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LGBTQ+ community, still discriminated against by police, military

LGBTQ+ community, still discriminated against by police, military

by Gaby Agbulos

WHILE the Philippines is known by many as a country rather accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, there is still much progress that is yet to be made.

One such example of this, as per Atty. Claire De Leon, the officer in charge of the Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights Center at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), is the updating of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) policy and the acknowledgment of more genders, particularly in their human rights-based policing manual.

De Leon notes that the last time this was updated was in 2013; many developments in gender sensitivity and SOGIE-inclusive sensitivity have been made since then.

Transgender men and women, for example, would be treated according to their assigned sex at birth as per this handbook, which could lead to harassment or violations.

De Leon notes that while uniformed personnel are currently being trained about LGBTQ+ concerns, such as the Safe Spaces Act, there is no guarantee that policy adjustments will be made.

Some such legislations that De Leon is pushing for, which would help to safeguard LGBTQ+ rights in the Philippines, would be the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Bill, as well as the comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill. Both are currently still pending.

Still facing discrimination

While these legislations have not yet been passed, several members of the LGBTQ+ community are still heavily facing discrimination on a daily basis. Many transgender students, for example, are still required to cut their hair or wear uniforms for their assigned gender at birth.

Households headed by LGBTQIA+ people are not given financial assistance that is distributed per household, as the government only counts those headed by a male father and a female mother.

More than this, several members of the community are being abused – if not killed – just for existing, daily.

In 2019, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released a survey that said that at least 60% of Filipinos know someone who is gay. At the same time, 60% of Filipinos agree that the LGBTQ+ community experiences discrimination.

In the same survey, it states that 2 out of 10 Filipinos accept same-sex marriage, and only 55% are in favor of the passing of the law that would protect the rights of the community.

A report from The Fuller Project, released back in 2021, reveals that at least 50 transgender or gender nonbinary individuals have been murdered across the archipelago since 2010.

These deaths, however, are only the ones that have been discovered or reported. In reality, the actual death toll is likely much, much higher.

Not welcome in the military?

AS per Lagablab LGBT Network’s secretary general, Jap Ignacio, many in the LGBTQ+ community still fear discrimination from the police, hence why only a handful go to them even in the times that they need help. Often they are deadnamed by the police, as well.

In the past, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has also stated their opposition toward the SOGIE Bill, as they felt that such a bill would compromise the rights of the majority if it were ever enacted into law.

They explained in their position paper to the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality that the protection to be offered under the bill was also covered by several other laws.

While they reiterated that they do not discriminate against anyone based on their sex or gender, they feel that it would be unjust to give others special privileges.

More than this, many members of the community find it difficult to enter the police or the military for fear of being discriminated against; if ever they were to join, they often feel that they would have to hide their identities to be able to fit in fully.

Back in 2012, the AFP stated that the military would not discriminate against any gay people who wanted to enter the service, reassuring them that they do not discriminate when it comes to sex. One would assume that the same standards would apply to the PNP as well.

Police Lieutenant Jessie G. Quitevis stated in an interview that he was discriminated against as soon as he applied for the PNP. He explained that there had been objections to his application given his sexuality.

He feared showing his sexuality, particularly during training but was almost immediately outed by people he’d known from high school and college. Following this, he was then often asked to sing, dance, or dress like a woman – treated not as a person, but as a source of entertainment instead.

While Quitevis did earn the respect of the others in the long run, the very fact that he had to earn it solely because of his sexuality, is in itself an act of discrimination. He does, however, urge others to join the PNP as well, as the presence of more members in the organization may help to show that the PNP is not intimidating, but is rather a friendly force for the community.

Quitevis is only one case. Ignacio explained that many who are found out to be members of the LGBTQ+ community are made out to be the butt of the joke in training and that there is the fear of being treated differently due to their SOGIE.

While progress is being made, it is not enough. There are still members of the community being discriminated against, being abused… being killed.

When that ceases, when there are more laws to be put in place that protect the members of the community, and when all members of the community can sleep soundly at night, that is when true progress will have been made.

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