“Some say that sexual orientation and gender identity are sensitive issues. I understand.

Like
many of my generation, I did not grow up talking about these issues. But I learned to speak
out because lives are at stake, and because it is our duty under the United Nations Charter
and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect the rights of everyone,
everywhere.” — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Human Rights Council, 7 March
2012

Gender inequality raises serious issue around the world. Compassion and sympathy take
its course based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The face of violence and abuse
among the members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community
becomes widespread merely because of who they love, how they look, or who they are. Abuses,
torture, killing, discrimination in health and jobs and housing, domestic violence and denial of
family rights and recognition poses a serious question on whether these LGBT people are
entitled to their basic human rights. Ergo, are LGBT rights considered human rights?

In Philippine setting, no law was yet to pass by our local legislature recognizing the rights
of the LGBT community. The House of Representative, however, passed a version of an anti-
LGBT discrimination bill where the Senate version faces stiff opposition from religious groups
and conservatives senators. Given the religious conservatives in the Senate being supported by
the Catholic Church, opposition to any legislation aimed to protect the rights of the LGBT people
which likely happen. Despite absence of a local legislation, some cities and municipalities are
down to implement anti-discrimination ordinances which prohibit discriminatory acts as denying
or limiting employment-related access; denying access to public programs or services; refusing
admission, expelling or dismissing a person from educational institutions due to their SOGIE
(sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. The passage of these local ordinances had its
fair share of recognition and opposition. However, the same becomes relevant because LGBT
Filipinos while widely accepted in Philippine society, still face discrimination.

The question of whether LGBT rights are included under our basic human rights is
slowly taking center stage. The United Nations encourages respect for human rights and for
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction. Similarly, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights in Article 2 provides that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in
this Declaration, without distinction of any kind. However, despite all these provision
recognizing their distinct rights, they are discriminated against in the labor market, in schools
and in hospitals, mistreated and disowned by their own families. They are singled out for
physical attack – beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured and killed.

In order to protect these LGBT people from violence and discrimination, it does not need
a new set of LGBT-specific rights, neither does it require the establishment of new international
human rights standards, nor a local legislation from the national level. Such protection and
recognition is a legal obligation which is well established in international human rights law on
the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequently agreed international
human rights treaties. All people, regardless of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, are
enabled to enjoy the protections provided for by international human rights law, including in
respect of rights to life, security of person and privacy, the right to be free from torture, arbitrary
arrest and detention, the right to be free from discrimination and the right to freedom of
expression, association and peaceful assembly.
In an encounter with some LGBT people, some of them narrated that they experienced
physical and verbal abuse in countless ways. There were people undermining their sense of
gender or sexual identity, the limiting or controlling of access to spaces and networks relevant to
coming out and coming to terms with gender and sexual identity, the abuse they believe they

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‘deserve’ because of internalized negative beliefs about themselves and threat of disclosure of
sexual orientation and gender identity to family, friends, or work colleagues. They were called
names, being humiliated, criticized and belittled.

When asked on whom did they come out first, most of them identified their friends and
parents.  It is rare for someone to come out to everybody all at once – but instead it is usually
based on telling select people first. Who those select people are will be different for everyone
and based on their own criteria, but it is likely to be people who matter to them. In their criteria,
they consider if that person is open-minded and accepting, or negative and disapproving. They
however consider not telling if that person often say things about being anti-gay or homophobic.
For them, coming out is a process of understanding, acknowledging and sharing one's gender
identity and sexual orientation with others. It may be quick and easy for some, or longer and
more difficult for others. They start by telling a few close friends or family. However, the
acceptance usually happens gradually. Once they came out, there can effectively be three
outcomes:

1. They can reject what was told to them entirely and it can be a source of constant
warfare;
2. They can continue to accept and love without fully accepting the issue on sexuality;
and
3. They can fully accept you and your sexuality and support the decisions you have
made. 

Many LGBT people try to suppress their feelings to meet societal expectations, to fit in,
or even to avoid upsetting their parents or families. They are hindered by the thought of being
unaccepted, with the fear of judgment based on their gender orientation, threat of discrimination
and by religious and traditional aspects. There are some who happens to not tell their parents
about their sexual orientation or gender identity because they assumed that their parents would
not be accepting or understanding of this, or they worried about how it would affect their
relationship with them. 

