CONCERN OVER INCREASING HATE CRIMES ANTI-GAY IN PHILIPPINES
MANILA, Philippines - Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi De Jesus, of the Gabriela women's party, said the number of apparent "hate crimes" victimizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBTs) or lesbians, gays, bisexuals and the transgendered has reached alarming proportions.
The two woman lawmakers have expressed concern over increasing hate crimes against homosexuals, as they pointed out that the proliferation of such offenses signal a breakdown in the rule of law.
According to Ilagan, from an average of 10 murders between 1996 and 2008, the killings rose to 12 in 2009, 26 in 2010 and 27 in the first six months of the current year.- Ilagan and De Jesus filed House Resolution 1460 urging the House Committee on Justice to investigate the killings in order to provide legislation penalizing specific crimes against the LGBTs.
- Citing the report of the LGBT Hate Crime Watch, Ilagan said there are on average five cases per month reported since January this year. The LGBT Hate Crime Watch cited 103 cases since 1996 with 61 of the victims reported were gay men, 26 were transgendered, 12 were lesbians and four were bisexuals.
Ilagan said, the accounts of the incidents indicate that there is prejudice or hate on the part of the assailants. Thirty-eight of the victims were stabbed multiple times. Six were tortured before they were killed. - Others were raped, dismembered, killed with a blunt object, suffocated or burned alive," Ilagan also cited the case of prize winning short story writer Winton Lou Ynion who was stabbed several times in various parts of the body.
- Another similar case was that involving Albert Clarence Bondoc, who was stabbed 13 times as well as the case of a 51-year old Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge in Laoag City who was brutally murdered.
- In all cases, the murders were committed not just as a simple hate crime, but also to convey a strong message against LGBTs.
Despite the increasingly overt tolerance of homosexuality in film and television and other fields, majority of Filipinos remain conservative on their views on this particular matter.
Just as homosexuals seek refuge on laws, groups targeting them work under the shadows and find allies in society intolerant of sexual deviants. There had been earlier reports of vigilantes targeting homosexuals.
PHILLIPINES GAY PARTY WILL BE ALLOWED TO CONTEST MAY 10 POLLS
Manila: The Supreme Court will allow a group of lesbians and homosexuals to participate as a sectorial party at the House of Representatives during the May 10 polls, a radio report said.
In a decision, Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo asked the Commission of Elections to throw out its two resolutions which denied accreditation to Ang Ladlad (Reveal) because the latter had complied with the legal requirement for a party-list group's accreditation.
Source: Gulfnews
In a decision, Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo asked the Commission of Elections to throw out its two resolutions which denied accreditation to Ang Ladlad (Reveal) because the latter had complied with the legal requirement for a party-list group's accreditation.
- "The Philippines has not seen fit to criminalise homosexual conduct," the High Court argued, adding, "We are not blind to the fact that, through the years, homosexual conduct, and perhaps homosexuals themselves, have borne the brunt of society's disapproval. It is not difficult to imagine the reasons behind this censure — religious beliefs, convictions about the preservation of marriage, family, and procreation, even dislike or distrust of homosexuals themselves and their perceived lifestyle," said the Apex Court's ruling.
- In January, the High Tribunal had called for a restraining order on Comelec's two resolutions which were issued on November 11 and December 17 last year.
- Comelec claimed Ang Ladlad was advocating "immorality," adding that homosexuals and lesbians are a "threat to the youth."
- Lauding the Supreme Court's ruling, writer and Ladlad's founder Danton Remoto said even the Vatican has already publicly condemned violence and discrimination against homosexuals.
- "The Comelec's resolutions have demonised lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT)," said Remoto, who incorporated Ang Ladlad in 2003.
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