Out and proud: UP Visayas celebrates Pride Week In Iloilo

MANILA, Philippines – On a humid Thursday afternoon, as the sun was about to set, the students of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) gathered with anticipation at the new Miagao campus administration building.

The outstretched arms of the Oblation, UP’s iconic symbol, were draped in colorful hues of the rainbow against a teeming orange sky. The crowd was ecstatic, wearing colorful frocks, and chanting lively verses. The march started, and an equally vibrant banner unfolded – it read “Laban LGBT”

Celebrating the thriving LGBT community in the province, UPV, headed by the university-based LGBT group UP Lipad, organized the first pride week held in Iloilo from November 9 to 13.

A series of activities were simultaneously conducted during the week-long event, including a Pride Mob Dance, Color Dash Marathon, and LGBT Film Showing.

A highlight of the UPV Pride Week in Iloilo was the Anti-Discrimination Bill Forum, led by Shamah Bulangis, a Samahan ng mga Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunlaran (SPARK) fellow on Women’s Political Empowerment and Gender and Diversity.

In addition, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) talks were held in both Iloilo City and Miagao campuses, along with gender debates, where various colleges deliberated on pressing issues concerning the LGBT community.

‘LGBT rights are human rights’

“The UPV pride week shows that the individual struggle is also a political one. LGBT members have been oppressed, discriminated, and ostracized,” said Rei Hontanar, a literature instructor and LGBT rights advocate. (READ: Is the Philippines really gay-friendly?)

Hontanar called for a change in the perception of the LGBT community, saying, “No one deserves to feel less of a person just because he/she is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, or queer.” He hoped that the pride week would play a part in end to anti-LGBT prejudice. (READ: The long road to an LGBT anti-discrimination law)

“We came up with the very first UPV Pride Week because we felt like it’s the right time to finally show the rest of the world that UPV welcomes and embraces the LGBT community,” added Jose Maria Paolo Dajay Santos, who went by the name Paolo, one of the founders of UP Lipad.

In 2013, Paolo and his close friend, Jesse Caspe Cogollo, who preferred to be called Jesse, realized the need to organize an LGBT group in UPV that would defend the welfare and rights of the growing LGBT community in their university.

They gathered gender rights advocates and formed a university-based organization that is anchored on the belief that all persons should be treated equally, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The organization is the medium through which the welfare and rights of the LGBTQIA students are defended and promoted. Lipad, analogous to freedom and soaring high, provides access to justice to LGBTQIA students and educates Philippine society on the community’s issues and concerns.

The struggle continues

“We are convinced that equality of all persons is the basic foundation of all democratic ideals,” Jesse emphasized. (READ: LGBT rights are human rights)

The main event was the Pride March where hundreds of students marched from the UPV campus to the Miagao plaza. It ended with the Pride Concert where performances were rendered by local performers. 

In coordination with the various university student councils from UPV, the organizers look forward to having this as an annual event. A bigger event dubbed “Iloilo Pride Week” to be held in line with the International Pride Month celebration has been organized by various LGBT and youth groups.

“More than just a celebration of the LGBT community, we also want the Pride Week to be a reminder that the fight is not yet over,” Paolo said, noting that for as long as there is still “discrimination and hate against the LGBT community, we need to come as one and let our voices be heard.” – Rappler.com