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= LGBT Rights in the Philippines =

Introduction
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.

Despite this, the LGBT community remains as one of the country's minority sectors. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders 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 UN, the Philippines is signatory to various international covenants promoting human rights.

Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined as:
 * Lesbian
 * Gay
 * Bisexuality
 * Transgender

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 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 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.

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 refunctioned 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 1960's 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 as swardspeak, gayspeak or baklese. Gay literature that were Philippine-centric also began to emerge during this period. Further development of 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 1980's 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.

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 Holmes’s 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 country’s LGBT community in the participation of a lesbian group called Lesbian Collective, as they join the International Women’s Day march of 1992. Another demonstration of attendance was made by ProGay Philippines, led by Oscar Atadero, when they organized a Pride march in 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 Church (MCC) in 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 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.

Laws Affecting the LGBT Community
Non-commercial, homosexual relations between consenting 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 that:"'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.'""'In the absence of proof to the contrary, properties acquired while they lived together shall be presumed to have been obtained by their joint efforts, work or industry, and shall be owned by them in equal shares. For purposes of this Article, a party who did not participate in the acquisition by the other party of any property shall be deemed to have contributed jointly in the acquisition thereof if the former's efforts consisted in the care and maintenance of the family and of the household. Neither party can encumber or dispose by acts inter vivos of his or her share in the property acquired during cohabitation and owned in common, without the consent of the other, until after the termination of their cohabitation'"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 01, 2013 and is yet to be passed.

Religion
Several religious beliefs exists within the country, some of them including Roman Catholicism, the Iglesia ni Cristo, and Islam, among many others. These different faiths have their own views and opinions towards the topic of homosexuality.

Roman Catholicism
The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country with approximately 82.9 percent of the population claiming to be Roman Catholics. The Roman Catholic Church has been one of the most active religious organizations in the country in the opposition of the LGBT community. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines firmly states that marriage should only exist between a man and a woman. Also, they have called on individuals and politicians to actively oppose same-sex marriage. They said that individuals should refuse to take part in ceremonies celebrating same-sex relationships and politicians should resist legalizing marriages of homosexual couples. They also stated that “A homosexual union is not and can never be a marriage as properly understood and so-called." However, they also said that "being a homosexual is not a sin. It is a state of a person." The Catholic Church welcomes members of the LGBT community, yet, as stated, gay people should be “welcomed with respect and sensitivity.”

Iglesia ni Cristo
The Iglesia ni Cristo does not condemn the fact of being a homosexual in itself, but rather, they adhere to the teachings of the Bible and they denounce those who practice homosexual acts, as they are seen as immoral and wicked. These acts include having sexual affairs and relations with partners of the same sex, cross-dressing, and same-sex marriage. Also, in the Iglesia ni Cristo, men are not allowed to have long hair, for it is seen as a symbol of femininity and should be exclusive to women only. Due to the fact that the INC's faith is founded upon the Bible, when a member of the INC is found out to be LGBT, he/she will be asked to leave the congregation as being a homosexual is not in line with their beliefs.

Islam
Muslim communities, like all other religious groups, face the challenge of confronting diversity. However, for many Muslims, dealing with homosexuality or transgender issues is a matter of sin and heresy, not difference and diversity. The Islamic community in the Philippines views homosexuality in a negative manner. It is considered to be a great sin to have a relationship with someone of the same sex. Muslims see homosexuals as persons who suffer from a moral disorder. For the Islam community, homosexuality is a sin and should be severely punished for it is not in Allah’s plan. As cited in the Qur’an, “O people, we created you all from a male and female / And made you into different communities and different tribes / So that you should come to know one another / Acknowledging that the most noble among you Is the one most aware of God”

Media
Recognized as an important venue for the promotion of issues related to the LGBT by participants in a national dialogue facilitated by the UNDP, the participants also acknowledged the negative impact of religion with regard to the treatment of such issues, whereat it provides a blanket context that society views homosexuality as negative.

In May 2004, producers of several television programs received a memorandum from the chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), which warned against positive depictions of lesbian relationships; it was stated in the memo that "lesbian and homosexual relationships are an abnormality/aberration on prime-time TV programs gives the impression that the network is encouraging homosexual relationships."

The lack of sexual orientation and gender identity awareness is emphasized in other circumstances; transphobia is ubiquitous with media practitioners who do not address transgender people in accordance with how they self-identify. At the 2013 Cinemalaya indie awards, transgender actress Mimi Juareza won under the Best Actor category, and in reports, she was referred to repeatedly using the male pronoun. In 2014, the death of Jennifer Laude and the investigation into it was highly publicized, with practitioners referring to her as Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude.

