Ladlad party won’t push for same-sex marriage

CEBU, Philippines - As representative of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the Ladlad partylist is expected to back the push for the passage of same-sex marriage in the country.

But in contrary, Ladlad partylist candidate for representative this coming election, Danton Remoto, said that they will not be pushing for same sex-marriage to be implemented in the Philippines.

In an interview with the media yesterday, Remoto explained that during their national congress, which they hold every three years, no one raised the concern of pushing for same-sex marriage.

Personally he admitted that he is in favor of it but said that as a group, they are more eager to push for bills that are needed and beneficial for the whole LGBT community.

Remoto said they are more focused on passing into law the anti-discrimination bill which fights for equal rights and gender sensitivity in workplaces and schools. He added that they have been pushing for the construction of a shelter for abandoned and old LGBT members as well as for the strengthening of programs that would cover counseling of runaway youths who have been shunned away from their homes due to their sexuality.

Apart from which, Remoto said that they want to help in addressing the problem of increasing HIV cases in the country, especially in urban areas like Cebu.

Aware of certain statistics that show male-to-male relationships as the cause of the increase, Remoto said that there are still other factors and that they cannot be totally blamed for the high number of HIV cases.

“In these areas (urban cities), nagpapa-test kasi kami,” said Remoto, explaining that this is a reason why they are singled out.

But he said that just like in other countries like the United States, it was found out that HIV cases were also rampant in other sectors when they also had themselves checked.

“Kung sa statistics, kami ang main reason. But when other sectors have been checked, sila din pala. Kami yung isa sa reasons but hindi lang kami.”

Remoto said other vulnerable sectors should also be monitored and the government should also add testing and counseling centers for HIV patients.

Further, Remoto said that there are their priority bills which are more important than pushing for same-sex marriage which he said could be a tougher and longer fight in Congress considering the length of time the Reproductive Health law was passed.

But he said that even if they are not pushing for same-sex marriage, they still hope to give LGBT members due rights in a relationship through a civil union.   (FREEMAN)