Celebrity couple Aiza ‘Ice’ Seguerra and Liza Dino hailed actor-turned Senator Robinhood Padilla for filing a bill legitimizing same-sex marriage in the Philippines.
“We want to live a normal life like other couples in the Philippines. We are citizens of this country and I think it is our right to be afforded those very basic civil rights,” Dino said in a radio interview.
“To me, what is basic are the rights to own property, recognition of our last names, adoption rights, and social benefits,” Dino added.
She said it is important that same-sex couples like her and Aiza should be afforded rights that are not special, but those granted to all citizens of the country.
“It is difficult that you cannot own properties together. Everything you saved up for is in your partner’s name, not mine,” she said.
For her part, Seguerra said she respects other churches and religions, but asked that her and Liza’s status as citizens of the country also be respected.
“We respect the churches and different religions against us, there’s nothing we can do about it. But please respect us as citizens of this country with rights to be protected under the law—rights that Sen. Padilla is pursuing,” she said.
“I appreciate Sen. Robin’s action considering he’s a very devout Muslim. This marks a good public servant – it’s so easy to have biases because of religion,” she added.
Seguerra also said it was painful for her not to be able to adopt Liza’s 14-year-old daughter. She said she and Liza had to argue with immigration officers abroad because they were not considered a family.
“They don’t see us as a family, for them we’re just two people with a young person,” Seguerra said.
She thanked Padilla for fighting for the rights of all Filipinos with his bill. He said same-sex couples are marginalized such that while they are successful in their work, they are still treated as second-class citizens because they are denied certain rights.
“Padilla’s bill warms my heart. It gives me comfort there’s someone like him in the Senate who’s really willing to fight for the rights of everyone in this country,” she said.
Meanwhile, the couple said they are ready to go around the country if needed to take part in discussions on the issue. “More than anything, we want everyone to understand and be on board with this.”
The couple was married in 2014 in San Francisco, California, where same-sex marriage was legalized.
Under Padilla’s Senate Bill 449, same-sex couples are granted rights such as those to civil union, adoption, and social security and insurance benefits.