Transgender running for barangay chief in Bulacan

HAGONOY, Bulacan, Philippines – Jhane de la Cruz looks every bit a woman and motherly with her two adopted children. But the 29-year-old insurance manager’s birth certificate says he is a male – a fact that voters may consider when they troop to polling places here tomorrow to choose their barangay leaders.

De la Cruz, who admitted having undergone sex change, is running for chairman of Barangay Iba in this coastal town.

“I think there is no law prohibiting transgenders like me from running for public office and wanting to serve their kababayan,” De la Cruz said in an exclusive interview yesterday.

Lawyer Elmo Duque, provincial election supervisor of Bulacan, shared De la Cruz’s position saying a candidate’s sexual orientation is not an issue in elections.

De la Cruz may be the only transgender gunning for elective position in Bulacan or perhaps in the whole country. He said his sexual orientation has advantages and disadvantages.

“I am not like other candidates who are worried of their family. I can easily focus on the task ahead especially of serving my kababayan,” he said.

However, his political opponents were reportedly trying to make his sexual orientation an issue against him. His rivals include the incumbent barangay captain and a retired police officer. But De la Cruz is unfazed.

“They can say anything they want, but it will be the people who will decide who will lead them in the next three years,” De la Cruz said.

He said his programs include the immediate repair of the barangay’s dilapidated hanging bridge, livelihood project for women, scholarships, and disaster preparedness, among others.

He stressed that his being a transgender is not a handicap and that he has been helping his neighbors and some politicians for years.

When asked why he decided to run for public office, De la Cruz stressed there was a need for change in the barangay.

“My kababayans are looking for change, but there is none. They were promised, but the promises remain as promises,” he said.

A successful businessman, De la Cruz is the branch manager of the People’s General Insurance. He completed his studies in interior design in the United States.