english,
Being progressive is a quality that countries are proud to have. But the meaning of ‘progressive’ differs from country to country. If the meaning of being progressive depends on the country’s leader, then with the Philippines, it seems as if we’re stuck in the middle. We want to be progressive, but it seems that we would prefer to stay as we are.
During a press conference directly after arriving from a diplomatic visit in Burma and Thailand on March 23, President Rodrigo Duterte spoke about his stand about same-sex marriage and said, “If it makes the gays happy, let them be. I do not condemn anybody there. What makes you happy, good; just don’t violate the law, period.” He took back his own words as he announced a month ago that he is now against that stand despite his promise to pledge support to a legislation allowing gay unions. He said that his opposition to Same-Sex Marriage was due to the Philippines being the center of Catholicism, which is against homosexuality. He also stated that he is not against homosexuality per se, but the laws of the country state that a man can only marry a woman, and vice versa, stressing that one has to stay where God placed them. It’s also quite noticeable that he repeatedly uses the defense of religion even though he advocates the death penalty and artificial birth control methods which the Catholic Church is strongly against.
Even though this is the state of our nation right now, there have been efforts to legislate bills that protect the rights of the gays and lesbians in the country such as a same-sex marriage bill proposed by former Representative Etta Rosales. Senator Risa Hontiveros also sponsored a bill last year which sought to eliminate discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender people in education, health, labor, and other sectors, but it still has a long way to go before actually becoming a law.
The country has also shown to be accepting of or at least tolerant towards members of the LGBTQ+ community in the government such as Geraldine Roman, the first transgender politician in our country who proudly presents her gender wherever she goes. The country’s media also show LGBTQ+ themes in movies and TV shows such as Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, My Husband’s Lover, and The Third Party. Despite the differences in plot and setting, one message rings true with these stories: let love win. It is also seen that the LGBTQ+ community is quite accepted in the media and are often quite influential. Some of them, such as Boy Abunda and Aiza Seguerra, are even sought after due to their opinions in serious topics.
Even though the LGBTQ+ community seems to be well accepted or at least tolerated, why can’t same-sex marriage be accepted? The main reason seems to be the strength of the Catholic religion in the country. The Philippines prides itself as the center of Catholicism in South East Asia and that it is ingrained in our culture to be against such beliefs. But using religion as a reason not to accommodate homosexuality should not be an issue as even Pope Francis advocates for the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. Whenever he is asked about the LGBTQ+ community, the Pope answers with “Who am I to judge?” and reiterates that those in the community should be embraced. If the leader of the Catholic Church says that a certain group should be embraced, then saying that we should not accept this group because of that religion is not a very good defense. There’s also the case of the West, of which President Duterte is trying to shun, which is starting to accept same-sex marriage.
Another reason for the resistance against same-sex marriages would be the civil code stated by the president multiple times that only heterosexual marriages may occur. As said, there have been multiple bills that have tried to pass through the process but they have either been given insufficient attention or have been stated as ‘low priority.’ There have been cases in various countries that have amended their laws to permit same sex marriage or at least to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. For example, in the United States where they legalized same sex marriage in certain states. Additionally, Russia has tried for change where they decriminalized same-sex sexual activity in private, allowed transgenders to undergo sex reassignment surgery, and removed homosexuality as a mental illness. Albeit Russia is still hostile towards homosexuals, citizens in various regions such as Moscow are trying to push for the protection of the LGBTQ+ community with pride parades despite the government’s effort to push down such notions due to the fear of hostility from those who participate in the parade.
But some Filipinos do not share the President’s sentiments. They are more tolerant towards the community. In fact, the University of the Philippines Diliman held a week-long event last September 08, 2015 to support the community’s acceptance and to defend their members. This event, known as the Manila Pride March, was spearheaded by the UP Babaylan, an organization from UP which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights. The event was supported and attended by various members of the community to make themselves known. UP is not the only university that holds events that support the LGBTQ+ community. For one, Ateneo University has also held a pride march last June 25, 2016 at the Luneta Park, Manila. Their pride march was first held on December 1, 2014 with the help of UP Babaylan and Ateneo Dollhouse, two LGBTQ+ communities from the said universities that promote equality amongst all genders as well as rights for those within the community. These are only a few of the things that prove that the Filipinos are supporting and encouraging the members of LGBTQ+ to be free and receive the same and equal amount of respect that heterosexuals get.
Although it seems our president thinks otherwise, as he has abandoned his plans during the campaign period. Did he just say these things to win the votes of the LGBTQ+ community? Numerous countries are already allowing same-sex marriage, so to get the hopes up of the LGBTQ+ community here in the Philippines and then to suddenly take it away because we are a Catholic beacon in South East Asia and our civil code does not allow it isn’t enough.
Change was supposed to be finally coming, but apparently, it was only to change his mind. //by LM Gacad, Rad Pascual and Rachel Siringan
References:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/world/asia/duterte-same-sex-marriage-philippines.html?_r=0
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/03/20/1682964/duterte-against-same-sex-marriage-philippines
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/philippines-elects-first-transgender-politician-in-historic-vote/
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/08/europe/vatican-pope-family/
https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-christians-must-apologize-gay-people-marginalizing-them
http://usc.upd.edu.ph/news/up-celebrates-diversity-re-launches-up-pride-week/
http://angupbabaylan.blogspot.com/2009/08/our-campaigns.html
newsinfo.inquirer.net/883355/duterte-whatever-makes-gays-happy
www.rappler.com/move-ph/137625-in-photos-22nd-pride-march-philippines
www.theguidon.com/1112/main/2014/12/ateneo-peers-launches-lgbt-pride-week/
Opinion: Let Love Win
Being progressive is a quality that countries are proud to have. But the meaning of ‘progressive’ differs from country to country. If the meaning of being progressive depends on the country’s leader, then with the Philippines, it seems as if we’re stuck in the middle. We want to be progressive, but it seems that we would prefer to stay as we are.
