MANILA — The LGBTQIA+ community demands firm action from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — the passage of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Bill and justice for slain queer activists.
On June 3, 2026, Marcos said that inclusion should reflect in the policies. “Let this observance send a clear message: no Filipino should ever be made to feel invisible in the country they help build,” he said.
In reaction, Matty Rebulado, convenor of Pride formation Stonewall Philippines, said, “The community is tired of empty promises.”
They added, “If the President really believes that every Filipino is entitled to equal protection, equal opportunity, and equal respect under the law, we dare Marcos Jr. to include the SOGIESC Equality Bill as one of his priority bills.”
It has been more than 25 years since the earliest version of the SOGIESC Equality Bill was introduced to the Congress. Its passage is hindered by conservative religious groups lobbying against the anti-discrimination policy.
In the 20th Congress, nine versions of the SOGIESC Equality Bill were filed, and remain pending with the Committee on Women and Gender Equality.
Rebulado said that statements are not enough, as they sought justice for the queer activists killed in the recent Negros massacre: community journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma, land rights activist Maureen Santuyo, and trans activist Kai Sorem.
Karapatan led two fact-finding missions in Toboso, Negros Occidental after the massacre. Ten were confirmed to be revolutionaries, while the nine were identified as civilians. The residents of the community also confirmed the identities of Ledesma, Santuyo, and Sorem during a national solidarity mission.
Read: What were civilians doing in Toboso, Negros Occidental
“These queer activists break all forms of stigma and ceilings that the LGBTQIA+ community face here in the Philippines. It is a statement, not only of their heroism but also of our proud people’s tradition of militant struggle and for national liberation and justice,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.
Stonewall Philippines also called for the arrest of Jennifer Laude’s killer, Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was given permanent pardon by former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“As long as there are trans people being killed, young gay people rejected by their families, or gay workers being denied promotion because of their gender, Pride will remain a protest,” Rebulado said.
The country’s Gender Ombud, Commission on Human Rights (CHR), welcomes the growing number of local government units that enacted their own anti-discrimination ordinances based on SOGIESC. They also urged policymakers to prioritize the passage of the SOGIESC Equality Bill and the Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill.
“While these developments are encouraging, significant challenges remain. Many LGBTQIA+ Filipinos continue to experience discrimination, harassment, exclusion, and unequal treatment in various aspects of life,” the CHR stated.
There are at least 50 transgender or gender nonbinary individuals who have been killed in the Philippines, according to the United Nations Development Programme. This number, however, refers only to the documented and the actual number could be higher.
In 2025, Bulatlat reported a series of trans killings: Kierra Apostol, Ali Macalintal, and Shalani Dolina. The CHR dubbed it as a pattern of “transfemicide”— the gender-based killing of trans women, rooted in misogyny and systemic neglect.
Read: Recent killings of trans women prompt groups to push for LGBTQIA protection
The Commission also recorded cases of profiling and harassment of transgender individuals in public spaces, denial of benefits for same-sex partners, discriminatory hiring practices, and other forms of prejudice.
“Pride has no prejudice, and neither should our laws, institutions, and communities,” it added. (AMU, RVO)
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