“As queer people living in Eastern Visayas, it is our responsibility not only to fight for our rights in the LGBTQIA+ community, but to also fight alongside the fisherfolk in Tacloban who bore the brunt of the Balikatan exercises that took place from April 20 to May 8.”

By Veronika Barbosa

TACLOBAN CITY—Led by the Eastern Visayas (EV) Pride Alliance, progressive queer groups and individuals in Region 8 gathered for the EV Pride 2026 on June 27 with the theme “LGBTQIA+ ngan Katawhan Pagkaurusa: Atuhan an VAT ngan Imperyalista nga Giyera” (LGBTQIA+ and the People Unite: Fight against VAT and Imperialist Wars).

The celebration was a three-day series of educational discussions and film screenings, capping off with a Pride March and Solidarity Night.

“This year’s pride celebration centers on the calls to fight against US imperialism, to scrap the Value-Added Tax on basic commodities, and to raise the minimum wage to P1,200 (about $20),” said Jles Permejo, lead convenor of EV Pride 2026. “As queer people living in Eastern Visayas, it is our responsibility not only to fight for our rights in the LGBTQIA+ community, but to also fight alongside the fisherfolk in Tacloban who bore the brunt of the Balikatan exercises that took place from April 20 to May 8.”

Read: Tacloban Fishers slam Balikatan Exercises

“The Balikatan exercises, as part of the machinations of US imperialism, sowed fear in our fishing community, gravely affecting the livelihood of our fisherfolk. As queer people in the petit bourgeoisie class, we need to continually oppose the interference of the US military in our region,” Permejo said.

In one of the educational discussions, Permejo stressed the ties between US imperialism and queer oppression, citing the murder of trans woman Jennifer Laude at the hands of US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton. “It is US imperialism that brought Pemberton to the Philippines, and it is the Philippine government, subservient to the whims of the US government, that pardoned the murderer of our trans sister.”

In his speech during the protest, John Airon Gadon, chairperson of Bahaghari UP Tacloban Chapter, challenged the Marcos Jr. administration to pass the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristic (SOGIESC) Equality Bill. “The SOGIESC Equality Bill has been languishing in the Senate for two decades, all while queer Filipinos are still discriminated against, and worse, killed, all because they are living their truth. If the Marcos Jr. government is genuine about the safety of the LGBTQIA+ community, it should start by signing the SOGIESC bill into law.”

The funds raised during the series of events will be donated to two political prisoners in the region, one of whom is a transgender woman who, according to Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas, was arrested without a warrant in 2018 in Negros Oriental. (RTS, DAA)

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