During a press conference directly after arriving from a diplomatic visit in Burma and Thailand on March 23, President Rodrigo Duterte spoke about his stand about same-sex marriage and said, “If it makes the gays happy, let them be. I do not condemn anybody there. What makes you happy, good; just don’t violate the law, period.” He took back his own words as he announced a month ago that he is now against that stand despite his promise to pledge support to a legislation allowing gay unions. He said that his opposition to Same-Sex Marriage was due to the Philippines being the center of Catholicism, which is against homosexuality. He also stated that he is not against homosexuality per se, but the laws of the country state that a man can only marry a woman, and vice versa, stressing that one has to stay where God placed them. It’s also quite noticeable that he repeatedly uses the defense of religion even though he advocates the death penalty and artificial birth control methods which the Catholic Church is strongly against.
Even though this is the state of our nation right now, there have been efforts to legislate bills that protect the rights of the gays and lesbians in the country such as a same-sex marriage bill proposed by former Representative Etta Rosales. Senator Risa Hontiveros also sponsored a bill last year which sought to eliminate discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender people in education, health, labor, and other sectors, but it still has a long way to go before actually becoming a law.
The country has also shown to be accepting of or at least tolerant towards members of the LGBTQ+ community in the government such as Geraldine Roman, the first transgender politician in our country who proudly presents her gender wherever she goes. The country’s media also show LGBTQ+ themes in movies and TV shows such as Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, My Husband’s Lover, and The Third Party. Despite the differences in plot and setting, one message rings true with these stories: let love win. It is also seen that the LGBTQ+ community is quite accepted in the media and are often quite influential. Some of them, such as Boy Abunda and Aiza Seguerra, are even sought after due to their opinions in serious topics.
Even though the LGBTQ+ community seems to be well accepted or at least tolerated, why can’t same-sex marriage be accepted? The main reason seems to be the strength of the Catholic religion in the country. The Philippines prides itself as the center of Catholicism in South East Asia and that it is ingrained in our culture to be against such beliefs. But using religion as a reason not to accommodate homosexuality should not be an issue as even Pope Francis advocates for the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. Whenever he is asked about the LGBTQ+ community, the Pope answers with “Who am I to judge?” and reiterates that those in the community should be embraced. If the leader of the Catholic Church says that a certain group should be embraced, then saying that we should not accept this group because of that religion is not a very good defense. There’s also the case of the West, of which President Duterte is trying to shun, which is starting to accept same-sex marriage.
Another reason for the resistance against same-sex marriages would be the civil code stated by the president multiple times that only heterosexual marriages may occur. As said, there have been multiple bills that have tried to pass through the process but they have either been given insufficient attention or have been stated as ‘low priority.’ There have been cases in various countries that have amended their laws to permit same sex marriage or at least to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. For example, in the United States where they legalized same sex marriage in certain states. Additionally, Russia has tried for change where they decriminalized same-sex sexual activity in private, allowed transgenders to undergo sex reassignment surgery, and removed homosexuality as a mental illness. Albeit Russia is still hostile towards homosexuals, citizens in various regions such as Moscow are trying to push for the protection of the LGBTQ+ community with pride parades despite the government’s effort to push down such notions due to the fear of hostility from those who participate in the parade.
But some Filipinos do not share the President’s sentiments. They are more tolerant towards the community. In fact, the University of the Philippines Diliman held a week-long event last September 08, 2015 to support the community’s acceptance and to defend their members. This event, known as the Manila Pride March, was spearheaded by the UP Babaylan, an organization from UP which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights. The event was supported and attended by various members of the community to make themselves known. UP is not the only university that holds events that support the LGBTQ+ community. For one, Ateneo University has also held a pride march last June 25, 2016 at the Luneta Park, Manila. Their pride march was first held on December 1, 2014 with the help of UP Babaylan and Ateneo Dollhouse, two LGBTQ+ communities from the said universities that promote equality amongst all genders as well as rights for those within the community. These are only a few of the things that prove that the Filipinos are supporting and encouraging the members of LGBTQ+ to be free and receive the same and equal amount of respect that heterosexuals get.
Although it seems our president thinks otherwise, as he has abandoned his plans during the campaign period. Did he just say these things to win the votes of the LGBTQ+ community? Numerous countries are already allowing same-sex marriage, so to get the hopes up of the LGBTQ+ community here in the Philippines and then to suddenly take it away because we are a Catholic beacon in South East Asia and our civil code does not allow it isn’t enough.
Change was supposed to be finally coming, but apparently, it was only to change his mind. //by LM Gacad, Rad Pascual and Rachel Siringan
References:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/world/asia/duterte-same-sex-marriage-philippines.html?_r=0
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/03/20/1682964/duterte-against-same-sex-marriage-philippines
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/philippines-elects-first-transgender-politician-in-historic-vote/
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/08/europe/vatican-pope-family/
https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-christians-must-apologize-gay-people-marginalizing-them
http://usc.upd.edu.ph/news/up-celebrates-diversity-re-launches-up-pride-week/
http://angupbabaylan.blogspot.com/2009/08/our-campaigns.html
newsinfo.inquirer.net/883355/duterte-whatever-makes-gays-happy
www.rappler.com/move-ph/137625-in-photos-22nd-pride-march-philippines
www.theguidon.com/1112/main/2014/12/ateneo-peers-launches-lgbt-pride-week/
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