Far From Neutral Notions - Philippine politics, culture and stuff

Interesting discussion over at MLQ3’s blog, about party list hopeful Ang Ladlad, the National Organization of Filipino Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders. Apparently, the Comelec, in a resolution dated Feb. 27, 2007, signed by Presiding Commissioner Florentino A. Tuason Jr. and Commissioners Rene V. Sarmiento and Nicodemo T. Ferrer, alleged that Ang Ladlad lied about its national membership, saying “Contrary to petitioner’s allegation in its petition that its membership is national in scope, reports from our field offices reveal that it doesn’t exist in most regions of the country.”

Fine, technically, being gay (which I will use interchangeably with GLBTs for easier typing, so bear with me) doesn’t make you a member of Ang Ladlad. But do the folks in the Comelec really believe that the gay community won’t come out (no pun intended) in full force to support Ang Ladlad?

I commented:

I find the dismissal of Ang Ladlad absurd based on the reasons the Comelec gave: there are gay people everywhere, and a pro-homosexual party list, given a chance, will probably even dominate the polls.

The dismissal, on those grounds, is dumb bigotry and homophobia, plain and simple.

However, I do disagree with some items in Ang Ladlad’s platform, as listed on their website:

1. Re-filing of the Anti-Discrimination Bill that gives LGBT Filipinos equal opportunities in employment and equal treatment in schools, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, entertainment centers, and government offices.
2. Re-filing of the bill to repeal the Anti-Vagrancy Law that some unscrupulous policemen use to extort bribes from gay men without ID cards;
3. Setting up of micro-finance and livelihood projects for poor and handicapped LGBT Filipinos;
4. Setting up of centers for Golden Gays, or old and abandoned LGBTs, as well as young ones driven out of their homes. The centers will also offer legal aid and counseling, as well as information about LGBT issues, HIV-AIDS, and reproductive health. These centers will be set up initially in the key cities/metropolitan areas of the Philippines — Baguio, National Capital Region, Cebu and Davao.

Points 1 and 2 I have no issue with, and in fact, I support them. Points 3 and 4 though, I disagree with, in that it in itself is discriminatory. As Jeg, another commenter, noted:

The law should be blind to sexual orientation and treat each of us as humans with equal rights. I find nothing wrong, for instance, with micro-finance that doesn’t discriminate against gays or a nursing home that doesn’t discriminate against old gays, etc.

My question to Ang Ladlad is: why widen the gap? The problem that the platform proposes to solve is the prejudice people have against gays; the goal is integration, rather than segregation, isn’t it? To stop the bias and bigotry, and to live your lives as you see fit — isn’t that the purpose? To assert your human rights as equal to that of the next Filipino, and take your place in the sun, with dignity intact.

So why should taxpayer money — in the event that Ang Ladlad gets its place in the House of Representatives — be spent on micro-financing just LGBTs?

You’re highlighting a difference that is, or should be, trivial, in the first place. It shouldn’t matter what your sexual orientation is, that’s why I support the first two points in your platform. MLQ3 noted that to trivialize the difference is to tolerate it, but it goes deeper: if the differences are trivialized enough, it won’t matter, and it’s not toleration, but unconditional, non-condescending acceptance. Pushing for legislation that highlights the differences between gay and straight will only serve to heighten the discrimination.

It takes time to get people to change their inherent bias. Laws won’t cure it, and bludgeoning it to the majority will only increase tension. manuelbuencamino’s rhetoric to “show the country you are not a group to be trifled with” can be dangerous demagoguery; in the first place, no group should be trifled with, be they gay, feminist, leftist or whatever, because everyone is (or should) be equal, anyway. Second, have a care that, while standing up to yourselves, you don’t trample someone else. Third, the key to defeating that bigotry isn’t to have laws that make being gay distinct or by being loud and confrontational about it, but exposure to gay culture and information drives that make being gay normal. Bigotry and prejudice thrive on the differences; highlighting it is counter-productive.

I’m not saying hide what makes you different, or suppress your individuality. I’m saying that if the basis for the difference is sexual orientation, there isn’t much difference to begin with, and it doesn’t make you special or less human. By all means make the rights equal, but to grant special privileges based on one’s sexual orientation is merely asking for more discrimination. Getting special treatment for sexual orientation is as absurd as being discriminated because of it. Being gay does not mean being unique or special, and should not be a free pass for anything. That said, neither should being straight or any other personal category we lump ourselves with, and leveling the playing field is something we should all agree on. Why promulgate laws that add more inequality, when the object is equality in the first place?

Which is why I believe that Ang Ladlad should be more concerned with gays being eligible for civil unions, tax deductions and adoption (though my admitted bias may prevent me from wholly supporting the last one) because these are the blatant things where they aren’t given equal footing. I’m not in favor of gay marriages, but I am in favor of same-sex civil unions and the benefits that are allowed them. Why shouldn’t they get tax breaks the same as straight married couples? Why shouldn’t gay people be able to file their parter as beneficiaries? Who’s to say they’re not as, if not more, monogamous than straight couples? These are issues that Ang Ladlad needs to discuss and address. It may take time, and it will face a lot of opposition, but it’s something that they should be entitled to, not as gays or lesbians or bi-sexuals or transgenders, but as people.

In closing

I believe in the GLBT right to representation, and I disagree with the Comelec’s reasoning in denying them a slot, despite my disagreement with some of the points in Ang Ladlad’s platform. That said, if you support Ang Ladlad or intend to vote for it (or any other entity that you feel has been shafted by Comelec), let your voice be heard. MLQ3 has posted the numbers, URLs and email addresses on his Inquirer column.

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