LGBT rights in the

Philippines
The Philippines is ranked as one of the most gay-friendly nations in the world, and the most LGBT
friendly in Asia.The country ranked as the 10th most gay-friendly in a global survey covering 39
countries, in which only 17 had majorities accepting homosexuality. Titled "The Global Divide on
Homosexuality," the survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that 73 percent of adult
Filipinos agreed with the statement that "homosexuality should be accepted by society," up by nine
percentage points from 64 percent in 2002.
In the classical era of the country, prior to Spanish occupation, the people of the states and
barangays within the archipelago accepted homosexuality. Homosexuals actually had a role of a
babaylan, or a local spiritual leader who was holder of science, arts, and literature. In the absence of
the datu of the community, the babaylans, homosexual or not, were also made as leaders of the
community. During the Islamic movements in Mindanao which started in Borneo, the homosexual
acceptance of the indigenous natives were subjugated by Islamic beliefs. Nevertheless, states and
barangays that retained their non-Islamic cultures continued to accept homosexuality. During the
Spanish colonization, the Spaniards forcefully instilled Roman Catholicism to the natives which led to
the end of acceptance of homosexuality in most of the archipelagic people. These deep Catholic
roots nationwide and some Islamic roots in Mindanao from the colonial era resulted in much
discrimination, oppression, and hate crimes for the LGBT community in the present time.
The LGBT community remains as one of the country's minority sectors today. Lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender people often face disadvantages in getting hired for jobs, acquiring rights for civil
marriage, and even in starting up personal businesses. This has led to the rise of the cause for
LGBT rights, defined as the right to equality and non-discrimination. As a member of the United
Nations, the Philippines is signatory to various international covenants promoting human rights.

Precolonial Period
The babaylan, also called katalonan, bayoguin, bayok, agi-ngin, asog, bido and binabae depending
on the ethnic group of the region, held important positions in the community. They were the spiritual
leaders of Filipino communities tasked with responsibilities pertaining to rituals, agriculture, science,
medicine, literature, and other forms of knowledge that the community needed.In the absence of a
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datu, the babaylan could take charge of the whole community.
The role of the babaylan was mostly associated with females, but male babaylans also existed. Early
historical accounts record the existence of male babaylans that wore female clothes and took the
demeanor of a woman. Anatomy was not the only basis for gender. Being male or female was based
primarily on occupation, appearance, actions, and sexuality. A male babaylan could partake in
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romantic and sexual relations with other men without being judged by society.
Precolonial society accepted gender-crossing and transvestism as part of their culture. Rituals and
trances performed by the babaylan mirrored the reunification of the opposites, the male and
female.They believed that by doing this they would be able to exhibit spiritual potency, which would
be used for healing spiritual brokenness. Outside this task, male babaylans sometimes indulged in
homosexual relations.
During the "islamisation" of Mindanao and other areas in the country, barangays and states
influenced by Islam expelled the belief of homosexual acceptance, and thus, ended homosexual
tolerance. Nevertheless, states and barangays that were not islamised continued to practice
acceptance on homosexuality and gender-bending cultures and belief systems.

Spanish-Colonial Period
The Spanish conquistadors introduced a predominantly patriarchal culture to precolonial Philippines.
Males were expected to demonstrate masculinity in their society, alluding to the Spanish machismo
or a strong sense of being a man. Confession manuals made by the Spanish friars during this period
suspected that the natives were guilty of sodomy and homosexual acts. During the 17th-18th
century, Spanish administrators burned sodomites to enforce the decree made by Pedro Hurtado
Desquibel, President of the Audiencia.
Datus were appointed as the district officers of the Spaniards while the babaylans were reduced to
relieving the worries of the natives. The removal of the datu system of localized governance affected
babaylanship. The babaylans eventually disappeared with the colonization of the Spaniards. Issues
about sexual orientation and gender identity were not widely discussed after the Spanish
colonization.

