Mabuhay!
We hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. As June comes to a close, we want to officially acknowledge Pride Month and the LGBTQIA+ community.
This June, we find ourselves in a situation that is both mind-numbingly unprecedented and disappointingly familiar. The uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation of Pride Marches worldwide. Regretfully, even the disruptive pandemic fails to cancel deep-rooted problems in our society like discrimination and apprehension against the LGBTQIA+ community. OSU PSA stands in solidarity- in isolation- as we fight against discrimination of any kind.
In the Philippines, the LGBTQIA+ community faces a wide variety of societal and political issues. Society stereotypes the LGBTQIA+ as either being extremely feminine “gay men” or masculine “lesbian women.” Because of these misconceptions, the nation fails to understand the LGBTQIA+ nor the distinction between gender and sexual orientation. The result is to ignorantly find solace in comedic flamboyance in lieu of acceptance.
In general, the Philippines lack anti-discrimination laws. With no legal protection in a pious country, prejudice in the workforce and military on the basis of sexual orientation lay evidence to inequality. According to a joint report by USAID and UNDP in 2014, LGBTQIA+ Filipinos are also police targets in a graft-rampant nation. Exploited by the very people who swore to protect them, innocents are criminalized in order to capitalize on their fear of being exposed to their loved ones.
Fortunately, there are those who fight and bring awareness to the many issues LGBTQIA+ face.
Let us take a moment to recognize some of the most prominent activists for civil rights: Marsha P. Johnson was a black transgender drag queen in the frontlines of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach is the UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for Asia who fights against the stigma of HIV/Aids. TV host and publicitst Boy Abunda is one of the most influential gay celebrities, unafraid to voice his opinions in the fight for Philippine LGBTQIA+ rights. OSU PSA takes pride in fighting alongside them and many more like them.
Fight for equality. Teach acceptance. Be understanding. Together we stand united with More Color More Pride.
Current Events in Filipinx/Filipinx-American Community
Journalist’s Conviction and Democracy
Journalist Maria Ressa, CEO and executive director of Rappler, was found guilty of cyber-libel related to an article published in 2012. The verdict caused global backlash due to “the dubious circumstances of the case” tied to Ressa and Rappler being open critics of the Duterte administration (Tharoor). With charges based on a law that was non-existent during the date of publication (ex post facto law), the Ressa and Rappler case is received as a warning from an increasingly authoritative government. Read more in this article.
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Overseas Filipino Workers in Saudi Arabia
Many overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are being repatriated to the Philippines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Philippine government is sending out three chartered flights to Saudi Arabia to bring home the remains of hundreds of Filipino workers, many of whom died from the coronavirus. Saudi Arabia gave the Philippines 72 hours to complete the transportation, but Philippine labour chief Silvestre Bello III is appealing for more time. Read more about it in this article.
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Supreme Court Rule on DACA
On June 18th, 2020 the United States Supreme Court ruled that Trump cannot immediately end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This decision protects about “7,000 young immigrants known as Dreamers from deportation” (Liptak and Shear). To read more about this topic, click this link.
Undocumented immigrants come from all different cultural backgrounds, including the Filipino community. Read about Raymond Partolan’s experience and how DACA saved his life in this article.