Noy hit for silence on Jennifer case

MANILA, Philippines - An alliance of advocates of LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender) rights have expressed disappointment over President Aquino’s silence on the killing of Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, saying letting his spokesmen and secretaries speak for him was not enough.

As the “father” of the country, it is the President’s job to personally speak on the matter, said Corky Maranan, Kapederasyon spokesperson.

Kapederasyon, Ang Ladlad party-list and other LGBT advocates yesterday launched a movement called “Justice for Jennifer Watch” to closely monitor the progress of Laude’s case.

Maranan said it was indicative of the “fear” of the government in fighting for the rights of its citizens.

Maranan claimed the President has not personally extended his condolences and assistance to the Laude family.

Danton Remoto of Ang Ladlad said the President’s words and personal visit to the Laude family would be “symbolic” of the government’s action on the issue.

Remoto said with their movement, they hope to generate support for lawyers representing the Laude family.

He added that they want to help lawyer Harry Roque in the documentation of the case and provide other legal assistance.

Maranan said they would create awareness on social media so the case would not be forgotten.

Former party-list representative Liza Maza said comments on social media showed people’s “bigotry against the LGBT community.”

“It pains me to read these comments. Whatever your gender is, you need to treat people as humans,” she said in Filipino.

Remoto noted that what happened to Laude was “obviously a hate crime” as shown by the body parts targeted by his killer.

He noted that Laude had bruises on the chest, his earrings were pulled and his face dunked in the toilet.

He said these were the body parts Laude changed to appear physically as a woman.

Remoto cited research conducted by Ang Ladlad which showed that from 1996 to 2011, there were 165 hate-related murders of LGBT members, most of them transgender.

Laude’s boyfriend arrives

Meanwhile, Marc Sueselbeck, the German boyfriend of Laude, arrived yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 to pay his respects to his lover.

“I cannot say much. Jennifer usually picked me up at the airport every time I arrived and now she is not here, so sad,” said Sueselbeck, a financial accountant.

Sueselback said he had been in Manila at least five to six times and “I had good times with Jennifer.”

“We met online and were in a relationship for more than two years.”

He had plans of marrying Jennifer in Thailand next year, “to start life over together.”

They communicated through social media, Sueselbeck said.

Sueselbeck condemned the brutality of Laude’s death, describing the suspect as “sick” and “bloodthirsty.”

Laude’s burial was moved from Oct. 21 to 24 to give more time for friends and relatives to attend the wake.

Bill on hate-motivated crimes

Yesterday, lawmakers said they were drafting a bill that could curb hate-motivated crimes and violence directed at the LGBT community.

“Akbayan is seriously studying the possibility of filing an anti-hate measure that will increase the protection of LGBT community members who remain vulnerable to various forms of violence and crimes due to their sexual preference. We have tinkered with this before and Jennifer’s killing has created a new urgency,” said Akbayan party-list Rep. Barry Gutierrez.

“We need to exert a firm action to deter perpetrators from committing these crimes that stem from no particular reason other than their own prejudice based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and expression,” he said.

He said the bill aims to achieve important reforms in strengthening protection of the LGBT community, including its relation to the freedoms in the Constitution such as freedom of expression.

“This is to ensure that it will not muzzle nor penalize the people’s freedom of expression, but violent crimes which target, among others, people because of their sexual orientation,” the lawmaker said.

He said they are studying further revisions to the Revised Penal Code, which would include as an aggravating circumstance to crimes against persons or property bias against one’s sexual preference.

He said they are studying the manner by which “hate crimes” may be proven, given the existing definitions of crimes.

Gutierrez said the opinion and views of the LGBT community will be duly and extensively sought in the crafting of the proposed law to ensure its effectivity.

“We are currently in consultation with the LGBT community for necessary actions that will put an end to these unwarranted hate-motivated acts and hopefully eliminate further violence and loss of lives among its members. Further, we hope to set in place the fitting penalties that will deter the perpetrators from committing these acts and allow the LGBT people to openly express their sexual orientation,” he said.

Lawmakers also urged Congress to swiftly and immediately pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill, saying this will usher in much-needed action to secure the rights and welfare of the LGBT community.

Filed on July 1, 2013, House Bill 110 seeks to prohibit all forms of discrimination and provide penalties against discriminatory practices on the basis of sexual preference. – Reinir Padua, Paolo Romero, Rudy Santos