Kath Rabang working on an art project. Photo courtesy of Kath Rabang.

“Recognition is not enough without concrete rights.”

By Kasheena Camacho Bulatlat.com

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MANILA — Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has publicly recognized the LGBTQIA+ community through Executive Order No. 51, annual Pride Month statements, and meetings with LGBTQIA+ organizations since taking office in 2022. But a review of his four State of the Nation Addresses (SONA) found no explicit mention of LGBTQIA+ rights, the proposed Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Bill, or other national legislative measures protecting LGBTQIA+ Filipinos.

The absence of LGBTQIA+ rights from four consecutive SONAs comes despite executive initiatives recognizing the community and years-long calls from advocates to enact a national anti-discrimination legislation.

For some LGBTQIA+ Filipinos, the gap between public recognition and legal protection is reflected not in policy documents but in their everyday interactions with schools, workplaces, hospitals, and even their own families.

For Cleothena (not her real name), a transgender woman employed at a government agency who requested anonymity for fear of workplace repercussions, that gap became apparent only weeks after she started working.

“When I first entered the organization, they asked me how I wanted to be addressed. I thought they respected who I was,” she said.

Several weeks later, a security guard informed her that she could no longer use the women’s restroom after the human resources office reportedly received complaints from other employees.

“They told me there had been complaints. I asked them, ‘Where am I supposed to use the restroom now?’ They gave me only two options—the men’s restroom or the restroom for persons with disabilities. No policy was ever shown to me. We were simply told that I was no longer allowed to use the women’s restroom.”

During Pride Month, the agency temporarily designated the PWD restroom as an all-gender restroom, she said.

“After June, they removed the sign. Then they told me to use the men’s restroom again.”

Fearing the decision could affect her employment, she chose not to pursue a formal complaint and instead began using restrooms in another building.

“I felt like I had to hide. As long as no one was watching, I could quietly use the restroom. As long as no one confronts me,” she said.

Cleothena’s experience is one of many that LGBTQIA+ advocates say illustrate the gap between symbolic recognition and meaningful legal protection.

Bahaghari Spokesperson Yell Teresa said the Marcos administration’s public recognition of the LGBTQIA+ community has yet to translate into substantive legal protections.

“More than three years after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office, the promise of an inclusive and just society for the LGBTQIA+ sector remains hollow,” Teresa said in a written response to Bulatlat. “Recognition is not enough without concrete rights.”

Cleothena’s experience is not unique.

Kath Rabang, a lesbian, said she also encountered discrimination in school and in her personal life because of her sexual orientation.

At her former Catholic school, Rabang said she was required to wear the prescribed girls’ uniform despite asking to wear pants.

“During that time, it was a no-brainer situation because despite my appeal, I wasn’t allowed to wear pants,” she said.

Outside school, Rabang said discrimination also affected her relationship with her former partner.

She recalled that her partner’s mother discovered they were in a relationship before they were ready to come out, forcing them to hide from relatives and acquaintances.

“We had to be careful every time we met because we were afraid someone who knew her family might see us,” she said.

Although Rabang believes acceptance of LGBTQIA+ Filipinos has improved over the years, she said meaningful support should extend beyond public statements.

“It gives me hope because it shows that our experiences are being acknowledged. But support should go beyond words and lead to real action that protects LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination,” she said.

She said stronger anti-discrimination laws, accessible support systems, and legal recognition of LGBTQIA+ couples in matters such as hospital decision-making would better reflect government support.

Student organizations said that similar concerns continue to surface on …