ProGay LGBT Leadership Conference in Quezon City a great success!

In The Pink of Health - The ProGay LGBT Leadership Conference 2005

LESBIAN, gay, bisexual and transgender Filipinos are virtually invisible in government development planning.

There may be lots of celebrities in fashion and entertainment, but LGBTs are ignored when it comes to creating programs and policies that will benefit our sector. There are no efforts to find out what our real needs, our problems and the challenges that face us in a society that is discriminatory towards homosexuals and transgenders.

The stigma and oppression makes queer communities more vulnerable to physiological and mental health problems such as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and other reproductive health difficulties.

Progay Philippines addresses this deficiency through its research and community development project In the Pink of Health – The ProGay LGBT Leadership Conferences that was successfully concluded at the Agricultural Training Institute, Quezon City on 26-27 September. The first stage was finished in Davao City on August 27-28 and was a great success in bringing out the issues of LGBTs in the Visayas and Mindanao region.

The conference was graced by Mr. Marcel van den Bogaard the Second Secretary for Political and Economic Affairs of the Royal Netherlands Embassy. He noted that the great strides in improving the conditions of the LGBTs in the Netherlands gave impetus for the official development assistance that his government extended to ProGay’s development efforts.

Also present to provide a framework for LGBT development was Ms Ruby Palma, executive director of the Quezon City Gender and Development Coordinating Office, who demonstrated the contributions done by Quezon City Mayor Hon. Feliciano Belmonte in establishing an anti-discrimination ordinance and providing lesbian and gay activities government funds. Ms Cristina Palabay, Gabriela Women’s Party secretary general, was present to gather the sentiments of the LGBTs who supported the parliamentary victory of the party in Congress.

The conference objectives were to assess the health situation of LGBT chapters of ProGay and other organization and to gather as much information as possible for a Philippine LGBT Situationer. The delegates came from Ilocos Sur, Benguet, Isabela, Metro Manila, Batangas, Laguna, Tarlac and migrant lesbian workers from Hongkong

Afterwards, the delegates were asked to develop a Plan of Action to address the issues and problems of the sector.

The conference was divided into sharing workshops where male and female representatives separately discussed their problems and situations. The gays, bisexual men and MTF transgenders complained about worksplace discriminatory practices by employers who demanded that males must appear masculine all the time.

Although drag queens are popularly sought after by mayors to bring in votes during beauty contests, gays and transgenders find it very difficult to participate in political processes. The class differences between elite masculine gays and the jobless effeminate queens also poses a challenge in forging a united front for gays.

Gay students report increasing anti-gay regulations by campus administrators such as in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and Far Eastern University. The same oppression is happening in some villages such as in Marawi City and Gen. Nakar, where the city councils have passed ordinances banning gays.

Mykel Falguera, ProGay secretary general, said that reports of hate crimes such as murders are increasing among gays and transexuals, and the perpetrators, usually heterosexual male sex workers, escape justice. Police are usually uncooperative and blame the gays for supposedly provoking the criminals into hurting them. ProGay noted an increase in suicides and cases of depression among gays who cannot reconcile their sexuality with the demands of the larger society.

The peer educators of the Men Having Sex with Men Project of ReachOut International Foundation reported that police in Quezon City harass gay sex workers almost every night, making it very difficult for them to provide safer sex education to vulnerable populations. Gays are forced to give their day’s earnings to corrupt police officers, and if they cannot produce cash, they are illegally detained without food, water or access to toilets. According to peer educator Francis, the police use the Anti-Vagrancy law to oppress gays.

The lesbians complained of double oppression because they also carry the brunt of society’s anti-women biases. Lesbians in the Baguio Export Processing Zone, according to Julie Palaganas of the group Lesbians for National Democracy (LesBond) are severely exploited because capitalists seek them out for their masculine strength for the same wages they give to heterosexual females. They are given multiple tasks such as driving and hauling heavy loads.

Lesbians also worry much about their relationships because same-sex partnerships are not recognized legally or culturally. They have no way of assuring that surviving partners can inherit their joint properties or if the widow still be accepted by the family of the departed partners. Lesbond reported there are many lesbians forced into marrying by their parents. They also complain of insensitivy of the health care system in the country which they feel do not address special needs of lesbians.