Participants in the UNDP-facilitated national dialogue stated that content emphasized a general lack of understanding for sexual orientation and gender identity, such that LGBT stereotypes dominate; there are many gay men hosting programs at radio stations and television networks, but they are limited to covering entertainment shows. There is an apparent lack of representation for lesbians and transgender people. Given their platform, some media personalities have publicly shared their anti-LGBT sentiments; in 2009 newspaper columnist Ramon Tulfo wrote that LGBT people "should not also go around town proclaiming their preferences as if it was a badge of honor. "

Beyond mainstream media, which already has a niche for the sector, the Internet has provided LGBT people ways to tell their stories outside the realm of film, television, print, and radio. There are blogs kept, opportunities to connect with others, publications with LGBT sections, and a web-based magazine, Outrage, catering to the community.

Views Towards the LGBT Community
Ryan Thoreson in his article “Capably Queer: Exploring the Intersections of Queerness and Poverty in the Urban Philippines” did a research on the Queer community in the Philippines and how it copes with living here in the country. He interviewed a total of 80 queer informants in order to gather the data. Based on his survey about employment, and from what he gathered, he claimed that under a half of the respondents were employed and weekly income mean was only 1514.28 PhP per week. The survey also stated that “less than one-third have stable income, and very few enjoyed any kind of benefits” and 75% of its respondents said that they would like to do more wage-earning work.

As for its empowerment section, the survey stated that when the respondents were asked to tell their primary contribution to the household, 45% of them named household chores as their primary contribution, 30% stated giving money or paying the bills, 17.5% provided labor and money, and 7.5% said that they were not expected to contribute anything. As for their privacy, 75% of the respondents said that they had enough privacy and personal space.

In terms of safety and security, Thoreson’s journal also provides statistical data in terms of the queer community’s involvement in crimes as victims. According to the survey he made, 55% of his respondents were harassed on the street, 31.2% were robbed, 25% had been physically assaulted, 6.25% had been sexually assaulted, 5% had survived a murder attempt, and 5% had been blackmailed by the police.

Economy
The LGBT community, although a minority in the economic sphere, still plays an integral role in the growth and maintenance of the economy. LGBT individuals face challenges in employment both on an individual level and as members of a community that is subject to discrimination and abuse. This can be compounded by the weak social status and position of the individuals involved.

A USAID study conducted in 2014, entitled "The Relationship between LGBT Inclusion and Economic Development: An Analysis of Emerging Economies", has shown that countries which have adopted anti-LGBT economic laws have lower GDPs compared to those who do not discriminate employers/employees based on their sexual orientation. The link between discrimination and the economy is direct, since the discrimination experienced by members of the LGBT community turn them into disadvantaged workers, which can be bad for business. Disadvantaged workers usually practice absenteeism, low productivity, inadequate training and high turnover, which make for higher labor costs and lower profits. According to the USAID study, LGBT people in their sample countries are limited in their freedoms in ways that also create economic harms.

On the other hand, studies have shown that the integration of the LGBT into the economic system yields a higher income for the country. In a recent USAID study, it is said that a wide range of scholarly theories from economics, political science, sociology, psychology, public health, and other social sciences support the idea that full rights and inclusion of LGBT people are associated with higher levels of economic development and well-being for the country. Also, the acceptance of LGBT people within the office environment can lead to higher income for the company since the people do not feel as disadvantaged and as discriminated as before. Another thing is that a better environment for LGBT individuals can be an attractive bargaining chip for countries seeking multinational investments and even tourists, since a conservative climate that keeps LGBT people in the closet and policymakers from recognizing the human rights of LGBT people will hold their economy back from its full potential. Naturally, passing a non-discrimination law will not immediately lead to a sudden boost in the country's economy, although less discrimination should eventually lead to more output.

LAGABLAB
LAGABLAB-Philippines also known as Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network Philippines was formally introduced in 1999 but efforts to introduce a bill recognizing the lesbian and gay community as a sector was started as early as 1995. The organization’s main purpose is to promote and protect the rights of the LGBT community. Specifically, the organization does legislative advocacy through arranging different campaigns to raise awareness and influence the public on the situation of lesbians and gays regarding their rights and welfare. The organization also researches and gathers information on the cases of abuses and human rights violation inflicted on LGBT’s in the Philippines.

Ladlad Partylist
The Ladlad Partylist seeks to advocate the human rights of the LGBT community and works to have justice accessible to homosexuals. The organization also starts projects particularly and social support projects. Their societal vision revolves around eradicating gender and sexuality based oppression and discrimination. Their organizational vision on the other hand, is to become a party list that would represent the LGBT community in the congress that endeavors to consolidate, empower, and strengthen the LGBT community.

UP Babaylan
The UP Babaylan was founded in August 1992 wherein its membership is composed of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. It is a student support-group that empowers Filipino lesbians and gays by educating them on their rights as members of society and also teaches them how to be able to assert the exercise of their rights. Their main goal is to ensure equality to the LGBT’s as human being despite having different sexual orientation and gender identity. They aim to forge unity between LGBT students and faculty in the university and even the national sphere.