Ang Ladlad Press Release:

THE partylist for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos is calling the Philippine House of Representatives to certify urgent the resolution to investigate the increasing number of hate crimes being committed against LGBTs in the country.

“The rapid rise of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) Filipinos being killed is very disturbing and this is a clear indication that hate crimes are in reality happening in the country,” said Ms. Bemz Benedito, chairwoman of Ladlad Partylist. “We are calling the attention of our good congressmen to investigate and dig deeper into these hate crimes against LGBTs,” she added.

According to the study conducted by the Philippine Hate Crime Watch (PHCW), a coalition formed solely to focus hate crimes among LGBTs in the Philippines; there are now 160 deaths on their list since 1996 up to the present and 30 of which are committed in 2011.

Ladlad said the brutal killings of LGBT Filipinos are indication that they were victims of hate crime. The chairwoman of Ladlad is also dismayed by the fact that these incidents are categorically labeled as merely robbery by the Philippine National Police (PNP). But she further pointed out that these cases can’t be merely robbery because of the gruesome proportions inflicted like multiple stab wounds up to 72 times.

Last June 13, 2011, actor-director Ricky Rivero was stabbed 17 times after he was robbed by a man he just met through a networking site, Facebook. On the other hand, last week, another member of Ladlad fromQuezon Citywas also found dead at Edsa – Kamuning MRT station with 2 stabbed wounds on his chest.

“This is the reason why we are persistent in calling Congress to start the investigation of hate crimes the soonest possible time,” said Benedito. “Congress should draft a policy and file a bill that would protect the LGBT sector to put an end to these grisly murders,” Benedito stressed.

Ladlad Website

Ladlad Facebook

©2012 Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?. All Rights Reserved.

I’m not sure if you’re already aware of this, but if you type in “gay” (lesbian, bisexual, or transgender) on the Google search bar, the results page will display a rainbow at the end of the search bar (it works with “gay” + “word”, but does not quite so with “transgender” + “word” and many other word combinations).  According to this website, this is Google’s way of showing their support for LGBT Pride Month.

Some people though feel that this is not enough, considering that Google placed second in the list of  international companies offering LGBT employees the best working environment (IBM placed first).

But for me, this is  great thing. For me, Google has been consistent in their support for the LGBT cause.

Source

©2012 Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?. All Rights Reserved.

In my previous post, I mentioned that US President Barrack Obama has declared June as LGBT Pride Month in the United States:

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also has this to say:

And to celebrate LGBT Pride Month, the US Embassy in Manila threw a reception party here in the Philippines (one which I could not attend because I was, still am, stuck here in Pililla, Rizal).

Here’s the message of US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas, Jr. at the reception in celebration of LGBT Pride Month:

Magandang gabi sa inyong ang lahat!

I am gay.

I am gay.

I am gay.

Three little words.

Six letters.

Three syllables.

It is not a phrase that trips the tongue.  It is not a phrase that should take lifetimes to utter.

But my friends, these are some of the hardest words in the English language—in any language—for many of our friends, colleagues, and family members. 

And this should not stand.

Our loved ones, our friends and our colleagues fear expressing their sexuality, condemned instead to a lifetime of anxiety and repression.

This should not be.

They are our brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers. Aunts and uncles.

Sons.

Daughters. 

These are not nameless, faceless members of a foreign or forgotten race.  They are our families and our friends.  And they are scared to be who they are.

They fear expressing their sexuality.  They cannot tell their own loved ones who they really are.  And I regret that there are those even in our Embassy community who fear coming out and expressing their true selves.

Why?  Because instead of expressing our love for all human beings, we choose instead to ostracize and exclude.

This will not continue.

Tonight, coming here together in this house for the first time, we are breaking new ground.  It should give us pause to reflect how LGBT persons across the world, in every country, from every culture, are breaking new ground every day, and breaking courageously through the barriers that hold them back.  As Saint Teresa of Avila once said, “To have courage for whatever comes in life — everything lies in that.”

Yet even with courage, many of us still struggle to overcome prejudices driven by factors no human can control: the color of our skin, the expression of our gender, and the nature of our sexuality.  While these prejudices are very real to us, many in the world can never understand. 

And the reaction by that world to those struggling with such prejudice is both disappointing and disheartening: “You are imagining things,” they say. “It’s not as bad as you say it is, and if it is, it’s not my fault.”

That one’s core being can be such an affront to others is one of the greatest tragedies of humankind.

It is a tragedy not only because of the pain and suffering it causes, but because it prevents people from doing, being, and becoming their best.  Sa diskriminasyon, maraming likas na galing at talino ang nasasayang. 

Discrimination based on difference, whether it’s age, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion, is wrong.  It deprives society of some of its most creative and productive members; it demoralizes communities.  It shatters families.

It is not acceptable, and it should not be tolerated.

The ambitious spirit of the Philippines’ LGBT community will no doubt carry it over these and other challenges.  Americans know from centuries of experience that the march against discrimination and prejudice is long and difficult, and sometimes it feels never-ending.

