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in the Philippines
Philippines, indeed, is a country with conflicting beliefs; may it be with the beliefs
regarding burial of the dead, birth, social interactions, sexual intercourse, and even
marriage.
Following the passing of a bill which legalizes same-sex marriage in Taiwan, a first of its
[1]
kind in Asia, neighboring Asian countries are then pressured to follow suit. But, what
about the Philippines? Are we ready to follow with Taiwan’s footsteps? Who are these
“we” anyway? Should one approve of the said bill so that it may be passed?
In the case of the last question, I do — I do approve of the said bill and genuinely
support it.
As what science tells us, we, the species called Homo Sapiens, are all “human beings.”
Given this logic, we the so-called “human beings,” are then supposed to have “human
rights” which the United Nations defines as, “…rights inherent to all human beings,
whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour,
religion, language, or any other status,” [2] because we did all come from the same
species. Considering this, we can say that though we may have different ethnicities, e.g.
Japanese, Americans, Filipinos, etc.; or we may have different religions such as being a
Protestant, Muslim, Catholic, a Christian, or a Mormon; we can say that “we are all the
same in our core,” including our LGBTQIA+ friends — thus, also giving them the right to
marriage.
The Conservatives and their Traditional Beliefs
As we all know, the Catholic community has its own set of traditions and beliefs, and
one of these is the belief that “we are all brothers and sisters.” But the thing is, it seems
as if it isn’t the case, for they’re actually the ones who opposes the union of same-sex
individuals; thus, preventing the latter from enjoying these brotherhood and sisterhood
equality.
Additionally, the church and their believers also believe that having intercourse with the
same sex is a “sin” as it is written in the Bible at Leviticus 18:22 that, “Do not have
sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” [4] But the
thing is, God also abolished the commands in the Old Testament which says, “For He
Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of
the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of
commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into
[5]
one new man, thus establishing peace,” and eventually commanding a new action
[6]
which says, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
So, considering all of these, could it be possible that God actually knows that this day
would come (a day with diverse groups of people including the LGBTQIA+) and that all
marriage is a “holy union between two heterosexual individuals,” and that members of
the LGBTQIA+ community cannot partake to that specific activity for they practice
“sinful acts”, making them “unholy,” and so as their supposed “marriage.” But the thing
is, it’s not the only definition nor the sole purpose of marriage, for in the case of civil
the ceremony and that takes place without any religious affiliation and meets the legal
requirements of the state or location of the wedding,” [7] there’s no concept of “sin.”
Moreover, this kind of marriage, which is caused by the separation of the State from the
Church, does not also have this “holiness” aspect which the church is fiercely imposing
unto everyone else, yet it also provides couples with the same perks (e.g. joint ownership,
So, again, in the end, I believe that it all sums up to the fact the we are all human beings
and we all have human rights regardless of our identity or affiliations. Though the church
and the so-called conservatives have their traditions and beliefs, it does not mean that it
should be imposed into everyone’s life, for we are all diverse human beings after all,
and we all have the birthright for all human rights, including marriage to whoever we
want to be.
don’t conform to traditions. They are mainly comprised of educated individuals (not all),
most liberals (if not all) do support the LGBTQIA+ community and their fight for equal
propagators of “evil ideas,” their main goal is to push for equality in any way possible,
especially for the LGBTQIA+ community; for in the end, through their common out-of-
the-box mindset, they are able to think of alternatives which usually supports the
Though we all have varying views regarding same-sex marriage, in the end, we are all
the same — we are all humans. We all share the same DNA and no one must be
deprived of his/her/their rights just because of some traditions and beliefs. In our
country’s case, we must work harder for the visibility of our LGBTQIA+ friends, because
[8]
just like what iO Tillett Wright said in his Ted talk, “visibility is the key to familiarity.”
References:
[1]
Hollingsworth, J. (2019, May 17). Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage in historic first
for Asia. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/17/asia/taiwan-
same-sex-marriage-intl/index.html
[2]
Human Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from
https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/human-rights/
[3]
Conservative. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/conservative
[4]
BibleGateway. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus 18-20&version=NIV
[5]
Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. (2017, July 03). Retrieved from
https://carm.org/bible-difficulties/matthew-mark/did-jesus-abolish-law-or-not
[6]
BibleGateway. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2019, from
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus 18-20&version=NIV
[7]
Stritof, S. (2019, January 26). What Is Civil Marriage? Retrieved June 6, 2019, from
https://www.thespruce.com/civil-marriage-2303277
[8]
Wright, i. T. (2012, December). Fifty shades of gay [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/io_tillett_wright_fifty_shades_of_gay