as a people and to recognize and strengthen our equality (pagkakapantay-pantay) in dignity (dangal), rights (karapatan) and freedoms (kalayaan). Celebrating pride is key to our development and progress as a people and as a nation,” Amoroto says.

For Patalinghug, “We should focus more on securing the development of the underprivileged LGBT majority. There is a disparity in our causes as a community because many in the LGBT community are longing for security in terms of basic needs such as food, shelter, employment while a minority, those who are visible and able to express themselves have different sets of needs altogether. We need to empower each other by helping the majority less-privileged and highly-marginalized members of our community to have a voice and be heard. The LGBT community can never be united and be effective in its cause until we recognize the underrepresentation of many in our community and be proactive in giving them the opportunity to be heard.” 

Aside from the facebook group http://groups.to/teampilipinas/ TEAM PILIPINAS also have the following websites: http://diversityandequality.ph and http://teampilipinasorg.multiply.com.