Equality Philippines

Held last September 3, 2009, the 3rd Getting-To-Know Org Heads Meeting, the biggest among the three (3) G2K Org Heads, was a success with more than 20 LGBT organizations who attended and collaborated in addressing the three (3) point agenda: Hate Crimes, Pride March, and the “We Dare, We Care” campaign. Below is the list of different organizations who went to the meeting: Ang Ladlad Partylist Animo Dugon Berde EnGendeRights GABAY Gabriela UPD GALANG Ketchup Magazine LeAP! Manila Pride Fest Metropolitan Community Church Quezon City One Bacardi OutPhilippines Pinoy Bi Society Project Equality Queer Pagan Network Rainbow Bloggers Philippines Single Guys Online STRAP Task Force Pride TeaFrosters The Library Foundation UP Babaylan Hate Crimes: Thought to be a serial killer, the different organizations decided that it’s not really a single person who is doing it, but different people who express anger to gay people since these cases where from different places in the archipelago. The recent ...

When I was having coffee and smoke in our balcony to start my morning today, I overheard one nasty exchange of minds from that group of cute young boys who hang out at the house next to where I live, which went as follows: Boy 1: Pare yang babaeng nagtatrabaho sa America priority yan. Boy 2: Pero mas maganda pa rin pare ung based sa America o Americana talaga. Boy 3: Bahala na kung ano yan Pare basta MAKAPAL ANG WALLET. Boy 4: Oo nga, BE PRACTICAL, Pare. The conversation left me clueless as to what to feel at the point of hearing it, but hell sure it raised a lot of questions from me. Well, yes, the looks of the members of this barkada is not a joke. They're one bunch of cute college boys. However, I don't see any reason for looks to be made a basis for assigning a corresponding value to one's self in looking for a mate. Such conversation only made me realize that, in these hard times, the word "practicality" is already overrated, and consequently, finding a ...

DANTON REMOTO Ang Ladlad Chair 2010 Senatorial Candidate I called up Helen Flores of Philippine Star to ask her who sent her the press release showing a purported Pulse Asia senatorial survey that showed me getting only 0.7 percent, landing third from the bottom of the list. She said, "Pulse Asia." I said that is impossible because I am not a subscriber to any of the surveys. Read: I did not pay P50,000 for my name to be there. I told her to check out the website of Pulse Asia. I did, again and again, and the alleged press release she got is not there. The only recent news item is the presidential survey. In short, it is a hatchet job. Clearly, then, the hand of a muckracker is at work here. Some rich political party commissioned a survey, put my name there, and must have been shocked out of their dimwitted skulls when they saw me again up there in the list, past their nina bonita, as it has been in the last many surveys. How do I know this? Because the other political parti...

I just realized, based on my experience last month, that I am an overly-scheduled person. On top of work, I am also working on my Master's thesis at the University of the Philippines, attending Spanish classes every Saturday, running three times a week and going to the gym for the same number of days. Add to these doing advocacy work for the LGBT community. My life will probably look more hectic compared to the average person. No matter, I like it this way. I enjoy being busy and I hate being idle although I do feel sometimes that there are just too many things to do in so little time. Last month alone I was in several activities involving the LGBT community. First I was a speaker at the Alternative Classroom Learning Experience (ACLE) forum on coming out (see pic above) of the University of the Philippines (UP) Babaylan, an LGBT students rights advocacy group in the UP system. I shared my coming out experience with the mainly student audience. I told them that in the past because ...

DANTON REMOTO Ang Ladlad, Chair 2010 Senatorial Candidate http://filipinovoices.com/ "The most media-attractive partylister to date is Danton Remoto’s Ang Ladlad. While denied COMELEC accreditation in the past (it said it didn’t have a national presence), it is now more politically sophisticated to go into the fray. Gays are found in all levels of society, the trades and professions. They contribute much to our society. However, Danton is astute enough to recognize that it is OK for Ladlad to go partylist for now, but that cannot be the state of affairs for the future. Ladlad will have to expand its constituency. Danton is considering a senate seat with the Liberals. Best of all he knows how to play the conservative streak in Pinoy society. While Pinoys may have no problems with openly gay people, they may have problems with gays exchanging vows with each other. So Danton says, 'Walang same-sex marriage, Ayaw ni Jesus.' A look at Ladlad’s platform is lefty but should be ac...

THE PHILIPPINE RED PARTY PROJECT September 5, 2009, SM Mall of Asia The Red Party Rationale Medical students across Australia have rallied as part of a nation-wide effort to increase awareness of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a devastating spectrum of disease afflicting an estimated 33 million people across the globe. To raise awareness, Australian medical students have hosted several fundraising and educational events all around the country. Themed with the color red, the international color for HIV and AIDS, the events have affectionately become known as 'Red Parties'. Two of these Australian medical students, Patrick Aouad and Zabrina Abdool, from the Australian National University visited the Philippines recently. They saw the plight of our fellowmen, especially those seeking consult at the Philippine General Hospital. They returned to Australia and proposed that the Adult Infectious Disease section of the Philippine Gener...

