On October 8, Friday, LGBTQIA+ organizations throughout the UP System raised their unified 14-point demands during the UP Pride Opening.
In the month-long celebration’s opening, multiple organizations and university councils asserted 14 key concerns not limited to the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ members but extending to the basic sectors and the marginalized.
Among those formations are UP Pride, Bahagsari, UP Babaylan, UP Min Mentefuwaley, UP Babaylan Baguio Chapter, UPLB Babaylan, UP Mindanao USC, UPD USC, UP Lipad, UP Outlaws, UP Babaylan Clark Chapter, Bahaghari UPD, UP Cebu USC, and UPLB USC.
UP Pride amplified calls for a system-wide UP SOGIESC Policy on equality and non-discrimination based on one’s SOGIESC.
Bahagsari called for the recognition and affirmation of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and emphasized the need for the promotion and legal protection of trans rights. The organization also demands justice for Jennifer Laude and other victims of discriminatory acts of SOGIESC-based violence.
Student formations across the UP system released statements and held social media rallies on October 11 to commemorate the death anniversary of Jennifer Laude and to amplify calls for #JusticeForAllTransLives.
UP Babaylan demands #SOGIEEqualityNow and #AntiHateCrimeLawNow, urging for equal rights and opportunities for LGBTQIA+ members, equal access to education and public services, and freedom from discrimination, harassment, and violence. Calls for marriage equality and legal gender recognition were also forwarded by the organization.
The SOGIE Bill was first drafted 19 years ago and was recently re-drafted by Senator Risa Honteveros in December 2020 to include the prohibition of acts of violence and discrimination against individuals based on their sex charactersitics. However, after its second reading in the Senate in 2021, the bill was not approved.
UP Min Metefuwaley calls for support for the Divorce Bill to end sexual harassment and uphold women’s rights; whereas UP Babaylan – Baguio Chapter called for the creation of safe and inclusive spaces, whether offline or online, underscoring the people’s right to safety and freedom from violence.
UPLB Babaylan emphasizes the need for an accessible healthcare system that provides everyone, regardless of SOGIESC, ethnicity, race, or social status, with mental, sexual, and reproductive health services.
The UP Mindanao University Student Council intensifies the calls for an education system that is inclusive of everyone, regardless of their SOGIESC, as well as the implementation of SOGIESC-sensitive curricula and non-discriminatory policies. Moreover, the council demands #LigtasNaBalikEskwela and the distribution of immediate aid worth PHP 10,000 to promote the Filipino citizen’s right to education.
The UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) amplifies the demands to #DefendUP and #DefendAcademicFreedom, as well as to promote the study of sex and gender within the university without intervention from a fascist state.
UP Lipad called to end all violent attacks against women and those who fight for and with the oppressed. The organization showed support for the Gabriela Partylist and other minority party-lists facing baseless attacks in their pursuit of genuine representation in Congress.
The Gabriela Women’s Partylist successfully filed their certificate of candidacy for the 2022 Congress elections amidst the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC’s) red-tagging and attempts to disqualify the partylist from registration.
UP Outlaws urges the electorate to vote for true champions of equality and demands a fair election process that is free from harassment based on gender expression and identity. The organization also demands candidates for local and national positions to include gender equality in their platforms.
UP Babaylan Clark Chapter calls for a quicker and more effective COVID-19 response to mitigate the ill effects of the pandemic, along with amplifying the calls for #LigtasNaBalikEskwela for students of all backgrounds.
Meanwhile, Bahaghari UPD demands justice for Jennifer Laude and the junking of the Philippines–United States Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The organization calls to end acts of violence against fisherfolk and clamors to defend national sovereignty.
The UP Cebu USC forwards the fight for climate justice and demands accountability from huge corporations and other such institutions, underlining that progress must always be inclusive and not at the expense of the environment.
On the other hand, the UPLB USC stands against the oppression of the marginalized sectors of the nation, including jeepney drivers, fisherfolks, peasants, and IPs. The organization protests the jeepney phaseout and demands genuine land reform.
Jan Zyrille Silva, the Secretary-General and Spokesperson of Bahaghari UPD and a student of CSSP, expresses his stand on the demands enumerated by the different organizations.
“Basically, ito ay pakikipagunite – ang pagsasabi ng unification ng LGBTQIA+ sa lahat ng basic sectors of our society in fighting and ending all forms of discrimination – dahil yung kaapihan natin bilang LGBTQIA+ ay isa lamang siyang porma ng malawak na pangaabuso sa ating lipunan,” he says.
He cites the violation and abuse of power by government and local officials as one of the most pressing issues that the members of the LGBTQIA+ community face today. Moreover, Silva emphasizes the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ youth who cannot afford to continue schooling during the pandemic and are thus forced to resort to selling their bodies and pictures online just to pursue education.
“Kasabay nung pagsulong namin ng karapatan at kalayaan ng LGBTQIA+ ay isinusulong din natin ang karapatan at kalayaan ng bawat batayang sektor ng lipunang Pilipino, dahil tinitignan natin na yung ating identidad bilang LGBTQIA+ ay hindi nakahiwalay sa identidad natin bilang bahagi pa ng ibang batayang sektor ng lipunang Pilipino,” Silva states.
He draws attention to the fact that SOGIESC-based discrimination, harassment, and violence, are manifestations of an overarching system of abuse of power that extends to all sectors of the nation.
“Hindi mo naman maihihiwalay ang pagiging LGBTQIA+ mo sa iyong identity bilang estudyante, kaya bitbit namin hindi lamang yung mga panawagan para sa LGBTQIA+ rights, para sa trans rights; bitbit natin yung mga kampanya din ng ating mga pesante, para sa kanilang lupa na sinasakahan, ng mga mangingisda, para sa kanilang kalayaan na mangisda, halimbawa, sa West Philippine Sea. Bitbit din natin yung kampanya ng mga manggagawa na tuldukan na ang kontraktwalisasyon, at bitbit natin yung kampanya ng bawat minorya sa lipunan natin,”he continues.
As the 2022 national elections draw near, Silva urges the electorate to vote for a candidate who embodies genuine representation for the interests of the LGBTQIA+ community within the government. He emphasizes the need for a leader willing to be a champion of LGBTQIA+ rights and be at the forefront of forwarding the SOGIE Equality Bill as the first step in ending discrimination against individuals based on their SOGIESC.
UP Pride is an annual and month-long system-wide celebration for and of the members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This began in the University of the Philippines Diliman as a week-long event in the year 2008 and was eventually institutionalized in UPD by 2016. The year 2021 marks the first-ever system-wide and month-long celebration for UP Pride.
Entitled “Heal, Rise, Unite!”, this year’s UP Pride sees the alliance of multiple organizations across different UP campuses as they raise their calls and demands for awareness and solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community.
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/6/1/SOGIE-Equality-Bill-protects-everyone.html
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/04/21/gabriela-twits-ntf-elcac-after-candidacy-filing
Featured image courtesy of UP Pride’s FB Page
