LGBT citizens may face different social attitudes and legal challenges than heterosexual citizens. Tolerance for LGBT people has increased over the years due to greater education about sexual orientation and gender identity issues and the growing visibility and political activism of the LGBT community Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized and the LGBT community is not protected by any civil rights laws.
Criminal laws against homosexuality
Non-commercial, homosexual relations between consenting adults in private are not a crime. Although sexual conduct or affection that occurs in public may be subject to the "grave scandal" prohibition in Article 200 of the Revised Penal Code. The universal age of consent is set at 12, but contacts with minors (under 18) are an offense if the minor consents to the act for money, gain or any other remuneration or as the result of an influence of any adult person.
Military
Sexual orientation or religion does not exempt citizens from CAT, although some reports do suggest that people who are openly gay in this high school curriculum are harassed. On 3 March 2009, the Philippines announced that it was lifting its ban on allowing openly gay and bisexual men and women from enlisting and serving in the Philippine Armed Services.
Sectors
"Sectors" recognised in the national electoral law include categories such as elderly, peasants, labour, youth etc. Under the Philippine constitution some 20% of seats in the House of Representatives are reserved. In 1995 and 1997, unsuccessful efforts were made to reform the law so as to include LGBT people. A proponent of this reform was Senate President Pro Tempore Blas Ople who said (in 1997), ""In view of the obvious dislike of the ... administration for gay people, it is obvious that the president will not lift a finger to help them gain a sectoral seat".
Political party opinions
Philippine political parties are typically very cautious about supporting gay rights, as most fall along the social conservative political spectrum.
The Akbayan Citizens' Action Party was the first Philippine political party to integrate LGBT rights into its party platform in the 1990s, although they are a minor political party. A major political opponent of LGBT rights legislation has been Congressman Bienvenido Abante (6th district, Manila) of the ruling conservative Lakas-CMD party. Rodolfo Biazon and his son Ruffy Biazon along with Miriam Santiago are the most vocal opponents of same sex marriage in the Philippines. They have filed bills in the Senate and Congress in 2006 that would ban recognition of such marriage, even if those marriages were performed in other countries. As of 2009 the bills are stalled.
The administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was recently called "not just gender insensitive, but gender-dead" by Akbayan Party representative Risa Hontiveros. Rep. Hontiveros also said that the absence of any policy protecting the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender betrays the government’s homophobia. “This homophobic government treats LGBTs as second-class citizens,” she said.
Philippines did not sign the United Nations declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, which condemns violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization, and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Ang Ladlad LGBT political party
The Ang Ladlad is a new progressive political party, with a primary agenda of combating discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
On 11 November 2009, the Philippine Commission on Elections(COMELEC) denied the Filipino LGBT political party Ang Ladlad's petition to be allowed to run in the May 2010 elections, on the grounds of "immorality". In the 2007 elections, Ang Ladlad was previously disqualified for failing to prove they had nationwide membership.
On 8 April 2010, the Supreme Court of the Philippines reversed the ruling of COMELEC and allowed Ang Ladlad to join the May 2010 elections.
Marriage and family
The Philippines does not offer any legal recognition to same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnership benefits.
In 1998, Senators Marcelo B. Fernan and Miriam Defensor Santiago submitted a series of four bills that barred recognition of marriage involving transgender individuals, contracted in the Philippines or abroad, and bar recognition of marriages or domestic partnership between two people of the same biological sex contracted in countries that legally recognize such relationships.
Since 2006, three anti-same sex marriage bills have been introduced and are pending before the Senate and Congress.
LGBT community
The main gay rights organisations in the Philippines are University of the Philippines Babaylan UP Babaylan founded in 1992, and is the oldest and largest LGBT student organization in the Philippines, Progay-Philippines, founded in 1993, which led the first Gay March in Asia in 1994, LAGABLAB, the Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network established in 1999, STRAP (Society of Transsexual WOMEN of the Philippines), a Manila-based support group for women of transsexual experience and transgenders established in 2002, and Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality and Human Rights (TEAM PILIPINAS), a non-profit organization which evolved from the Team Philippines to Sydney 2002 Gay Games and is now working to promote and strengthen human rights, sexual and gender diversity and equality and peace through research and advocacy and through organizing the participation and representation of diverse Filipino sexual orientations and gender identities in local, regional and international LGBT sporting, cultural and human rights events.
The first gay lesbian bisexual and transgender pride parade in Asia and also the Philippines was led by ProGay Philippines on 26 June 1994 at the Quezon Memorial Circle. It was attended by hundreds and the march coincided with the march against the imposition of the VAT or the value added tax imposed by the government.
Since the 1990s LGBT people have become more organized and visible, both politically and socially. There are large annual LGBT pride festivals, and several LGBT organizations which focus on the concerns of University students, women and transgender people. There is a vibrant gay scene in the Philippines with several bars, clubs and saunas in Manila as well as various gay rights organizations.
Concerns about the rising incidences of STDs and HIV among the members of the community, however, have brought some concerned groups together to tackle the issue. The existence of several anonymous sex bars parading as gyms and saunas contribute to this concern, aside from the numerous orgy parties around the Metro.
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