Monday, November 16, 2009

SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA’s STATEMENT ON THE DISQUALIFICATION OF ANG LADLAD PARTY FOR THE 2010 ELECTIONS

As citizen and Senator of the Republic, I question the recent rejection of Ang Ladlad Party to be a duly registered sectoral party by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) because of allegations of ‘immorality.’ The Comelec invoked passages from the Holy Bible and the sacred Qu’ran to justify their decision on Ang Ladlad’s petition for party registration.

The Republic of the Philippines is a secular state, and as such, we must ensure the clear separation of church and state in our civil and political affairs, as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution, Article II, Section 6. Invoking justifications from sacred texts should not stand in the way of our secular and liberal democratic principles and the rights for political representation of all well-meaning Filipino citizens.

Every Filipino, regardless of sexual orientation, can exercise the fundamental right to be represented in the country’s political affairs, including the right to run for public office as political parties and individuals, and to present their platform to the Filipino electorate. There should be no room for discrimination and bigotry against any group representing gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation from within the ranks of our government.

We are now at a historic time when nation after nation has begun to decisively dismantle the barriers of the past – such as those that denied groups and individuals from being rightfully considered as equals. Many of these barriers were premised on differences based on gender, race and sexual orientation. While more and more countries have been embracing deserving homosexuals as state leaders (e.g., Iceland), as ministers (e.g., France), and as regular members of their armed forces (e.g., USA), by its recent decision, our COMELEC is dangerously institutionalizing social exclusion and intolerance, and degrading a party like Ang Ladlad as political pariah.

A fair and honest election, fundamentally presupposes that every legal individual and party group aspiring for public office should be treated with respect, without bias, and with equality, irrespective of their religion, race, ethnicity, class and sexual orientation.

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Render Onto Comelec That Which is Comelec's

"The doctrine of the separation of the Church and State was not enunciated by a king or a president, or by a pope or a bishop, but by our Lord Jesus Himself. While our Lord was still in this world, there were those who wanted to show Him up as a false prophet, so they went to Him and asked whether they should pay the taxes demanded by the Roman government or not. Thereupon Jesus asked them to and Him a coin; upon receiving it, He asked them whose face was it that appeared on the coinl and they answered it was Caesar's. Jesus then said: "Render unto Caeser what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's." [Matt 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26] (President Manuel L. Quezon at the Luneta, Manila 17 July 1938)

For even more analysis of this issue, visit Sampaloc Toc's Render onto Comelec blog.

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Rainbow Radio Pilipinas Launch: See you all there!



Rainbow Rights Project, Rainbow Radio Pilipinas and Task Force Pride bring you

RRRomance!
The Rainbow Radio Pilipinas Launch

Nov. 20, Friday, 8pm
BED Bar Malate

with performances by:
Pow Chavez
Kooky Tuason
SPIT
Alden Copuyoc

+ other surprise guests and performers

Prizes and Surprises await the luck Rainbow Radio Romancers!

No entrance fee before midnight
(Just buy you first drink to gain entrance)


For more info, visit: www.rainbowrightsproject.org

Supported by:
BED Bar Malate
Lunduyan ng Sining
Vitalstrats Creative Solutions

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Congratulations COMELEC: But eating shellfish is also an abomination...

Appreciating the wisdom of the Commission on Elections regarding the accreditation of Ang Ladlad LGBT Political Party List

My dear Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Philippines,

I wish to congratulate you for doing such an act of pure love and piousness when you upheld God's Law in your decision regarding the petition of Ang Ladlad LGBT Political Party. Invoking Romans 1:26-27 was a brilliant idea! I feel so blessed that you guys are doing the job that the Constitution of the Philippines mandated you to do. And I feel so relieved that you guys are there to save my soul from being infected by the presence of a lesiban,gay, bisexual, and transgender political party in the 2010 elections.

I try to share the wisdom of your decision with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I'm really convinced that you are very right. You know, just like you, I take the Bible seriously in a very literal way because the Bible is the word of God and God is definitely very clear in whatever He's saying. However, I do need some advice from you regarding some God's command in the Bible. I will deeply appreciate if you tell me how to best follow them:

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exo. 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? How much did you sell your daughters for? I’m really, really curious.

