Ang Ladlad brings to Supreme Court bid to join party-list polls

MANILA, Philippines - An organization of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse a Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruling denying its application for accreditation as party-list group on the grounds of “immorality.”

Ang Ladlad filed yesterday a 26-page petition with the SC seeking the reversal of the Comelec decision and accusing the poll body of grave abuse of discretion and violation of the Constitution and international laws.

Comelec’s Second Division rejected Ladlad’s bid for accreditation on Nov.12. The Comelec reaffirmed the ruling on Dec.17. Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, and Elias Yusoph comprise the Second Division.

The petitioner, led by The STAR columnist Danton Remoto, argued that Comelec “made conclusions unsupported by records” when it ruled that Ang Ladlad “goes against teachings of certain religions” and that it “advocates sexual immorality.”

“It may not be amiss to say that the principle of ejusdem generis (of the same kind) suffices to declare that homosexuality per se does not fall within the ambit of the penal law. That one’s affections towards people of the same sex easily translate to lust and immorality is obviously a non sequitur (it does not follow),” Ladlad’s petition read.

Ladlad also told the SC that being gay or lesbian is “neither a sin nor a sickness,” and therefore should be respected under Article 2(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 44, a treaty to which the Philippines is a signatory.

“Each State party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,” the group said.

“Among these rights that must be respected and ensured, ‘without distinction of any kind,’ are the right ‘to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives’ and the right ‘to vote and be elected at genuine periodic elections,’ both of which are guaranteed under Article 25 of the ICCPR,” Ladlad said.

In its ruling, the Second Division said Ang Ladlad advocates same-sex relationships that offend religious beliefs.

Comelec chairman Jose Melo defended the ruling, saying it was based on “moral parameters and precepts that are generally accepted.”

He also stressed that the community of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT) is not a “special class,” and therefore not marginalized or underrepresented.

“Thus, even if society’s understanding, tolerance, and acceptance of LGBT is elevated, there can be no denying that Ang Ladlad constituencies are still males and females, and they will be protected by the same Bill of Rights that applies to all citizens alike who are amply represented also by the males and females who compromise our legislature,” Melo said in a separate opinion.