American Colonial Period

Four decades of American occupation saw the promulgation and regulation of sexuality through a
modernized mass media and a standardized academic learning. Furthered by the growing influence
of Western biomedicine, it conceived a specific sexological consciousness in which the
"homosexual" was perceived and discriminated as a pathological or sick identity. Filipino
homosexuals eventually identified to this oppressive identity and began engaging in projects of
inversion, as the disparity of homo and hetero entrenched and became increasingly salient in the
people's psychosexual logic.
Though American colonialism brought the Western notion of "gay" and all its discontents, it also
simultaneously re-functioned to serve liberationist ends. While it stigmatized the local homosexual
identity, the same colonialism made available a discussion and thus a discursive position which
enabled the homosexualized bakla to speak. It was during the neocolonial period in the 1960s that a
conceptual history of Philippine gay culture began to take form, wherein a "subcultural lingo of
urban gay men that uses elements from Tagalog, English, Spanish and Japanese, as well as
celebrities names and trademark brands" developed, often referred to as swardspeak, gayspeak or
baklese.Gay literature that was Philippine-centric also began to emerge during this period.Further
developments in gay literature and academic learning saw the first demonstrations by LGBT political
activists, particularly LGBT-specific pride marches.

Martial Law
During the implementation of the Martial Law, citizens were silenced by the government through the
military. People, including the LGBT community, did not have a voice during this period, and many
were harassed and tortured. At the behest of Imelda Marcos, an anti-gay book was published that
clarified the agonistic situation of gay culture at the same time that all other progressive movements
in the country was being militaristically silenced. There were some homosexuals that were exiled by
Marcos in America where they joined movements advocating the rights of the LGBT people. The
community responded to this through the use of several mediums, such as the 1980s film Manila by
Night, which introduces an LGBT character in its plotline. When the regime ended, those exiled
returned to the Philippines, introducing new ideas of gay and lesbian conceptions.

1970s-1980s
During the 1970s and 1980s, Filipino concepts of gay were greatly influenced by Western notions.
According to Being LGBT in Asia: The Philippines Country Report, LGBT people who are exposed to
the Western notion of being "gay" starting to have relationships with other LGBT, instead of with
heterosexual-identifying people.Towards the end of the 1980s, an increase in awareness of LGBT
Filipinos occurred. In the year 1984, a number of gay plays were produced and staged. The plays
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that were released during the said time tackled the process of "coming out" by gay people.

1990s
Based on the report made by USAID, in partnership with UNDP entitled "Being LGBT in Asia: The
Philippines Country Report", the LGBT community during the early 90s, made books that help
Filipinos become aware of the prevalence of LGBT communities like Ladlad, an anthology of
Philippine gay writing edited by Danton Remoto and J. Neil Garcia and Margarita Go-Singco
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Holmess A Different Love: Being Gay in the Philippines in 1994 and 1993, respectively. This
decade also marks the first demonstration of attendance by an organized sector of the countrys
LGBT community in the participation of a lesbian group called Lesbian Collective, as they join the
International Womens Day march of 1992. Another demonstration of attendance was made by
ProGay Philippines and MCC Philippines, led by Oscar Atadero and Fr Richard Mickley respectively,
when they organized the Pride march on 26 June 1994, that marked the first Pride-related parade
hosted by a country in Asia and the Pacific. And throughout the decade, various LGBT groups were
formed such as Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) in 1991 and University of the Philippines
(UP) Babaylan in 1992 and ProGay Philippines in 1993, and according to the report, the 1990s are
the "probable maker of the emergence of the LGBT movement in the Philippines". In 1998, the
Akbayan Citizens Action Party became the first political party to consult the LGBT community and
helped in the creation of the first LGBT lobby group, Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network,
otherwise known as LAGABLAB, in 1999. LAGABLAB was the group who proposed revisions in the
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Lesbian and Gay Rights of 1999 and the filing of the Anti-Discriminations Bill (ADB) of 2000.

