Online Internship Program

Reflection Paper on the

Webinar "Si Juan, Si Juana og Kitang
Tanan Sogie 101 For All"

Batch “DIMATINAG”
2nd Semester S.Y. 2021 – 2022

Submitted by:

CI CHRISTIAN ALLEN S. LOPENA

BS Criminology
To start off this webinar, we were presented with a diversity prayer which was
unique because it is not so often that we appreciate the differences of all people
no matter the race, religion, culture, nationality and gender among other things. It
reminds us that although no two people are the same, we still strive in
understanding and respecting each other for the betterment of society and the
human race as a whole. It is something that I agree on the most part and hope
that God is guiding us on the correct path. Followed by the playing of the
National Anthem to remind us of the rich history of our nation and the people who
fought for our freedom. The Philippines would not have prospered if it were not
for our heroes and contributors. The opening blessing reminds us of the gift of
diversity and the gift of choice, to choose to celebrate the possibilities that
diversity brings about. We were then reminded the host speaker, Ma’am Mary
Rose to use our real names and put the acronym of the school or organizations
we presented. Afterwards, a formal introduction of the speaker Ma’am Chona
Tremedal. Ma’am Chona then welcomes all participants who made time to attend
the webinar “ Si Juan, Si Juana Ug Kitang Tanan SOGIE 101”. This discussion
on Social Interaction and Gender Expressions Sogie Intersections is to help
educate Zontians and guests. The discrimination that people look at SOGIE as
another form of marginalization and oppressions. And suggestions on SOGIE-
based hatred and violence. There is so much to be done, the call to action
flowing from this discussion is an important element in an intellectual and
empathetic discussion for all of us. In the longer term we look forward to the day
where the world will finally all open their eyes and see all colors of the rainbow,
not just black and white. Non-discrimination would alleviate the suffering of the
LGBTQ people, provide them many access to our societies opportunities and in
many cases save lives. People of all creeds, beliefs and people of goodwill
should join by standing up and speaking out for non-discrimination in all our
communities. Ma’am Chona hopes that we join in commission what Zonta Club
has believed in and that is to make our world a home for all. In the third
encyclical “Fratella tutti”, Pope Francis regards the virtue of hospitality as a
sacred duty of all. Non-discrimination protections are essential to living out this
hospitality in the way Jesus modeled the Catholic virtue of hospitality. That then
ends Ma’am Chona’s speech as she thanks us again and gives her closing
remarks. Her speech indeed was a powerful reminder of making the world a
home for all. For the rationale of the webinar we then listen to Zontian Regal
Oliva. Zn. Regal explains that Zonta Club Cebu II’s way of celebrating
International Women’s Month is very unique and not overreaching. This will not
only stir the strength of women but also send a message of hope and inclusivity
among the people in the LGBT community. We have to remember that a mother
who brought us to this world is a woman. She may have brought also LGBT
filipinos in the community, and we honor her, we honor our mothers. We also
honor the LQBT community who were fighting for so long a time and have
suffered discrimination or just plain tolerance. While we appreciate living in a very
tolerant country like the Philippines. It is but necessary to live in a country where
there is proper and total acceptance. And the only way to get that acceptance is
to pass a law that protects the LGBT filipinos. The SOGIE Equality bill also
known as the Anti-Discrimination bill is a proposed legislation of the congress of
the Philippines that seeks to protect LGBT filipinos who face systemic
discriminations. The first bill was filed in Congress in 1998. As of 2022, legislative
advocacy in support for the bill has reached over two decades. The SOGIE Bill
aims to protect people from a societal and institutional level. It is about ensuring
that people are protected from abuse, dehumanization and violence. Seeking an
end to abuse is not about special treatment. It is about wanting to be respected
as a human being. That the bill has languished in Congress for almost 25 years
speaks to the lack of urgency granted to crimes that target filipino gender
minorities. For the past years, judgements and unjustifiable opinions about LGBT
have been very notable and seemingly they remain voiceless as there are no
special protections made available. If there are, they are just very limited and not
enough to stand for the LGBT community. The passage of a bill that protects
LGBT filipinos and people from discrimination will only be the start of a broad and
lastingl change in cultural attitudes. Need for true equality among filipinos
regardless of SOGIE because every Juan, every Juana may they be from the
LGBT community or not. May they be allies of the government or not, have their
own SOGIE . Everyone has their own SOGIE so let us learn from our
distinguished speakers on “What is SOGIE?” and how we can improve as a
person and as a human being. We need to promote an inclusive society and give
the LGBT community a breeding space of equal privileges. The LGBT community
is not asking for special treatment or privileges but equality. And that ends Zn.
