DAVAO City Tourism Operations Office head announced that a pageant for transgender women will be one of the new activities on the upcoming Araw ng Dabaw 2019.
Aside from the annual Mutya ng Dabaw pageant, Tecson said that there will be two more pageants this year, namely the Ginoo ng Dabaw which is open to all interested men and the Reyna Dabawenya for transgender women in Davao City.
“I think it is part of social inclusion that all sectors must be presented to any activity that the city will hold. This is also a great development for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community that we were now recognized politically,” Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) commissioner and LGBT advocate Norman Baloro said in an online interviewon Friday, January 25.
“This is also a celebration of equality and recognition that the LGBT must be grateful,” he added.
However, Baloro said there will surely be negative comments about the pageant.
“I believe tolerance bridges acceptance. Sooner or later people will understand, recognized and value the impact of the LGBT sector in the community,” he said.
Baloro said he will closely coordinate with the event organizers to make sure it will not create any discrimination amongst the contestants.
“This is to make sure that this is a pageant where we can voice our platform and share LGBT’s advocacy especially in the fight against HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome),” he added.
Meanwhile, Tecson said other new activities are the Bida Dabawenyo (singing contest), Hudyaka sa Araw ng Dabaw (drum and bugle contest), and Sayaw Pinoy (Philippine folk dance contest).
She invited Dabawenyos to participate in the activities.