But we also know that every step forward makes life a little better here and now — and most certainly for future generations who will look back and marvel at the sacrifices and advances you all made, wondering at how you managed to accomplish so much.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not tonight asking you to leave shouting that you are gay; I am not asking you to endanger yourselves in the face of other peoples’ hatred and blindness.  But I am asking you leave this place on this night with one thought and one goal: to protect and love someone.  Love is what matters; gender is not important.

In his Gay Pride Month proclamation, President Obama called upon Americans to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate our great diversity.  Those are goals worthy of all people, everywhere, and I hope all of you here tonight will join me in their pursuit.

We are all different, but we must embrace and respect our differences.  We must come together through the very emotion that makes us human: love.

Bakla ako.

Tomboy ako.

Bakla kayo.

Tomboy kayo.

Pero lahat tayo ay tao.

Maraming salamat po.

It is very inspiring to see and know that institutions such as the US Embassy in Manila are supportive of our cause. It is also refreshing to see so many of our straight friends from different walks of life, different industries and fields support us.

But we must do more. We must continue the fight. You can be a part of this fight for LGBT equality by lobbying for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill. Want to know how? Instructions are here.

Bakla ako. Ngunit higit sa lahat, ako ay tao.

©2012 Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?. All Rights Reserved.

This may be a first in the world: a third gender is included in Nepal’s latest census forms. Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics is giving official recognition to gay and transgender people by including a third gender in their census forms.

The CNN report below:

Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) — When census gatherers went door-to-door visiting 5.6 million households across Nepal this month, they collected information not only on the country’s men and women, but also on a so-called third gender.

In what is believed to be a world first, Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics is giving official recognition to gay and transgender people — a move seen as major victory for equality in a country that only decriminalized homosexual relationships three years ago.

Among those happy to stand up and be counted in the third gender category is Dilu Buduja, 35. “I was born as a girl, but as I grew up I felt I was a boy. Today I totally feel like a man,” he said.

A spokesman for the statistics bureau, Bikash Bista, said the new categorization was an attempt to open up the traditionally conservative country up to different points of view.

But the state’s recognition of the rights of gender minorities, gays and lesbians has not come without a fight.

“We had to put in a lot of pressure to have the third gender counted in the census,” said gender minority rights activist Sunil Babu Pant.

“It was only after we said that we would go to court that the officials agreed to include the third gender as a category.”

If the case had gone to court, it would likely have been upheld thanks to a landmark 2007 Supreme Court ruling that directed the state to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and decriminalize “unnatural sex.”

It also decreed the issue of citizenship certificates that clearly indicate an individual’s choice of gender identity.

Citizenship certificates, which work as national identity papers, are needed in Nepal to open a bank account, own property, secure a job and get a passport among other things.

“The court also directed the government to form a committee to study what kind of laws can be made for same-sex marriage or civil union,” said Hari Phuyal, a human rights lawyer who made the lead argument in the case.

“Nepal’s 2007 ruling was an inspiration to even India and the ruling document was studied by the Delhi High Court [of India ] when it decriminalized sodomy last year,” he said.

Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay lawmaker, described the ruling as “very satisfying,” but said its implementation was an “extremely slow and painful process.”

His claim is underscored by the fact that Nepal ‘s Ministry of Home Affairs is yet to direct the country’s 75 administrative districts to issue citizenship certificates that indicate gender identity.

“Local authorities did not know about third gender and they were afraid that they would lose their jobs if they gave such a citizenship,” said Buduja, who last month became only the second person in the country to obtain a citizenship certificate indicating gender.

Pradeep Khadka, of sexual and gender minority rights advocacy group Blue Diamond Society — founded by Pant nearly a decade ago — say delays in fully enforcing the 2007 ruling represent a struggle between conservative and liberal elements in Nepalese society.

Though discrimination persists, there is progress. The government is also finalizing a list of discriminatory laws that need to be changed so that gender minorities can enjoy the same rights as others, including inheritance rights.

Two years ago it also formed a committee to make recommendations on legislation governing same-sex marriage or civil union. It is in the final stages of the completing the report.

“We visited several districts in the country and Norway to look at its experience and use it as a case study,” said sociologist Chaitanya Mishra, a member of the recommendation committee.

According to another member of the committee, it will recommend that the government legalize same-sex marriage, which would be a first in South Asia.

“There are 50 to 60 couples waiting to get married on the day same-sex marriage is legalized,” said Buduja, who is among those hoping to tie the knot.

But activists say, reluctance among officials to issue the sexuality-specific citizenship certificates means that day may be far away. And without the certificates, many may be reluctant to disclose sexuality to census gatherers.

“But this is an encouraging step forward,” Pant said.

 

This is a good thing – for Nepal. And maybe for the rest of Asia. Let’s just hope our legislators take a cue from this and start acting on the Anti-Discrimination Bill. Instead of wasting time grandstanding, I mean interpellating on the RH Bill, why not cut down on the number of grandstanders interpellators and use that time on discussing the RH Bill? (If you want to help push for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill, details can be found here).

©2012 Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?. All Rights Reserved.