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Friday, March 29, 2024

Manila, Dumaguete hold Pride Month activities

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Did you know that Manila holds the longest-running Pride March event in Southeast Asia?

This year’s Metro Manila Pride gathering will be on June 30 at the Marikina Sports  Center. The event brings together LGBTQ individuals and groups in celebration under the theme #RiseUpTogether.

At last year’s Metro Manila Pride event dubbed “Here Together,” speaker Senator Risa Hontiveros said: “For a country that is considered by many as liberal and tolerant of different views, the Philippines has a long way to go to ensure the lives and the rights of the LGBT people. Even the attitude of the government is disturbing.” 

A year later, this is still so. Here’s just one example—a bill meant to prevent discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression (SOGIE), known as the SOGIE Equality or Anti-Discrimination Bill, was proposed in Congress in 2000 by then-senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and then-Akbayan Party-list Representative Etta Rosales Santiago, but failed to progress up to 2016 because of opposition from conservative lawmakers. 

It got a bit better after that. In 2017, transgender solon Geraldine Roman filed a similar bill that passed third reading in the House of Representatives. However, the Senate counterpart bill filed by Hontiveros is still in the period of interpolations as of last month, with opposition coming from Senator Tito Sotto.

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Pride celebrations and marches are meant to bring the LGBTQ community in solidarity and fellowship as well as bring awareness to the rest of the country of the issues and challenges they face. 

Cis (“comfortable in skin”) people are encouraged to join the events as allies. We all have friends, family, and/or both who are LGBTQ. Passing the SOGIE Bill into law will show our love and support for them as Filipinos. Our nation is composed of diverse individuals—let us respect their right to live as they wish and create safe spaces for them to thrive. 

“People don’t take you seriously, or they think it’s just a phase,” says one of my family members who is bisexual. “But this is not a phase. This is who I am. This is my life.”

For more on Metro Manila Pride, visit mmpride.org or its Facebook page for more details. 

Apart from Manila, other cities are also celebrating Pride Month, among them Dumaguete City. According to Silliman University professor and #6200Pride lead organizer Ian Rosales Casocot, the city will make its 2018 celebration its most comprehensive and inclusive, with 10 events scheduled this month.

Dumaguete’s Pride Month initiative is called #6200Pride, after the city’s zip code.

“I think it’s time to start making deeper explorations into the various issues of LGBTQ life,” said Casocot, “because we are not just defined by our sexualities—we are defined by how we do culture, how we engage in spirituality, and how we link our advocacies to other important concerns like the environment. 

“At the same, especially for a small city like Dumaguete, there are the eternal concerns regarding HIV/AIDS awareness and education.”

Dumaguete’s Pride events kicked off with a drag show on June 16 featuring local drag artists Sole, Maningning, and Kendra Heart.

On June 22: “When I Came Out: A Panel on Coming Out Stories” at the American Studies Resource Center of the Robert and Metta Silliman University Library;

June 23: A talk on HIV/AIDS by Dr. Ma. Lourdes E. Ursos at the Physicians Hall of the Silliman University Medical School, followed by a free and confidential testing and counseling at the Ursos Clinic at the Silliman University Medical Center;

June 24: EcoPride Fun Run and Hike with assembly at the Lee Super Plaza Hypermart;

June 25: Pride Panel on Gay Identity, Gay Culture, Gay Living, and LGBTQ and the Law at the American Studies Resource Center of the Robert and Metta Silliman University Library; a talk on “Why Queer Faith Matters” at the Magdamo Hall in Silliman campus; a Pride Poetry and Music event at the Silliman Library foyer; a Pride Zine Fest throughout the day; and a screening of Joselito Altarejos’ award-winning film Tale of the Lost Boys at CityMall Cinema;

June 30: Grand Pride Parade, a celebration walk around the city, starting at Portal West in Hibbard Avenue. The parade organizers are encouraging not just the local LGBTQ community to participate, but also cis (straight) allies. 

Dr. Ortuoste is a writer and communication consultant. FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO

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