Regal Oliva’s speech. This indeed is supported by so many others who have felt
discrimination but there are many others who have proced their way and have
succeeded. Ma’am Mary Rose then introduces Congressional Representative
Geraldine Roman. Geraldine gives her heartfelt greetings to the Zonta Club of
Cebu II and she hopes that we will take advantage of this webinar to learn a lot
about SOGIE. All of us have SOGIE, men, women and all members of the LGBT
community. It will be important that we will be able to understand to create an
inclusive society for all members are made to feel welcome. Next speaker is
Percival Cendana, he discusses SOGIE 101 with a presentation. There is an
image shown where gay people are holding the PRIDE flag. This is from 1996,
the first lesbian and gay pride march in the Philippines. Next slide then shows a
picture of emojis with numbers ranging from 1 to 7 where he will proceed to ask
certain questions. This is an interactive activity so the audience is encourage to
participate in the chat box in which multiple people answer. He then asks us to
rate our last meal. Next question is about the quality of sleep. Further he then
asks about how is school. Something more personal then is asks which is how is
our lovelife. Next question is something more controversial which how is our sex
life. Next question is a simple question. “How are you today?”. Lots of people
answered the various questions and the ratings were very interesting. The
question “how are you?” lately has become a mere pleasantry, an equivalent of
“Hi” and “Hello”. When people say “How are you?” we give an automatic answer
without thinking about it. But when we reflect to the question, it is actually about
our wellbeing. We usually encounter wellbeing always in the context of health but
what we must appreciate is that wellbeing is far more encompassing than health.
In fact, health is just one of the components of wellbeing. If you look at the many
international instruments, particularly development instruments of the United
Nations. Wellbeing would be at the core of these development instruments. The
Millenium developments goals and the social development goals, they are all
anchored on people’s wellbeing. That is the best way to measure development
and total wellbeing of the people. The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, also known as the Anti-Discrimination
Bill (ADB), are a series of House and Senate bills that were introduced in the
17th and 18th Congress of the Philippines which aims to set into law measures to
prevent various economic and public accommodation-related acts of
discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity,
or expression. A senate bill against discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity was believed to have been first filed under
the 11th Congress of the Philippines in 2000 by then-Senator Miriam Defensor-
Santiago. On July 26, 2004 under the 13th Congress of the Philippines, Senator
Defensor-Santiago filed the Employment Non-Discrimination bill which aims to
prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Similar bills
were refiled by her on the 14th (Anti-Discrimination bill of 2007) and 15th
congress (Anti-Sexual Orientation Discrimination bill). In the House of
Representatives, counterpart house bills were filed continuously by the
representatives of Akbayan party-list starting with House Bill 634 filed during
the 13th Congress of the Philippines on July 1, 2004 by then party-list
Representative Etta Rosales. Similar measures continued to be filed by other
senators during the 13th to 16th Congress but none have been successful. In
2017, the first SOGI house bill of the 17th Congress was filed by Dinagat Island
Representative Arlene Bag-ao under House Bill 51. Similar bills were filed by
Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman (HB 267), Akbayan Representative
Tomas Villarin (HB 3555), and other representatives. These bills were
consolidated and substituted by House Bill 4982. HB 4982 made history when it
