Vice President Leni Robredo urged Filipinos to work harder to build a more equitable society that “embraces” the rights and dignity of the LGBTQ+ community.

Robredo made the call in her Pride Month message on Monday, June 7, saying challenges still persist for the LGBTQ+ community, as they continue to face discrimination in the country. 

“That is why today and beyond this monthlong celebration, we are called to intensify our efforts,” Robredo said.

“Ang layunin natin: isang lipunan kung saan lahat nasisilungan, lahat natutulungan, lahat naaaruga, anuman ang kasarian o katayuan sa buhay. Kung saan niyayakap ang LGBTQIA+ bilang kapwa tao,” she added. (Our goal: a society where everyone is embraced, given help, and taken care of, regardless of their gender or status in life. A society that embraces members of the LGBTQIA+ as human beings.)

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Robredo cited challenges that the LGBTQ+ community continue to face, from a lack of employment opportunities and access to healthcare services, to different forms of violence and discrimination both in public and virtual spaces. 

“May we continue to deepen the ties that bind us as a nation and strengthen our collective resolve to build a fairer, humane, truly equitable society. Muli, Happy Pride Month sa lahat! (Again, Happy Pride Month to all!)” said Robredo.

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Pride Month comes two weeks after Filipino transgender man Ebeng Mayor was brutally raped and murdered by three men in Quezon City. The police are now investigating the suspects for committing a hate crime. 

The annual Pride Month celebrations around the world was rooted in the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the series of protests against the police repression of a popular gay bar in New York City, United States. LGBTQIA+ communities worldwide have since marked June with events to champion for their rights. 

In the Philippines, Pride Month celebrations are once again going virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic. – Rappler.com