Finally The Correct Decision For "Ang Ladlad"

The Supreme Court of the Philippines finally made a right decision. They gave "Ang Ladlad," the party-list group for Filipino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual group the accreditation that the Comelec denied them.

The Comelec had barred "Ang Ladlad" from taking part in the May 10 elections on the grounds that it tolerated immorality and offended Christians and Muslims.

According to the Comelec :"we cannot ignore our strict religious upbringing, whether Christian or Muslim, since the ‘moral precepts espoused by [these] religions have slipped into society and are now publicly accepted moral norms."

That may be true but isn't it in the constitution an article espousing the separation of church and state?

That being the case, the Comelec, being a government entity and thus a representation of the state should not use religion as a grounds for disqualifying a party-list group.

While the high court said the Comelec’s refusal to accredit the group “on purely moral grounds amounts more to a statement of dislike and disapproval of homosexuals rather than a tool to further any substantial public interest," it limited its decision to the accreditation question.

Well this was a big decision for them. And it's not surprising that they focused on the merits of the case and did not expand it from there.

The dissent has argued that the LGBT group are not part of what is defined as marginalized because it was not stated in the list enumerated by the 1987 Constitution and Republic Act No. 7941 (the party-list law).

The list includes: the poor, peasants, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, veterans, fisher folk, elderly, handicapped, overseas workers and professionals.

But now that you look at it, technically they are marginalized because aren't the LGBT sector also include the poor, peasants, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, veterans, fisher folk, elderly, handicapped, overseas workers and professionals?

If you think about it all of those marginalized list can be included under the LGBT sector. Don't tell me there's no LGBT in any of those marginalized sectors. Of course there are and so they should be represented.

And it cannot be denied that the LGBT sector is unrepresented and if "Ang Ladlad's" claims are true, that's 10% of the country's population.

That's a lot of people that are not represented.

I doubt if it was the intention of the framers of the 1987 Constitution for the document to not reflect changes in societal trends and actions.

Yes, LGBT is not considered an interest that is traditionally and historically considered vital to national interest but how the hell old is that so called tradition and history?

If our constitution was over 200 years old then I would say yes, we do have a tradition and history but for crying out loud our constitution is only 23 years old...where's the tradition and historical record?

And from what I understand "Ang Ladlad" is not there to promote homosexuality or gayness, they are only there to promote the rights of the the people they represent which just happens to be part of the LGBT sector.

Bravo to Chief Justice Reynato Puno for saying that, "it would not be difficult to conclude that gay persons are entitled to heightened constitutional protection despite some recent political progress. The discrimination they have suffered has been so pervasive and so severe … that it is unlikely that legislative enactments alone will suffice to eliminate that discrimination...In so far as the [gay] community plays a role in the political process, it is apparent that their numbers reflect their status as small and insular minority and are, therefore, marginalized."

Yes they are and it's about time someone points that out.

Congratulations to "Ang Ladlad" and good luck on the elections.