March for pride
It was time once again to paint the whole country pink last Dec. 6. Occasion: the annual Pride March of the Philippine lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Filipinos at Remedios Circle, Malate, Manila. The march was organized by Task Force Pride Philippines, an organization of LGBT groups and individuals. After the march, the Miss Queen Philippines Beauty Pageant was held at 5 p.m., followed by a street party at Maria Orosa Street with techno DJs at 10 p.m.
Celebration was the theme of this year’s Pride March. The Task Force Pride was co-chaired by Miss Sass Sasot of Society of Transsexual Women Philippinnes (STRAP) and Miss Pau Fontano of STRAP and Ang Ladlad. Changes in this year’s pride march included a colorful website (www.manilapride2008.com), more floats, and the march done by new members of newly organized LGBT groups. I was happy to see that we the veterans could now work behind the scenes and work at the sidelines while the young, the fabulous and the organized got the work done, and done generally well.
This year’s Pride March was also different in that it was the first time that LGBT Pride was celebrated nationwide, in Luzon (Manila), Visayas (Cebu), and Mindanao (Lanao). In Manila , the 2008 Manila Pride March turned the streets of Malate into one big and colorful space for celebration, even if a small group of Born-Again Christians — and foreign at that! — tried but failed to rain on our parade.
In Cebu, the Visayas Pride Network, a network of LGBT organizations and individuals promoting LGBT human rights led by Joseph Patrick Uy held the first ever Pride Day in the Queen City of the South. In Lanao, the Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders United for Peace and Solidarity (GUPS) led by Bong Enriquez celebrated LGBT Pride by conducting a reflexology and therapeutic massage training for Mindanao LGBTs on December 6 and 7. As part of the training, participants got free foot reflexology, foot spa, and back and head massages to NGO workers on Dec. 8 and 9. As chairman of Ang Ladlad, I also introduced the Yogyakarta Principles of LGBT Rights signed in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, last year as the framework for the rights of LGBT Filipinos. Grace Poore of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) explained the context of the Yogyakarta Principles. The Yogyakarta Principles are an application of international human rights standards to issues concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. They were put together by a distinguished group of human rights experts who met in November 2006 at Yogyakarta, Indonesia and have since been introduced formally to the United Nations (UN) system, translated into the six official UN languages, and launched in several countries. The launch of the Yogyakarta Principles in Manila is part of Ang Ladlad’s response to IGLHRC’s 16 Days of Activism campaign to end violence against Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (LBT) women. Ang Ladlad along with other groups in Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China and India will launch the Yogyakarta Principles in their respective countries, take part in the creation of a banner consisting of panels of fabric representing Asian LBT activism and join a gathering of LGBT activist and groups in Yogyakarta, Indonesia for the 60th anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). For more information on the Principles, visit www.yogyakartaprinciples.org.
The months leading up to the Pride March were hectic, indeed, with LGBT-related activities. They included a forum on transfemale rights, the dyke dialogues, UP Babaylan’s medical mission, the launching of a new LGBT magazine called Invoice as well as the launching of GALANG, or Gays and Lesbians Activist Network for Gender Equality. Club Government in Makati Avenue also had its fourth anniversary party, while Ang Ladlad held literary readings at Mag:net Katipunan on the second Mondays of October and November.
One Bacardi held its second anniversary at Bed Malate Bar and Club while Circle of Friends held a Fright Nite, Pride Nite Halloween Costume Party. GALANG also held a month-long festival of LGBT films also at Mag:net Katipunan. A Manhunt fund-raising party was held as well at Club Government, while an LGBT Bloggers’ Night launched the Rainbow Bloggers’ Philippines group at Red Box in Greenhills 3. Bed also held its Pride Nation fund-raising party while another Trans Dialogue was held at UP, organized by Ang Ladlad, Rainbow Rights, and STRAP.
My latest book, Rampa: Mga Sanaysay, published by Anvil was launched at Powerbooks Greenbelt 3. Powerbooks also chose me as Author of the Month for November. A pre-Pride party and launch of Miss Queen Philippines was held at Palawan 2 Bar in Cubao, while a Task Force Pride Meet-up was held at UP Diliman. A World AIDS Day Form was also organized by Girls, Woman, and HIV-AIDS Network (GWHAN) and a Pride March victory party was held at Club Government last Saturday.
Our sponsors included Belo, Frenzy condoms, EZ lubricants, Bed, Government Bar, Radar Pride Wear, Fridae: empowering Gay Asia, 99.5 RT, Bric, 88DB.com, Senator Mar Roxas, Senator Chiz Escudero, PinkManila,com, Outrage Magazine, Che lu Bar and Grill, El Nutre , Fab Bar, The Library, Fluid Lounge, Loo-kal, O-Bar, Palawan 2, Silya, Story Board, Sonata and Synder.
As one of our international participants, a guy from Malaysia whose name I will not disclose, said, “I am still stunned at this Pride March. We do not have something like this in Malaysia. This is called freedom.” Only, as they say, in the Philippines. But said this time with a wide grin on the face and justifiable pride.
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