PRESS

RELEASE: Manila Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)

Persons Join Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights Marchi
Contact persons: Marlon Lacsamana: mtlacsamana@gmail.com, Raymond Alikpala: alikpala@yahoo.com, Ira Briones:
ira.briones@gmail.com

On April 21, 2012 Filipino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), will join the Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights
March to DEMAND for EQUAL RIGHTS and RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS of ALL PEOPLE Regardless of Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI)!

Pegged Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March Manila, the multi-sectoral event was made possible by LADLAD
LGBT party-list, Amnesty International Philippines-LGBT Group (AIP), Lesbian Activism Project (LeAP!), Inc., Filipino
Freethinkers (FF), Philippine LGBT Hate Crimes Watch, Queer Pagan Network (QPN), The TLF Share Collective,
Rainbow Rights (R-Rights), Project, Inc., Metropolitan Community Church (MCC-QC), UP Alyansa, Outrage,
GayGeeks, UP Babaylan, PLHCW and IFTAS with the support from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission (IGLHRC), Likhaan Center for Womens Health, Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines
(DSWP) and the Reproductive Health Alliance Network (RHAN) other advocacy groups and allies from the
womens and human rights community.

In the Philippines, simultaneous Civil Rights Marches will be held in Isabela, Bacolod, Cebu and Quezon City,
Manila. In Manila, the event will be in Quezon City Memorial Circle from 9:00am to 12:00 noon. The event will
start with a Solidarity Parade around the Memorial Circle followed by a gathering at the Peace Bell inside the park
for a short program and a Budol Solidarity meal.

The event is celebration and a re-affirmation; we celebrate the gains achieved by LGBT groups in the Philippines
in pushing forward LGBT rights in mainstream society and to re-affirm our commitment to continue the fight for
equal rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) said Raymond Alikpala,
LADLAD LGBT Partylist nominee.

The Philippines LGBT Civil Rights March is our call to the Philippines government reminding them of their
obligation to address the grave human rights violations against LGBT Filipinos; that victims of these violations
must be given justice and that perpetrators must be arrested and punished said Marlon Lacsamana, coordinator
of the Philippines LGBT Hate Crime Watch.

It is hoped that the April 21 Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March will impress upon our legislators the urgent need
to pass the anti-discrimination law to include the protection of LGBT rights. In particular:

Immediate passage of the Reproductive Health bill House Bill 4244 and Senate bill 2865 that respect the
sexual and reproductive health and rights of all people regardless of SOGI;

Safeguard the retention of SOGI provisions of Senate Bill 2814. The bill, the Anti-Ethnic, Racial or Religious
Discrimination and Profiling Act, which aims to penalize all forms of discrimination, has passed third reading
in the Senate and is close to being finalized in Congress. The LGBT community is gravely concerned that anti-
LGBT forces led by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will succeed in removing the
SOGI provisions of SB 2814.

Demand the inclusion of SOGI in the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights, which is being finalized and will be
presented in the ASEAN Plus Summit in November 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

This will be helped greatly by a large show of numbers of the LGBT community and its supporters this coming
Saturday.


"We cannot deny how powerful the statement we will create when people from various backgrounds come
together in solidarity for the political and civil rights of LGBT persons in the Philippines. On April 21, when other
parts of the world are coming together for that exact same purpose, I hope more people in the Philippines would
see the power and depth behind the cause we are fighting for." Said Ira Briones, Lesbian Activism Project, Inc.
(LeAP, Inc.) Coordinator


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The Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March is part of the international movement called Lets Reach 1 Million People Campaign Its a
start! for equal rights for LGBT people, to build upon the growing momentum around the world in support of equal civil rights for all LGBT.
Initiated by American author and advocate Joseph C. Knudson a few months ago, this grassroots movement will unite various LGBT
activists, organizations, and all other allies on April 21, 2012 in a historic event that will project to the worldwide community the LGBT
demand for FULL CIVIL RIGHTS NOW. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GqSfwQ2cXY&feature=youtu.be,
http://www.letsreachonemillionpeople.com/home_10.html