THE smell of smoke filled my nostrils, and the chattering of people from left and right continued on. As I was walking along the crowded road of Roxas Avenue in search of a place to eat, I noticed a pattern of lovers crossing my path. As I got through security, I looked to my left and found a couple hand in hand wearing the same red polo shirt. When I walked further, I noticed another pair of lovebirds, with the girl leaning on the boy’s shoulders.
A meter away something caught my eye, a lesbian couple walking together while smiling at each other. Looking as if they were the only ones there. As I passed through the busy streets, I noticed more LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) couples. I felt proud and happy knowing that they expressed their love openly in such a crowded place.
Despite of the Philippines being a Catholic archipelago, it has always tolerated the existence of the LGBTQ community. The Philippines is one of the most LGBTQ tolerant countries in the world. Pew Research Center ranked the Philippines as the 10th gay-friendliest in a global survey featuring 37 countries. Homosexuality is said to have been indigenous. Way back in the time of Magellan there have been traces of transgender priests called Babaylans, they were well respected and would engage in sexual relations with other men.
However, tolerance is different from the word acceptance. Tolerance merely implies respect, but acceptance moves beyond that direction. The Philippines, dubbed as one of the gay-friendliest countries, still has no rights to protect the LGBTQ community from any discrimination. The gay-friendly stereotype making other Filipinos believe that there is no need for such a law.
There are still incidents of crime involving the LGBTQ community; this has generated fear for some to come out of the closet.
Even with a nationwide tolerance for the LQBTQ community, there are still cases of discrimination in the country. The Philippines is still far from full acceptance of the LGBTQ community without a law to protect their rights. (Keisha Pulido)