What's in store in Sexhibit

MANILA, Philippines - On Sept. 30, 2010, Carlos Celdran made headlines.

Garbed in coattails and a bowler hat, he stormed inside the Manila Cathedral with a huge sign bearing the word “Damaso” and yelled “stop getting involved in politics!” He was incarcerated for 24 hours, on the grounds of “offending religious feelings,” under Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code.

A year later, Celdran, resolute as ever about his advocacy on Reproductive Health (RH), is named brand ambassador of Durex, the world’s leading condom brand. Celdran will take people around in a one-day event called What’s the Big Deal? A Sexhibit, slated today at the open grounds of A Venue Mall, Makati Avenue, Makati City. Open to the public aged 18 years old and above, the sexhibit is set to titillate visitors about the joys and downside of sex.

“We chose Carlos Celdran as our brand ambassador because he has been promoting the use of condoms in his personal advocacy for reproductive health,” says Isa Marfori, brand manager for Durex, distributed in the Philippines by Reckitt Benckiser. “We are celebrating this partnership with a sexhibit, because we want to tell viewers the harsh realities on sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies as it is. Unprotected sex is risky and can result in a myriad of problems.”

Celdran shares Durex advocacy on empowerment and education. ‘’Using a condom shows that you respect your partner, you respect the act of sex, and you’re being responsible about it,” he says.

In Celdran’s name, Durex is making a donation to the charity Roots of Health, a Palawan-based nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of women and girls. 

For the past decade, Celdran has been a tour guide, regularly taking groups on walking tours around Manila and incorporating his interest in art, culture and theater into the tours.

“In the last 10 years, my tours have evolved into a show. You laugh, you cry… it’s a Regal movie! They’re also very irreverent, and controversial, because they hit serious topics like Christianity, Catholicism, American Imperialism, World War II and Martial Law,” explains Celdran.

But his job is more than just a walk in the park. In fact, it’s from walking around the city that his RH advocacy took root, realizing that a lot of social problems are rooted in RH.

“It’s impossible to put a smiley face on the countless street children and mothers living in poverty,” Celdran asserts.

Hence, Celdran has been handing out condoms out of his own pocket for years now, providing reproductive health consumables to informal settlers inside Intramuros. He also hands out condoms at the end of his tours.

Celdran believes that condoms should be staple items, because Filipinos are as sexually active as other cultures, or maybe even more.

“We’re 101 million people; do the math. I just hope Filipinos are the kind of people who can holistically enjoy sex instead of just getting pregnant, because sex is a gift. You have to respect it, enjoy it, understand it, control it — have power over your own sexuality,” Celdran notes.

Celdran calls himself a cultural activist, citing his Damaso act as an example.

 “If I did the Damaso act in jeans and a shirt, it wouldn’t have worked. Arts and culture get the message across,” he notes.

Despite the controversy now attached to his name, Celdran does not regret the Damaso act, as it has paved the way in changing the Filipino mindset.

“Right now, I’m very confident about the RH Bill because it’s become a priority bill,” says Celdran. “But what I’m really happy about is how it’s opened people’s eyes to the issue. The mindset of the Filipino has now focused upon reproductive health, and I think that’s more important than any piece of legislation.”

And yet, if he could tell the Church one thing…

“Things aren’t the way they are; we probably have more in common than not. I’d like to see our conflict end, and actually see both of us working together for a better Philippines, above and beyond the issue of RH. Because I’ve dropped the topic — I’m willing to move on, if you are,” he says.

What people are wondering the most about, though, is if he has plans to run for office. To this, Celdran vehemently says, “No. I want to have the right to complain forever and ever and ever. I’m a firm believer that arts and culture can be a catalyst for change, but other than that, I’m just a regular guy trying to find happiness in the world, one step at a time.”