I was on my way home when I got an itch to tune in to "Good times with Mo, Mojo and Grace Lee" on Magic 89.9. I've been hearing a lot about the trio from a friend on how good they carry any topics that's being brought on the table. She said it's a good jump-start for her day, I said what the "f" I work during graveyard. But still I gave in. DJ Mo heading the trio, is known for being bold, straight to the point, eloquent, witty, spontaneous and entertaining. I know no one that I know (or close to me) would admit that they like Mo Twister, or maybe few or very, very few rather. In the entertainment business, someone who's very upfront, tactless and sharp will always have a bunch of haters. Maybe more than half of the population who knows him hates him just like maybe same percentage of the Pinoy that hates Kris Aquino. Tell it to me. Why am I not surprised? Anywho, they can talk about anything and everything under the sun - from politics, current eve...

Rowena Joy* (see pic above) is the title of a new mini-series being shown on GMA Network , a major TV station here. It is about a gay man, RJ who runs away from home after his homophobic father finds out about his sexual preference. RJ leaves for Japan to work and years later returns as a woman now called Rowena Joy. The show airs every Thursday night and so far it has had two episodes already. It has its ups and downs of course. While at the same time portraying Rowena Joy as a kindhearted soul, the show also perpetrates the biggest misconception about transsexual women: that they are gay men who desire to be women, playing on that transphobic concept of "women trapped in men's bodies." In this case, the woman Rowena Joy has been unleashed and yet still acts and thinks like a gay man. The show gives me a feeling of being spoken for. I feel like the show was put together by a bunch of gay men who then decided that this is how a transsexual is, feels and thinks. It leaves...

Need I say more? (LOL) Just click to enlarge!

Get ready for a Rainbow Exchange like you've never experienced before Rainbow Rights Project, Inc. together with Defense Specialists and Radar Pridewear bring you Pride&Power 1! Basic self-defense workshop for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women Join us on August 29, 2009 on the FBR Arcade Roofdeck from 1-4PMAnd enjoy an action-packed afternoon as trained martial artiststeach you basic defensive moves against assailants using only your hands or your I.D. card! Limited slots available! RSVP to 09065222995 on or before Aug 26 ! (Only two slots per RSVP will be accommodated. Sparring partners may RSVP using only one number.) See you there! *Pride&Power is a series of self-defense workshops for LGBT

The MCC or the Metropolitan Community Church is a Christian denomination with special ministry for members of the LGBT (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender) community. Metropolitan Community Church is a place for all people. It is our founding belief that all are welcome at the table whether they are GLBT, Straight, Questioning, a member of MCC, a member of another church, or not affiliated with a church at all. The love of God is NOT conditional. All are welcome! MCC Quezon City (MCCQC) was established on September 13, 2006 by Pastor Ceejay Agbayani Jr. as a mission program of the Makati-based MCC Philippines, the first MCC in Asia. On May 30, 2008, the members of the MCCQC have resolved to become independent, and by July 5th crafted its own by-laws. Last September 14, 2008, during its 2nd church anniversary, MCCQC became a full affiliate church of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), while Pastor Ceejay Agbayani Jr. was ordained in a ceremony presided by ...

The last time I rooted for the Philippines' candidate in the Miss Universe was around a decade ago in 2000 during the reign of Binibining (Bb.) Pilipinas Universe Nina Ricci Alagao. Nina was a model at that time and just graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman. The first time I saw her on TV, I thought, "You go girl! Show them how it's done." Nina was very sassy during the pageant night. She moved and behaved like a winner and looked like she was just having fun. I totally loved her personality. I loved her so much that for an undergrad class at UP, I insisted we interviewed Nina. She was a riot in person. She was funny, cheeky and really smart. I was very sad when her name was not called among the 10 or 15 semi-finalists during the Miss Universe pageant in Cyprus. One of the hosts said they were expecting to see Miss Philippines make the cut. But alas, Nina didn't make it. After Nina, nobody who held the Bb. Pilipinas Universe crown caugh...

When I was in college at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, one of the exciting things to look forward to every semester was the Alternative Classroom Learning Experience (ACLE). The ACLE was conceptualized by the University Student Council (USC) as a respite from the tedium of students' regular classes. It started out as a yearly activity which later became a semestral one. Every semester, the USC coordinates with different student organizations that volunteer to hold various fora on topics of their choice. The idea is for each organization (or in students' speak, org) to exercise as much freedom as possible and talk about issues that are not the usual fodder for classroom discussion. The best-selling ones would usually be around sexuality, religion, and politics. Of course, there is more to choose from than that. Classes are suspended during the ACLE; but students who have classes on the day in which it falls are required by their teachers to attend an ACLE se...