To solve these problems, the plenary session of both male and female delegates formed a set of Action Points:

 Massive education efforts among LGBTs and their families
 Localized data gathering of LGBT situation in different cities
 Organizing ng LGBT committees to advocate local LGBT-friendly ordinances
 Form a political party or increase advocacy in friendly political parties
 Support the Anti discrimination Bill in Congress
 Support the Divorce Bill to liberate gays and lesbians who are forced into marrying
 Adoption of the QC GAD initiatives in other Metro Manila cities.
 Study extending SSS, madicare, insurance benefits for same-sex partners
 Increase counseling and other support services for victims of homophobia
 Establish the broad alliance of LGBT and advocacy organizations Rainbows for Change
 Campaign to repeal the Anti-Vagrancy Law, curfews and checkpoints
 Increase Pride parades and other LGBT activities nationwide such as Gays in the Family Day

After the conference, the participants decided to demonstrate to the public the new unities raised in the workshops by staging a lightning Pride parade around the Quezon Memorial Circle, where in June 1994 the first gay pride march was led by ProGay.

As a contribution to the democratic sentiments of many social sectors against increasing government repression, the participating organizations also demanded the government to stop its plans to impose emergency rule and other oppressive measures against people’s protests. Activists proudly unfurled the giant rainbow flag and brandished signs calling for President Gloria Arroyo to cease its brutality on protest actions.

After the Pride parade, the leaders of the conference representatives proceeded to a dialogue between representatives of government agencies and the LGBT community. Present as guest of honor was Hon. Liza Largoza-Maza of the Gabriela Women’s Party List in Congress. The others were from the Quezon City GADRCO, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Department of Health (DoH) and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). The dialogue was assisted by the National Anti-Poverty Commission Special Projects Office.

In the fruitful dialogue, ProGay president Oscar Atadero and Lesbond’s Julie Palaganas presented the workshop outputs, and then each government agency also presented their initial policies in regards to the LGBT problems.

Key issues that were highlighted were problems with police and health professionals who do not extend human rights and due courtesy to LGBT citizens who come to them for services. The government agencies responded by promising to continue the dialogue with LGBT groups and take up their demands such as creating special programs in their departments for LGBT issues.

The conference chalked up gains in creating new energies among the ranks of the previously voiceless LGBT sector. ProGay hopes that LGBT organizations in more cities of the Philippines will come out of the closet and demand that they be given an organized voice in city councils and provincial boards, in schools and workplace organizations.

The conference was a learning experience for many community leaders who exerted their political power as LGBTs for the first time in a formal setting. It also provided allies such as women and NGOs a chance to commit themselves to an agenda that especially caters to the focused issues of LGBTs, through the new coalition Rainbows for Change.

If you are interested in contributing to the gains of this conference and create justice and equal rights for all, please contact the Rainbows for Change secretariat, telephone 3743451 or 3673109 or mobile 0921-3398955. You can email progay@yahoo.com for more information.

Posted by ProGay at 1:33 PM
Monday, November 07, 2005
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Madayaw na Pag-abot sa Pro-Gay LGBT Conference sa Davao!

Madayaw na Pag-abot sa Pro-Gay LGBT Conference sa Davao!

LGBT rights in the Philippines got another boost from ProGay’s grassroots community development effort through its "In the Pink of Health", the ProGay LGBT
Leadership Conference.

On August 28-29, 2005, 36 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) leaders from the Visayas and Mindanao islands converged at the Mindanao Training Resource Center - Davao Medical School Foundation, Bajada, Davao City. The event was made possible with generous grants from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Manila and the City Mayor of Davao.

The community represented was as diverse as the ethnic and tribal diversity of the host region – senior flaming queens of Davao’s IWAG gay group traded witty
barbs with unemployed urban poor youth, while out loud and proud butch lesbians from Davao’s LINK sat down beside nervous bisexual men from the Visayas.

Ms. Patricia Melizza Ruivivar, chief-of-staff of Hon.Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, waxed ecstatic over the presence of so many LGBTs in her welcoming remarks, noting that the confab augurs well with the LGU's efforts of creating an LGBT desk under the office of the city mayor.

Ms. Ruivivar is also the OIC of the city’s Integrated Gender Development Division, an agency that is tasked to mainstream the innovative city system along more gender-sensitive positions and program designs.

The conference consisted of discussion and capacity building workshops that helped the participants to identify the challenges and problems facing the LGBT
in their families and in relation to political and economic aspects.

In the workshop titled Family Life & Private Relationships, participants revealed the difficulties of being in Muslim and ethnic minority families whose cultures are patriarchal and very anti-LGBT. Some of the stories they shared resonated with the usual stories of trials and tribulations we experienced while growing up.

Ric, a son of a of a former military officer, felt that his role as breadwinner was imposed and even his relationship with his boyfriend is insecure. Boyet remembered he was embarrassed by his father with acts like being hanged upside down when he was young.

Every night he works in a club as a waitress in secret because his family cannot understand he has to do it to support them.

The lesbians reported that families are generally ashamed of their lesbian daughters, and lamented that they are afraid of establishing their own families because the law does not protect them.