was approved on the third and final reading with no members of the House of
Representatives in opposition, becoming the first Anti-Discrimination Bill that was
approved in the House of Representatives. The counterpart bill in the Senate,
filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros (the first Akbayan senator), was in the period of
interpolations by May 2018. It was backed by Senators Loren Legarda, Grace
Poe, Nancy Binay, Franklin Drilon, Bam Aquino, Chiz Escudero, Ralph
Recto, Sonny Angara, JV Ejercito, Francis Pangilinan, Juan Miguel Zubiri,
and Leila de Lima, although de Lima is barred from voting on the bill as she is
currently in police custody. It was opposed by Senators Tito Sotto, Manny
Pacquiao, Cynthia Villar, and Joel Villanueva (who signed up as a co-author of
the bill). Other senators such as Win Gatchalian, Koko Pimentel, Antonio
Trillanes, Panfilo Lacson, and Richard J. Gordon did not express their support or
rejection of the bill. Senator Trillanes is currently facing cases that may put him in
jail, which may make him ineligible to vote for the bill like senator de Lima if he is
arrested. Additionally, Alan Peter Cayetano and Gregorio Honasan lost their
voting rights on Senate measures as they declined to be part of the presidential
cabinet. Out of the existing 24 Senate seats: 12 seats can vote and are in
support of the bill, 1 seat is in support but cannot vote on the bill, 4 seats can
vote and are in opposition to the bill, 5 seats can vote on the bill but have not yet
given their positions on it (although the number may be reduced to 5), and 2
seats are de facto vacated. For a bill to pass the Senate, it needs more than half
the votes in favor of it from all 24 Senate seats. The SOGIE Equality Bill currently
is supported by 12 seats that are allowed to vote on the measure. The bill is also
supported by the Catholic student governments of University of the Philippines-
Diliman (UPD), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle University
(DLSU)-Manila, De La Salle - College of St. Benilde (CSB), Far Eastern
University (FEU), Miriam College (MC), St. Scholastica's College (SSC)-Manila
and San Beda University (SBU). The longest running LGBT student organization,
UP Babaylan, has also been supporting the bill ever since it was first filed, as
well as known celebrities and icons such as Heart Evangelista, Nadine
Lustre, Bianca Gonzalez, Iza Calzado, Charo Santos-Concio, Dingdong
Dantes, Joey Mead King, Divine Lee, Karen Davila, Chot Reyes, Tootsy Angara,
BJ Pascual, Samantha Lee, Christine Bersola-Babao, Rajo Laurel, Tim
Yap, Anne Curtis, Mari Jasmine, Laureen Uy, Pia Wurtzbach, Lorenzo Tañada
III, Vice Ganda, Arnold Van Opstal, and Chel Diokno. In March 2018, a small
group of Christians protested at the Senate against the SOGIE bill by calling the
proposed legislation an "abomination", adding that homosexuality is a "sin" citing
that their hate is justified because it is written in the Bible and that identifying as
part of the LGBT community is a lifestyle. The group also claimed that the bill
relates to same-sex marriage, which is not found anywhere within the
bill. Senators Villanueva, Gatchalian, and Villar spoke against same-sex
marriage after the protest. In May 2018, senator Tito Sotto, who opposes the
SOGIE bill, became the new Senate President. In an interview, Sotto was asked
on the bill's passage, to which he responded, "Not in this congress." In July 2018,
various high-profile celebrities rallied for the passage of the SOGIE bill. They also
called out senators Sotto, Pacquiao, and Villanueva to end the debates and pass
the proposed legislation. In August 2018, at the height of the bill's postponed
debates, various discrimination incidents against the Filipino LGBT community
surfaced, causing public calling for the passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill in the
Senate. Numerous influential personalities, including political allies of the three
senators who oppose the bill, sided with the calls to pass the landmark proposal.
