Here’s the best news to close out Pride Month: Discrimination against any member of the LGBTQA+ community or any other minority groups in Marikina is now a criminal act. At the 2019 Pride March on Jun. 29 (Read: “Pride is a protest” and the many narratives of this year’s Pride March), mayor Marcelino Teodoro announced the enactment of City Ordinance No. 065, otherwise known as the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance. Very fitting, considering that the theme of this year’s march is #ResistTogether, alluding to the rights that we need to uphold and fight for.
“Bilang pagpapakita ng aming suporta, sa araw na ito ay aking pipirmahan at ipapatupad ang Anti-Discrimination Ordinance na nagbibigay sa lahat ng pantay at parehong karapatan sa trabaho, edukasyon, tirahan, at mga serbisyo ng pamahalaan,” he said, adding, “Walang sinuman sa basehan ng kasarian, pinanggalingan, or pananampalataya ang tatanggihan o hindi tatanggapin.”
Under the new ordinance, anyone guilty of discrimination will be penalized with 60 days to one year imprisonment and/or receive a fine ranging from P1, 000 to P5,000. A task force called the Anti-Discrimination Council will also be created, which will be comprised of the mayor and other eight key city officials, three of which are representatives of the LGBTQ+.
In doing so, Marikina will virtually enact the widely-contested (don’t get us started) SOGIE Equality Bill, which is still pending in Congress. Good on ya, Marikina.
This of course isn’t the first time the city’s shown support towards the queer community. The Marikina city government has been a very loud rainbow supporter, especially after first hosting the Pride March in 2017. On Jun. 24, the city’s clock tower was lit in rainbow colors to celebrate Pride.
We hope that the rest of the country will follow suit and make the Philippines an inclusive place for the LGBTQA+ community.
Read more:
Pride steps out of night bars and into broad daylight at The Lil’ Gay Shop in Poblacion
Queer safe spaces that aren’t clubs
For LGBTQ Filipinos, ManilaMed’s new Gender Diversity Center is here to help
Local queer literature to add to your reading list