LGBT people who have yet to come out or have opted not to do so are labelled
as closeted or being in the closet. The prevalence of discrimination and violence against
transgender people can make coming out a risky decision. Fear of retaliatory behavior, such as
being removed from the parental home while underage, is a cause for transgender people to not
come out to their families until they have reached adulthood.1

When asked about the prejudices of their sexual orientation, one explicitly said that
sexual orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual or affectional attraction to another
person. It can be distinguished from other aspects of sexuality including biological sex, gender
identity (the psychological sense of being male or female) and the social gender role (adherence
to cultural norms for feminine and masculine behavior). The question here not whether sexual
preference is a choice, but on whether these people are entitled to choose their engagement.
Apparently, despite the recognition of their rights, they are still being discriminated and
mistreated by the society.

These LGBT people are making their stand in every aspect of the society, even in the
street. As part of recognizing and protecting the rights of these people, a bill directly c oncerning
discrimination against the LGBT community in the Philippines is the Anti-Discrimination Bill,
also known as the SOGIE Equality Bill. This bill seeks that all persons regardless of sex, sexual
orientation or gender identity be treated the same as everyone else, wherein conditions do not

1
 Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. "Sassafras Lowrey's Kicked Out Anthology Shares Stories of
LGBTQ Youth Homelessness"Archived 2011-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, "GLAAD", USA, February 25,
2010. Retrieved 2011-02-25.

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differ in the privileges granted and the liabilities enforced. The bill was introduced by Hon. Kaka
J. Bag-ao, the District Representative of the Dinagat Islands, on July 1, 2013. 2 The bill has
become one of the slowest-moving bills in the country's history but was however gained
principle support from the President in 2019.

On a parallel line, Philippine jurisprudence disregards religious opposition to promotion

of LGBTI rights, abides by the principle of non-discrimination, does not consider homosexuality
as illegal, and upholds expressions of homosexuality as a protected constitutional right. In the
definitive case law in the Philippines on LGBTI issues, Ang Ladlad LGBT Party (Ladlad) v
Commission of Elections (COMELEC), the Supreme Court emphatically ruled: ‘the principle of
non-discrimination requires that laws of general application relating to elections be applied
equally to all persons, regardless of sexual orientation. Although sexual orientation is not
specifically enumerated as a status or ratio for discrimination in Article 26 of the ICCPR, the
ICCPR Human Rights Committee has opined that the reference to “sex” in Article 26 should be
construed to include “sexual orientation”. Additionally, a variety of United Nations bodies have
declared discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to be prohibited under various
international agreements.3

The absence of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law in the Philippines is apparent

even if antidiscrimination bills (ADBs) have been filed in both the Lower and Upper Houses of
Congress since the 1990s. So far, there are no intentions to pass national anti-discrimination laws
that exclusively seek to protect LGBT people. Instead, the protection of LGBT people from
discrimination is included in proposed laws against discrimination based on race, ethnicity and
religion. Politicians are known to block these proposed laws because of their inclusion of LGBT
people (Manila Bulletin, 2012)

Even with growing awareness of and about the LGBT community, various studies still
highlight how LGBT Filipinos continue to face challenges. To start with, many LGBT Filipinos
continue to lack information about numerous concepts on sexual orientation and gender identity,
which are considered to be largely Western-influenced. This is worth highlighting because many
LGBT Filipinos are unfamiliar with the distinctions of the sectors included in the “LGBT”
acronym. (Tan & Castro, 2000).

Given the absence of a national legislation which would aim to protect the righst of the
LGBT, it must be of consideration that that gay rights and human rights are not distinct. Gay
rights are human rights. Despite the high regard for cultural and religious traditions, these
traditions do not undermine human rights and therefore should not serve as a pretext for denying
fundamental rights to citizens based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

2
 Bag-ao, Kaka. House Bill No. 110 Archived November 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Congress.gov. July
1, 2013. Accessed October 23, 2015
3
GR No 190582, 8 April 2010.