In May 2019, the SOGIE Equality Bill officially became the longest-running bill
under the Senate interpellation period in Philippine history. Supporters of the bill
have remarked that the prolonged interpellation was intended by the dissenters
to block the passage of the historic anti-discrimination bill. The bill's principal
author and sponsor in the Senate, senator Risa Hontiveros, called on her Senate
colleagues to formally close the question period so that the bill can be open for
amendments and voting. In June 2019, with the end of the session of the 17th
Congress, the SOGIE Equality Bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression—after the lawmakers failed to
tackle the bill in this session of the Senate of the Philippines. The Senate version
of the bill was first filed on August 11, 2016. It was sponsored by Risa
Hontiveros on December 14 of the same year. The bill has become one of the
slowest-moving bills in the country's history. The passed House version of the bill
would have penalised discrimination with a fine of not less than ₱100,000 but not
more than ₱500,000, or imprisonment of not less than one year but not more
than six years or both, depending on the court's decision. However, she said the
bill had gained new allies and wider acceptance among policy makers and the
public and that she is confident the bill will pass in the next Congress. The bill
was archived, and the bill must be refiled in the 18th Congress, restarting the one
to three-year process of enactment. Versions of the SOGIE Equality Bill were
refiled in the 18th Congress by Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Imee
Marcos, Senator Leila de Lima, and Senator Kiko Pangilinan, while another
similar bill was filed by Senator Sonny Angara. Senators Bong Go, Juan Miguel
Zubiri, Ralph Recto, and Franklin Drilon announced their support for the SOGIE
Bill. In the House of Representatives, various representatives also filed their
versions of the bill, notably, Sol Aragones of Laguna, Geraldine Roman of
Bataan, Loren Legarda of Antique, Maria Lourdes Alba of Bukidnon, Jose
Belmonte of Quezon city, Bayan Muna representatives Eufemia Cullamat, Carlos
Zarate, and Ferdinand Gaite, Kristine Singson of Ilocos Sur, Bagong Henerasyon
representative Bernadette Dy, Eric Olivarez of Parañaque city, and Francis
Abaya of Cavite. Representatives Sy-Alvarado, De Venecia, Reyes, Taduran,
Bordado, Olivarez, and Violago have also signed as co-author of the bill filed by
representative Roman, while Gabriela Women's Party representative Arlene
Brosas has signed as co-author of the bill filed by Bayan Muna. Religious leaders
also gave their support for the SOGIE Bill, such as Koko Alviar of the Iglesia
Filipina Independiente (Aglipayan Church) Sister Mary John Mananzan, OSB,
executive director of the Institute of Women's Studies of the Catholic St.
Scholastica's College, Bishop Solito Toquiero of the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines, and Pastor Kakay Pamaran of the Union Theological
Seminary. In contrast, representative Eddie Villanueva claimed that the SOGIE
Bill is 'imported' and not part of Filipino culture. Senate president Tito
Sotto expressed dissent against the bill again, adding that the bill "will not pass"
in the Senate as long as he is the Senate president. Senator Joel Villanueva also
expressed dissent. Various personalities announced their support for the SOGIE
Bill, namely: Anne Curtis, Heart Evangelista, Catriona Gray, Pia Wurtzbach, Judy
Taguiwalo, Iza Calzado, Nadine Lustre, Janine Gutierrez, BJ Pascual, Mari
Jasmine, and Samantha Lee. Vice President Leni Robredo also supports the
SOGIE Bill, while President Rodrigo Duterte supports "an anti-discrimination law
patterned like the one approved in Davao". The government has stated that they
will certify an anti-discrimination bill as "urgent". In September 2020, groups
again called to pass the SOGIE bill after President Duterte gave an absolute
pardon to a former US Marine who has been convicted of homicide in relation to
the killing of trans Filipina Jennifer Laude. Imagine having dinner with your
(extended) family. Everybody is chatting. Despite being open about your lesbian
identity, your mother is asking you again when you’re getting married. Your
brother is teasing you about the girl you are dating, and your aunt is telling him to
stop. And then out of the blue, your grandmother asks you, “What is SOGIE?”,
making your father look up from his tablet, probably wondering if the question
has anything to do with drugs. SOGIE, an abbreviation combining sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, has become one of the main
reference term to describe the LGBT (or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender)
community. It is now being introduced in many legal doctrines, in UN documents,
and it is becoming popular in social media. Its usefulness lies in its inclusiveness:
The term “LGBT” is specific to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, but
SOGIE refers to characteristics common to all human beings because everyone
has a sexual orientation and a gender identity. Everyone also expresses their