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. Do you allow your female staff in COMELEC to work during their menstrual period?

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this doesn’t apply to us, that only Chinese people can have us as slaves and not the other way around. Can you clarify? Why can't I have a Chinese for a slave?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exo. 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself? Oh, am I allowed to kill President Arroyo when she works during the Sabbath? And, YES, am I allowed to kill you if I caught you working during the Sabbath?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? I know a lot of our political candidates eat selfish! O No! Please the 2010 Elections can't be infested by them!

g) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. A lot of political candidates are wearing glasses, a lot of our former Presidents wore glasses. Are they immoral too?

h) Most of our male political candidates get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. Can we tolerate such immorality among our political candidates?

i) I know a political candidate who has a farm. I think he violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev.20:14)

j) A lot of Filipinas work as domestic helpers in other countries. A lot of them are beaten by their employers. Should I condemn their employers or should we just allow them to be beaten up as long as they can get up after a day or two as what Exo. 21:20-21 wants us to do: “If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.”

k) Erap Estrada seems intent to run again as President. I just wonder whether you’ll approve his candidacy, specially that he is a well-known adulterer. The Bible say the punishment is death, why is he still alive? Is there something fishy going on?

l) Deut. 23:20 said that we shall not demand interest from our countrymen on a loan of money. Are our banks immoral? How should they be punished?

I know you guys have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. I still have many questions but that’s all for now. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Faithfully yours,
Juan de la Cruz

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LGBT Filipinos, Unite! Attend the Ang Ladlad General Assembly on Saturday, 14 November 2009

Ang Ladlad Logo

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has just denied the petition for accreditation of Ang Ladlad Partylist to be able to take part in the 2010 elections and represent Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Filipinos in Congress. The COMELEC, in its 7-page decision, claims that Ang Ladlad advocates sexual immorality and thus the COMELEC is protecting the youth from “moral and spiritual degradation” by denying Ang Ladlad’s petition.

In light of this COMELEC decision, Ang Ladlad is calling all its members, allies, friends and supporters to a general assembly on 14 November 2009, Saturday, 9am-12nn at the Seminar Room 108 of the University Hotel, UP Diliman. For directions, call the University Hotel at landline 926.1975/926.1953 or mobile 0920.471.0111.

It’s time to get up and stand up for our rights!

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BREAKING NEWS: FOR 'IMMORALITY,' GAY GROUP DENIED PARTY-LIST ACCREDITATION

By Lilita Balane
Newsbreak

Ang Ladlad's own petition indicating intimate same-sex relations, brought that decision upon itself

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has rejected the petition of a group representing the "third sex" to be accredited for the party list on the ground that it "tolerates immorality, which offends religious beliefs."

In an 8-page resolution, the Comelec cited the Ang Ladlad LGBT's advocacy of sexual immorality with same-sex relationships. Read more. Click: BUHAY BAYOT

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

11th Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR)

TDOR

This year, STRAP is partnering with the first-ever TLBG student group in the University of the Philippines (UP) system, UP Babaylan to commemorate the International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) (see the beautiful poster above created by our very own Ms. Dee Mendoza). The TDOR is meant to honor people who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. It began a decade ago after the death of Rita Hester who was brutally murdered in November 1998. Hester’s death resulted in the creation of the Remembering Our Dead website and a candlelight vigil in 1999. Henceforth, transgender people killed due to hatred are honored in annual TDOR activities worldwide.

We are holding TDOR week in UP and our activities are as follows:
November 24 - 27, 2009, UP Diliman Campus, Quezon City

Nov. 24 (Tue.)
10:00 AM, TDOR Exhibit Opening | Palma Hall Lobby (Exhibit runs until the 27th)

Nov. 27 (Fri.)
2:30 - 5:00 PM, TRANSCEND: Stories and Struggles of Transpeople in the Philippines (Forum) | UP Diliman Gender Office, Benton Hall

6:00 PM, Candle-lighting Ceremony | Palma Hall Lobby


We hope that you can join us in all these activities. We will really appreciate it. To participate or for inquiries, contact STRAP Secretary Mae Emmanuel Hernandez at mobile (0905.352.0943) and email (mushy.mae@gmail.com). Thank you. See you there!

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