THE UP Political Science Society (UPPSS) recently organized a forum that brought to fore the various human rights that apply to current concerns—LGBTQI+, women and children, Muslims and the commemoration of the Martial Law.
A multi-faceted approach was taken because, according to the organization’s chairperson, Mark Vincent Nogra, “LGBTQI+ rights, women and children’s rights, and Muslim rights are typically thought to be separate ideas, but in reality, all of them can be found under the overarching concept of human rights. The forum was organized to enlighten students on the current situation of the human rights of these various groups of society.”
Carmelito Hermosilla of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 7, one of the four forum speakers, pointed out the inalienability of human rights and the international and domestic laws that protect these rights.
He said a person should know his rights and safeguard them so that he can defend himself from abuses. He said people must assert their rights even to authorities.
Also speaking at the forum was John Isaac Saguit, one of the organizers of the 2015 Cebu Pride March.
He talked about the history and current situation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersexed (LGBTQI) community.
He briefly traced the history of the movement in the USA as well as the fight for the rights of the LGBTQI community in the Philippines.
As it is also Pride Week and with the legalization of same sex marriage in the US, the discussion had the audience sharing stories of discrimination of the community.
Saguit also discussed ancestral Filipinos, particularly the revered Babaylans who were lesbians or gays, as a response to an online query of “Why do we celebrate a festival that is so alien to our Filipino beliefs?”
Audience
This and the response to the question were received with loud cheers and encouragement from the audience.
On the women’s front, Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela party list, addressed the need to improve the status of women in society.
She also called for the stricter implementation of laws protecting women and children.
“How do we rid of female victims being blamed for rape?” A student asked her during the open forum.
Ilagan replied that victim-blaming is common and that rape has nothing to do with age or outfit because old women get raped, women completely covered get raped.
Gender sensitivity
She said that everyone should undergo gender sensitivity training and that what is learned in school should be put to heart.
“Focus on the crime, not the victim,” Ilagan said.
Since the forum was about martial law, lawyer Democrito Barcenas was asked to speak. He was one of victims of the Marcos martial rule and speaks vocally against the abuses of the era.
“If you ask me about human rights during the Martial Law, it was zero.” He regaled the audience with stories of the injustices of the era, including teeth pulling, sitting on blocks of ice, and the killing of entire families.
Someone in the audience asked him, “Unsaon pag-disiplina sa mga tawo karon kon dili i-implement ang Martial Law (How do we discipline people today if Martial Law is not implemented??”
The question was met with an uproar from the audience and the speakers.
Ilagan said, “It was the Martial Law that set us back in our progress. Torture is not the kind of discipline we want. Martial Law destroys our country.”
Barcenas said, “I believe in discipline, but discipline should not be imposed. We can reach consensus by counting heads, not breaking heads.”
'Never again'
He said those who have seen how human rights were trampled on in the Martial Law period do not want another Martial Law.
“We must always say ‘never again to dictatorship.’”
Meanwhile, Imam Aurangzeb Ali Mognie, external affairs coordinator of the National Commission of Muslim Filipinos, raised the misconceptions of Islam and its believers vis-a-vis their role in the Martial Law period and terrorism.
Mognie said the conflict between the Christian Filipinos and Muslim Filipinos stemmed not from religious differences but from political reasons.
Asked during the open forum if the adoption of federalism would empower the Muslims, he said, “Federalism is very suitable for the Muslims, except if interest groups intervene.” (PR)