gender, not just lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Aside from being
new, the challenge in explaining SOGIE is that it is that it is a complex term and
one that deals with subjects considered taboo in many cultures. But learning
about SOGIE is crucial to understand the situation of LGBTIs. Here are some
helpful pointers for you if and when your grandma pops the question: Rigid
beliefs on sex and gender put people in boxes (or closets), but these beliefs do
not reflect realities on human sexuality, especially how gender roles and
expressions, sexual attraction, and sexual behavior influence how a person
views or lives his or her own sexuality. These notions favor male-female
distinctions and are biased against those who do not fit existing stereotypes on
sex and gender. However, diversity is a natural characteristic of human sexuality:
in reality, sexual attraction can and do happen between people of the same or
opposite genders, and we do not always fit in gender roles and identities
expected of us. It is the biological difference that distinguishes people as
manifested by a combination of anatomical (our internal reproductive organs and
our genitals), genetic, and hormonal distinctions, as well as other sexual
characteristics. The term is problematic when used to essentialize sex as the
totality of one’s sexuality. For instance, for intersex persons, or individuals whose
sexual anatomy does not conform with the above definition, this could expose
them to stigma, forced surgery, and other possible human rights abuses. Many
prefer to use the term “assigned sex” to contextualize that in many instances,
one’s sex is often imposed by a society to an individual. Our gender identity is
not determined by our assigned sex. While the common assumption is that our
assigned sex and our gender identity are the same (male = boy/man, female =
girl/woman), sex and gender are two distinct categories. Sex is the body or
container, while gender is the content or matter that fills the container. A person
whose lived experiences do not match their assigned sex assigned is known as a
transgender person or gender diverse person. A person whose assigned sex is
male and identifies as a woman is a transgender woman or transwoman. A
person whose assigned sex is female and identifies as a man is a transgender
man or transman. A person whose gender identity matches his or her assigned
sex is considered cisgendered, while a person who relates to neither, all or a
combination of genders is known as gender fluid, gender queer or other
categories. Our gender expression is influenced by our assigned sex, our sexual
orientation, and/or gender identity, and it may or may not reflect a society’s
expectations. So if sex is the “container” and gender is the “content”, gender
expression is the container’s decorations. A person can be attracted to people of
the opposite gender (“heterosexual”), to people of the same gender
(“homosexual”, “gay” for male-to-male, or “lesbian” for female-to-female), or to
both genders (“bisexual”). One can also be “asexual” (no sexual attraction to
anyone) or “pansexual” (sexual or romantic attraction is not limited to any
particular sex or gender identity). By the time you are washing dishes, your
grandmother would either be too stunned to react or too confused she is asking
more questions. That’s alright. Expect this to be a continuing conversation. Use
your personal experiences (and your grandmother’s personal experiences) to
explain SOGIE. The point is, keep calm and educate. Over the last decade we
have seen an increased interest in the health, well-being and security of aid
workers. However, humanitarian and development organisations have primarily
focused on the external threats to aid worker security and given less attention to
how individual characteristics (e.g. gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity,
religious identity or disability) may intersect to create specific
vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are often exacerbated in contexts where
development and humanitarian organisations operate. If we are to truly capitalise
on the increased attention to aid worker security, health and well-being, we first
need to know how individuals might be vulnerable, what their specific needs
might be, and how best to support them. In January 2016, RedR UK and
the European Interagency Security Forum (EISF) joined forces to explore these
questions from the perspective of aid workers with diverse sexual orientations,
gender identities and expressions (SOGIE) 1. The one-day scoping workshop, the
first to explicitly address SOGIE in our sector, brought together a range of
academics, practitioners and activists to identify common roadblocks and
dilemmas, share examples of best practice and establish ways forward. Until
now, the silence around SOGIE has been deafening, leaving organisations to
operate on a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach. One significant outliner to this trend
has been Peace Corps in the USA, who since the legalisation of same-sex
marriage in 2015 have sought to raise their support for prospective lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) volunteers. Peace Corps aside, the extreme