I just read from someone's email in a community mailing group that it seems that the "serial killer" who has been targeting gay men and who has not yet been apprehended by police has struck again. Around three to four years ago, if I'm not mistaken, several gay men were found dead via multiple stab wounds in their apartments around the Quezon City area. The victims included a fashion designer, TV producer, hair stylist and many others. There were rumors that have remained unconfirmed until now that one of the killer's victims was, in fact, a priest. The serial killer angle came to a head when one of the alleged victims' stories was solved. That person was someone I knew personally: Larry Estandarte. Larry was one of the founding members of the University of the Philippines (UP) Babaylan, the first LGBT students' organization in the UP system. By the time I became a member of UP Babaylan, Larry was already one of our alumni members and had long been working...

Finally, the World Outgames 2009 is over and I am back home safe. I am still nursing my jet lag though. I flew into Manila on Monday afternoon, August 3, and I have been very sleepy and lethargic since. Every night beginning Monday, I have been waking up at around 3 am. I would then be up for an hour or so (sometimes more) until sleep beckons again. The last week has been really hellish. I have not slept well and have been waking up bedraggled and a little haggard so I hope to overcome this within the week. As I promised in my last post, I will talk about the 2nd International Conference on LGBT Human Rights. The conference was the main reason why I went to Copenhagen. It was one of three tracks that the Outgames offered to its participants, the other two being Sports and Culture. The conference was scheduled from July 27-29 and those three days covered 6 plenary sessions (one in the morning and one in the afternoon of each day) and more than 100 workshops dealing with nine conferenc...

DANTON REMOTO 2010 Senatorial Candidate ANG LADLAD, Chairman And am not talking about shoes. Many thanks for those who asked me what my platform is. If you have read the 60 minutes interview I had with the Manila Bulletin, my platform will be education for all. Out of ten children who enroll in Grade One, only six graduate in elementary school. And out of this six who enter high school, only four graduate. And out of this four who enter college, only two graduate. Thus, I want to focus on universal primary school education for all. The ten who enter Grade One should be able to graduate in Grade Six. That is basic, so they could learn how to read, write, count and I hope think. How is this possible? Through conditional cash transfer, where parents will be given Php 500 per child as long as these children stay in school, get regular vaccination and the mothers go to the health center for seminars on reproductive health. This is of course an idea from the Latin American countries, which ...

Today's Issue of Manila Bulletin (6 August 2009) Up close: This is too much for a typographical error. I know this is intentional, and I love it! :) Thank you so much, MANILA BULLETIN . (LOL) Thank you, too, ABS-CBN . Whoever made these mistakes, I SALUTE THEM. :) Yes, seriously. I'm not making fun of them, rather, glorifying and thanking them for the error. :P _________________________ [Thanks, Mahado and http://www.lendroenore.com for the photos.]

The past few days has been rough not only to the Philippine nation, but has been gloomy to the family of former president Corazon Aquino. I have never been a fan of politics ever since, nor am I a fan of it today. The dirt dished out by politicians to their opponents has been a silent war that I never bothered opening my ears to. Many of the open positions during elections use the youth as an excuse for them to be voted, which is probably why I never registered for the last election. If the youth is our nation's hope, then the ones seated shouldn't mask out our voice -- the truth. One politician, though I definitely wouldn't label her as one, but rather a Filipino of dedication, amidst all this hunger for popularity and even more wealth touched me incomparably. I remember when I was to get my braces adjusted, Willie Revillame was as usual hosting his noontime show saying that if presidentiables want to make change, then he/she need not be seated in the palace. I couldn'...

My name is ROSCOE PERRY CARBONELL, and I'm 27 years old I am presently residing here near De Castro Ave. Pasig City. I am an HIV+ person… I am very sorry" alam ko na na may HIV ako last October 2008 pa pero nakipag sex parin ako kasi gusto ko makaganti (I know that I have HIV since 2008 but I still have sex just to get revenge)" …To all those whom I had sex before.. " Sana mapatawad niyo ako (I hope you could forgive me)". These are some of the shocking words written in the one and only post at http://www.roscoeperrycarbonell.blogspot.com/ Recently this alarming web URL is being circulated regarding a guy from San Juan declaring his HIV/AIDS Positive status, claiming that he, personally, was the one who made the website. To my curiosity, I tried to contact him in his YM account found in his website. After a few days later, he replied to my messages. Then we had a brief conversation to confirm his health situation. I was supposed to lend him a helping hand and l...

"Spontaneity. Creativity. Increased intelligence. Emotional connections. Being in the moment. They are all present when improvising. It is impossible for all these things not to be there when improvising." ---Joey Novick, comedian and improv teacher This August, Lunduyan ng Sining has chosen to honor Tara's life by inviting you all to jam one last time. We are also inviting you all to celebrate the art of improv theater as we feature SPIT (Silly People's Improv Theater)! See you all on Monday, August 10, 8.30 pm at Magnet Katipunan for another night of clean (*wink*) lezzy fun. 8.30-10pm - Open jam! We invite everyone to sing/dance/read/act in honor of Tara. Just post a comment on this page to reserve a slot. 10pm-12mn - SPIT conquers the stage! Who is SPIT? SPIT is Manila's premiere Improv theater group. We can't wait to see what they'll pull in front of this lezzy crowd. Who are the members of SPIT? Check them out at http://spitmania.multiply.com/ W...