PODCAST | Beyond Tondo: An LGBTQ leader’s wait for equality

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MANILA, Philippines – In Tondo, Manila, the members of the LGBT community don’t experience much discrimination, thanks in part to the rise of transgender or gay kagawads who serve their communities. (READ: Meet the ‘kagaywads’: How Tondo’s LGBT leaders find acceptance)

In this podcast, Rappler reporter Amanda Lago and researcher-writers Vernise Tantuco and Janelle Paris speak to AJ Cecilio, a transgender woman who is a kagawad of Barangay 35.

In January, they joined her at a covered court in Rawis, Tondo where AJ and her fellow LGBT kagawads – or kaGAYwads as they like to call themselves – were holding a salon day for senior citizens. It was a way for the seniors to get checkups too, along with a free breakfast.

In this corner of Tondo, AJ and her friends are respected, and young members of the LGBTQ community are celebrated. But how do their small victories here hold up against discrimination elsewhere?

Join Amanda, Vernise, and Janelle as they tell AJ’s story, learn about how it’s different from the usual Filipino LGBTQ experience, and discuss what she and her friends want from legislators. – Rappler.com