During the workshop Participation in Social & Cultural Life, many of the gays were proud to proclaim that town fiestas, church activities and government administration were their specialty and that the community benefited greatly from their efforts. But in a surprising turnaround, when they asked themselves if they are satisfied about their social status, almost all of them complained that they are deeply
unsatisfied about how they are regarded by their townmates.

Gay and bisexual men expressed needs for the care of their emotional and mental health aside from HIV/AIDS issues during the Health Issues and Concerns workshop.
Valentin from Leyte said that health issues that bisexual and gay men face in rural areas go beyond health care delivery but must include advocacy targeted towards abusive media and church leaders who make it difficult for them to come out and seek health care.

Lesbians, on the other hand, need assistance for health problems such as arthritis, cysts, breast cancer, blood conditions, diabetes and urinary tract infections. However, most reveal they resort to self-medication in situations of illness and seek the help of peers rather than from the family. Both lesbians and gays pushed for establishing LGBT desks or point persons in hospitals in clinics so that they
can more confidently consult with health professionals with less feelings of shame and stigma.

During the workshop on Economic Opportunities and Hindrances, Nenet, a lesbian member of the women’s group Gabriela, said that lesbians complained of rampant discriminating attitudes of employers who insist on stereotyped feminine image of their employees. Some managers of formal lending institutions do not trust lesbians, whose most common source of of capital are informal lenders that lend money on very usurious terms.

They added that lesbians are stereotyped as good only for some types of jobs, but are generally paid less than heterosexuals for the same work. They recommended that there should be a strong advocacy targeted towards the departments of social development, labor and employment, the Cooperative Development Administration and NGOs.

The sharings were capped with a dialogue with government agencies, legal experts and supporters of LGBT rights. Gabriela Women’s Partylist President Luzviminda Ilagan presented the salient points of the proposed bill amending the Philippine HIV/AIDS laws.

Ms. Ellen Labrador of the Department of Social Welfare and Development presented a program of technical assistance and capability building among other
government offices and gave tips for LGBTs on how to access their programs on vulnerable and special sectors.

Davao City councilor Atty. Angela “Angging” Librado-Trinidad of Bayan Muna and Atty. Edgar Bernal shared their legal knowledge of how Philippine laws can be maximized to protect the human rights of LGBTs. Councilor Angging said that for LGBTs to effectively pass ordinances that protect them, LGBTs have to be ready to share their data of experiences in homophobia and discrimination.

The rich sharing experiences inspired the participants to call for ProGay to continue leading yearly consultations to deepen the understanding on the issue of LGBTs. One participant was so encouraged that he wanted to organize a Bangsamoro LGBT conference to tackle the issue of homophobia against the Bangsamoro LGBTs. There were also strong calls for children and the general public to be provided familiarization
efforts on LGBT issues.

Visit our website
www.geocities.com/progayphilippines

Progay Philippines is a service and advocacy organization that provides counseling, training and education assistance to marginalized gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual Filipinos, especially the youth and the ageing sectors. ProGay initiated Pride traditions in the country when it led the first ever gay and lesbian Pride parade in the entire Asian region on 26 June 1994. For more information, log on to http://progayphilippines.blogspot.com

Posted by ProGay at 1:49 PM
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
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ProGay fetes LGBT leadership conference in Davao

The Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (ProGay) gathers lesbian, gay, bisexual at transgender community leaders from Mindanao and the Visayas to its first ProGay LGBT Leadership Conference on August 28 and 29. This will be conducted at the Episcopal Mission Center, Matina, Davao City.

The Conference consists of simultaneous workshops for lesbian, gay, bi and transgender participants that will assemble problems, situations, experiences and issues about human rights, HIV/AIDS work and other related social issues such as discrimination. It will be followed by a skills building workshop on establishing LGBT support systems in grassroots communities.

The workshops would require participants to pay P500 registration per workshop for meals and expenses. For inquiries, please contact at tel. Erwin Faller at tel. (082) 3050824 or 09215265340 or Mr. Oscar Atadero at 0921-3398955 and (02) 3673109. You can also email progay@yahoo.com for inquiries on registration and other requirement.

The ProGay LGBT Leadership Conference is supported by the Integrated Gender and Development Division (IGDD) of the City of Davao.

Progay Philippines is a service and advocacy organization that provides counseling, training and education assistance to marginalized gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual Filipinos, especially the youth and the ageing sectors. ProGay initiated Pride traditions in the country when it led the first ever gay and lesbian Pride parade in the entire Asian region on 26 June 1994. For more information, log on to http://progayphilippines.blogspot.com

Posted by ProGay at 11:54 PM
Sunday, August 14, 2005
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