29 October 2009
Dear Honorable Sir/Madam,
Liberatory and rainbow greetings to you!
I am Bruce Portugal Amoroto, a Filipino gay activist and current President-Coordinator of Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality and Human Rights (TEAM PILIPINAS), Vice-President of Gay and Lesbian Asia Pacific Sport Association (GLISA Asia Pacific), and Asia Pacific Director at Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA International). I am also a graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman and since 2000 I have been involved in the justice and human rights sector particularly on the equal human rights of lesbians, gays, and others.
I am writing to you because I and many other Filipino lesbians, gays, bakla, bantut, bayot, bisexuals, tomboy, transgenders, transsexuals, intersex (LGBTI) and other ‘sexual and gender minorities’ (SGMs) in the country are interested in knowing your answer to our question. In your participation in the 2010 National Elections we would like to know sir/madam, what is your platform and programme of action regarding the equal human rights of Filipino lesbians, gays, bakla, bantut, bayot, bisexuals, tomboy, transgenders, transsexuals, intersex (LGBTI) and other ‘sexual and gender minorities’ (SGMs) in the country?
According to the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity that was drafted, discussed, developed and refined by a body of international experts on human rights:
1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
2. All human rights are universal, interdependent, indivisible and interrelated.
3. Sexual orientation and gender identity are integral to every person’s dignity and humanity and must not be the basis for discrimination or abuse.
Sexual orientation is understood to refer to each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender.
Gender identity, on the other hand, is understood to refer to each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms.
Since 1999, with the help of Akbayan Partylist, Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network – Philippines (LAGABLAB-Pilipinas) has pushed for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill (ADB), House Bill 956, in Congress. The ADB is a bill that aims to penalize acts and policies that discriminate on the basis of a person’s perceived or actual sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The ADB does not ask for special rights for Filipino LGBTIs instead it asks for the protection of the equality in dignity, rights and freedoms for the said sector and the provision of the same rights and freedoms accorded by the State to heterosexual and non-transgender/non-transsexual women and men.
In 2004 the Bill was approved at the Lower House but it failed to get a Senate counterpart and has since been pending in Congress due mainly to the strong opposition of the Catholic Church and other conservative and religious groups affiliated with legislators.
In the Philippines, oppression and violence against LGBTIs and other SGMs exists and it is, I believe, much worse compared to countries that criminalize homosexuality because the violence is silent with the discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity hidden and deeply embedded in society’s structure and system. There is only seeming tolerance for us Filipino LGBTIs and other SGMs in fact in our families, homes, communities, churches, work and in society in general, we are still looked at as either immoral, sinful or mentally ill. Many LGBTIs who come out and are out continue to experience vilification, ridicule and bad jokes; others have experienced various levels of discrimination, abuse and violence. In a few Catholic schools there are still policies on masculinity and on same-sex relationships such that students who fail to abide by these rules get kicked out of the institution. There are also private companies, government offices, and establishments that have policies related to the hiring, promotion and firing of employees, the provision of certain benefits, service or product, or dress codes that are oppressive to Filipino LGBTIs. Most of all, we Filipino LGBTIs experience violence from our families and in our homes–there are those who get thrown out and get disowned by their parents for embracing their sexuality and their true selves and there are those who are beaten and physically abused or raped with the consent of their parents who believe that their sons and daughters will be cured and converted into becoming “real men” and “real women”.
In our Constitution there is a provision regarding the Separation of Church and State (Article II Section 6) and yet the Church still finds a way to meddle in public policy. There is also a provision regarding the respect and protection of the equality in dignity, rights and freedoms of each Filipino no matter what status or characteristic they have (Article II Section 11) and yet clearly, Filipino LGBTIs and other SGMs are not treated equally in society. The Constitution is simply not enough to protect the equality of all Filipinos and in the end, only a law can make real and tangible the provisions on the equality in dignity, rights and freedoms of people.
Again, dear sir/madam, in view of the 2010 National Elections, may we know what your platform and programme of action is regarding the equal human rights of Filipino lesbians, gays, bakla, bantut, bayot, bisexuals, tomboy, transgenders, transsexuals, intersex (LGBTI) and other ‘sexual and gender minorities’ (SGMs) in the country?
Thank you very much and we hope to hear your full and sincerest answer to our question.
Respectfully,
Bruce Portugal Amoroto
bruce.amoroto@gmail.com
Tags: bruce amoroto, dignity, equality, gender identity, human rights, LGBTI pinoys, May 2010 Elections, sexual orientation, sexuality, team pilipinas, yogyakarta principles