lack of internal data and policy research led RedR UK and EISF to reach out to
Stonewall, the UK’s largest charity for LGBT people, and representatives from
the private sector with experience of developing human resource policies for
transnational organisations, to contribute to the workshop. Stonewall revealed
that in a study of 600 global employers who have transformed their workplaces to
be more inclusive of people with diverse SOGIE in the UK, more still needed to
be done to support staff working internationally. Against a global backdrop where
homosexuality is illegal in 76 countries and punishable by death in ten, and
where 40% of the world’s population live in countries where LGBT people can be
imprisoned, the significance of this issue for our own global workforce cannot be
underestimated. However, as Stonewall were quick to point out, the stress and
anxiety caused by being from, or deployed to, a country with the threat of
imprisonment or death represents just the most visible tip of the iceberg of issues
that aid workers may experience. Drawing on their experience of supporting a
wide range of international organisations, Stonewall outlined the need for our
organisations to be aware of the legal and cultural differences that may impact
upon employees, and the importance of implementing appropriate whole-staff
policies and training. As well as being aware of, and planning for, the more
extreme forms of discrimination and state-endorsed violence on the grounds of
SOGIE, Stonewall were clear that organisations should also take steps to
understand how aid workers might be negatively affected by the lack of
appropriate healthcare (e.g. sexual health advice for men who have sex with
men), as well as the mental health issues associated with the prolonged inability
to be open about personal lives to friends and colleagues. Throughout the
workshop, participants contributed their personal experiences of being LGBT in
the humanitarian and development sector. Upon hearing the stories of real-life
experiences from the field, one of the key findings was how an individual’s
gender and sexual identity could not be separated from wider issues related to
their ethnicity, age or religious identity. Also significant was the role that an
individual had within the organisation, length of deployment, and the specific
challenges of working in a rural field office compared to an urban centre. While
Metro Manila is by no means an absolutely safe space — this is a country where you
hear stories of LGBTQ children being told that they should be nailed to a cross and
where, on one occasion, “a lower court dismissed the case of child abuse committed by
a school principal against a young girl who refused to wear skirts and was made to
parade in school grounds wearing a curtain” — much of what is recognized as the
mainstream LGBTQ advocacy is based here. Indeed, much of the historicizing LGBTQ
Filipinos do see Metro Manila, specifically Quezon City, as the birthplace of Asia’s first
Pride March. However, in many places inside and outside Manila’s walls, you do
hear stories that make one realize that keeping the rainbow flag furled is still the
safer bet for many people. “The LGBT youth continue to suffer from stressors in
the forms of discrimination, exclusion, and gender-based violence,” Prof. Hadji
Balajadia of Ateneo De Davao University’s Department of Psychology tells. She
puts the situation bluntly: “Their potentials and well-being are shattered and
shaken.” The first ever Philippine Corporate SOGIE Diversity and Inclusiveness
(CSDI) Index — a study in 2018 conducted by the Philippine LGBT Chamber of
Commerce and research firm Cogencia, and supported by the Embassy of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Philippines — surveyed 100 companies on
their anti-discrimination and equal opportunity employment policies. Out of the
100, they found zero Philippine-based companies implementing policies meant to
protect their employees from SOGIE-based discrimination. “Bakit pinupush ang
Anti-Discrimination Bill, o ang SOGIE Equality Bill pero bakit hindi gaanong maingay
tungkol sa marriage equality?” says Atty. Jazz Tamayo of legal literacy NGO Rainbow
Rights Philippines during Pride Speaks, a discussion on LGBTQ+ activism organized by
Metro Manila Pride. “Kasi may paniniwala kami sa advocacy na ‘yung SOGIE Equality
Bill, it cuts across the board. Mas marami kasing nakaka-benefit doon.” “Mayaman o
mahirap, single o hindi, pwede kang gumamit ng batas kasi mapoproteksyunan
ka niyan sa trabaho mo, sa eskuwelahan mo,” she adds. “Hindi ibig sabihin na
hindi importante ang marriage equality. Ang ibig sabihin lang, in terms of
prioritizing, mas mahalagang may trabaho ka, diba?” For our 2019 Pride Month
cover feature, CNN Philippines Life presented five stories of LGBTQ+ families to show
that there is more to the meaning of family than the traditional concept of a mother, a
father, and their children. Letting us into their homes, these families show us the
challenges that are unique to the LGBTQ+ experience, and the joys of raising children
as LGBTQ+ parents. At its core, family is about love. “Ang pamilya ay