Contemporary (2000s-Present)
The LGBT movement has been very active in the new millennium. In the advent of the 2000s, more
LGBT organizations were formed to serve specific needs, including sexual health (particularly HIV),
psychosocial support, representation in sports events, religious and spiritual needs, and political
representation.For example, the political party Ang Ladlad was founded by Danton Remoto, a
renowned LGBT advocate, last 2003.The community has also shown their advocacies through the
21st LGBT Pride March held in Luneta Park last June 27, 2015, with the theme, "Fight For Love: Iba-
Iba. Sama-Sama". This movement aims to remind the nation that the fight for LGBT rights is a fight
for human rights. Advocates are calling on the Philippines to recognize the voices of people of
diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.In present time, there remains no umbrella LGBT
organization in the Philippines. Therefore, organizations tend to work independently of each other.
Due to these divisions, there remains no prioritization of efforts, with organizations focusing on what
they consider as important for them.
In a United Nations Assembly for the establishment of an UN-backed LGBT Watch Personnel, the
Philippine permanent delegate to the UN 'abstained' from the voting. Islamic nations and some
eastern European nations voted against its establishment. Nevertheless, countries from western
Europe and the Americas with the backing of Vietnam, South Korea, and Mongolia, voted in favor for
its establishment. The LGBT Watch Personnel was established after the majority of nations in the
meeting voted in its favor.
In 2016, Geraldine Roman became the first openly transgender woman elected to Congress in the
Philippines. A huge bloc of lawmakers, collectively called the Equality Champs of Congress, are
currently pushing for the full passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill which have been neglected for
the 17 years. More than 130 lawmakers back its complete passage and legislation on the first month
of its introduction to Congress in 2016 alone.
A few months after the establishment of the UN expert on LGBT rights, an African-led coalition of
nations made a move to dislodge the LGBT expert. In November, UN members voted by a majority
to retain the UN expert on LGBT issues, however, the representative of the Philippines chose to
'abstain' again, despite massive outcry for support for the LGBT expert to be retained from various
sectors in the country.

Laws affecting LGBT community

Noncommercial, homosexual relations between two adults in private are not a crime, although
sexual conduct or affection that occurs in public may be subject to the "grave scandal" prohibition in
Article 200 of the Revised Penal Code, which states:

"ARTICLE 200. Grave Scandal. The penalties of arresto mayor and public censure shall be
imposed upon any person who shall offend against decency or good customs by any highly
scandalous conduct not expressly falling within any other article of this Code."

While on the Family Code of the Philippines, stated on Article 1, Article 2, and Article 147
respectively:

"Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in
accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family
and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law
and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during
the marriage within the limits provided by this Code."

"No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present:

(1) Legal Capacity of contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and

(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer."

The Magna Carta for Public Social Workers also address the concern regarding the discrimination of
public social workers because of their sexual orientation:

"Section 17. Rights of a Public Social Worker. - Public social workers shall have the following rights:

1.) Protection from discrimination by reason of sex, sexual orientation, age, political or religious
beliefs, civil status, physical characteristics/disability, or ethnicity;
2.) Protection from any form of interference, intimidation, harassment, or punishment, to include, but
not limited to, arbitrary reassignment or termination of service, in the performance of his/her duties
and responsibilities";

The Magna Carta for Women also provides an insight regarding the state's duties towards
maintaining the rights of women, regardless of their sexual orientations:

"The State affirms women's rights as human rights and shall intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties
under international and domestic law to recognize, respect, protect, fulfill, and promote all human
rights and fundamental freedoms of women, especially marginalized women, in the economic,
social, political, cultural, and other fields without distinction or discrimination on account of class,
age, sex, gender, language, ethnicity, religion, ideology, disability, education, and status."

The only bill directly concerning the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community in
the Philippines is the Anti-Discrimination Act. This bill seeks that all persons regardless of sex or
sexual orientation must be treated the same as everyone else, wherein conditions do not differ in the
privileges granted and the liabilities enforced. The bill was introduced by Hon. Kaka J. Bag-ao the
District Representative of Dinagat Islands on July 1, 2013 and is yet to be passed.

Marriage and family

The Philippines does not offer any legal recognition to same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic
partnership benefits.
Since 2006, three anti-same sex marriage bills have been introduced and are pending before the
Senate and Congress. In early 2011, Rep. Rene Relampagos of Bohol filed a bill to amend Article 26
of the Philippine Family Code, to prohibit "forbidden marriages." Specifically, this seeks to bar the
Philippine state from recognizing same-sex marriages contracted overseas. The bill is in committee.
In December 2014 Herminio Coloma Jr, a spokesperson for the Presidential Palace, commented on
same-sex marriage, saying; "We must respect the rights of individuals to enter into such
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partnerships as part of their human rights, but we just need to wait for the proposals in Congress".
Right after Ireland legalized same-sex marriage through a popular vote in May 2015, the Philippines
has the possibility to legalize this law by a petition. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines, however, is opposed to the idea despite stating that it supports 'equality for all'. To the
extent of even stating that 'same-sex marriage' and 'falling for the same sex is wrong'.

Marriages by the Communist Party of the Philippines

The illegal Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) respectively its armed wing New Peoples
Army (NPA) does perform same-sex marriages among their members since 2005 in territories under
their control.