pagmamahalan, pagtutulungan, walang pinipiling gender,” says gay father Edwin
Quinsayas. “‘Yung pagpapamilya, pagmamahal talaga ‘yun. Pag-aaruga.” In
2019, when a cleaning crew at the Quezon City mall harassed trans woman Gretchen
Custodio Diez as she tried to enter a women’s restroom, they violated the city’s Gender
Fair Ordinance, which protects people from harassment and discrimination based on
sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE). This incident sparked
renewed debate about the SOGIE Equality Bill, which aims to provide protection to all
Filipinos nationwide. However, online, offline, and even in the Senate, discussions took
place on restroom rights, gender identity, and the need for a national Anti-Discrimination
Bill. To help everyone better understand the issue, as well as the call for
protection against discrimination, here we debunk five myths and misconceptions
about the LGBTQ+ bathroom issue. CNN Philippines Life sat down with six
transgender individuals to better understand the trans Filipino experience, from trans
men and women themselves. “When people meet a trans person, I want them to
focus on that person as a human being. Not as a trans person but as a human
being,” says Naomi Fontanos during the roundtable discussion. “You treat them
in a human way; you don't fixate on their genitals; you don't fixate on their bodies;
you don't fixate on their identities, but you treat them with respect as a full human
person.” “The end goal of our activism is for people to see us as full human
beings. Beyond our genitals, beyond our gender identities. Just as people in this
world. But of course, we're very far from that.” The Philippines has made great
strides in terms of LGBTQ+ awareness, with pride marches attended by an
estimated 25,000 people and policy changes reaching well outside Metro Manila.
But for people who identify as asexual, theirs is an entire group that has
remained largely invisible, despite more and more people becoming vocal about
the advocacy. Ricalyn Cinco was raised as a boy, but it was when adolescence hit
when she started developing breasts. “Syempre hindi naman ako pwede mag-bra, hindi
ba?” she shares. “Alam nung mga kaklase ko, lalaki [ako]. Lalapitan ako tapos, ‘pag
natuwa sila, dadakmain nila ‘yung suso ko. Tapos ako… magrereklamo ba ako?” These
are examples of what would only be the beginning of the unknown traumas that
many intersex Filipinos experience in their day-to-day lives. For a majority of
them, this “act” would go on well into adulthood — from stuffing bras with pan de
sal just to pass as female for a job interview, to quitting swimming because
wearing a swimsuit would attract too many questions, even to being undressed
by the teacher behind a classroom door just because they needed to know : “Ano
ba talaga, babae ka o lalaki?” For the longest time, people were placed into
boxes to fulfill a presumed pre-ordained role based on one’s sex — men were to
work and provide for the family, women were responsible for bearing and raising
children. But today, as science teaches us that sex and gender are separate from
one another, one can choose to live a truth outside of the binary. The truth is that
gender lies in a dynamic spectrum, and we can all choose to live along or outside
it. A few terms that need definition: “Sex” is biological, and is characterized by the
body we are born in. “Gender” is social, and is characterized by cultural norms,
or what we deem to be masculine or feminine traits. “Gender identity” is a
person’s sense of self as male, female, both, or neither. The “gender binary” is
the concept that there are only two opposite and distinct genders. “Cisgender” is
a term for people whose biological sex matches their gender identity. From the
moment we are born, we’re expected to follow a set of roles based on our sex. Pink for
girls, blue for boys. Barbie dolls and action figures. Playing house and playing soldier.
This is gender, and it’s something that follows us into adulthood, influencing our career
choices and relationship dynamics, dictating the way we move in the world. For most,
gender exists as a binary — you’re either male or female. But consider instead a
spectrum — one where we can borrow from seemingly opposite shades, dance
along a prism of colors, or choose to rest outside of it. To live along or outside of
this spectrum, to identify as both masculine and feminine, or neither, is to be
considered gender non-conforming. And though the concept may seem
progressive, it has actually been around for hundreds of years. In “Aura: The Gay
Theme in Philippine Fiction in English,” editor J. Neil C. Garcia points to Spanish
accounts of pre-colonial Philippines documenting encounters with “local men
dressed up in women’s apparel and acting like women” who “crossed the lines
between male and female genders” and were deemed as “highly respected
leaders and figures of authority in the societies where they lived.” The babaylan
were priestesses of some sort, acting as intermediaries between humans and
spirits. Yet their existence threatened our patriarchal colonizers, and along with
women, eventually lost their high status as Western values overtook the cultural
landscape.