3 MIN READ

By KHIM ABALOS
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The New People’s Army (NPA) in the Mountain Province bared that 16 percent of its red fighters belong to the LGBT community, as part of its Pride Month commemoration.

In a statement, the Leonardo Pacsi Command (LPC) said the revolutionary movement respects the rights of its members, including their gender preference. According to the rebels, they ensure that LGBT enjoys their economic, political, and military rights, such as their right to hone and develop their strengths and capabilities.

LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. These are descriptions of one’s sexual orientation. The acronym developed to include “Q+” for “queer” and others, referring to those who identify themselves as outside the heterosexual type but also not gay or lesbian.

“Aside from the economic and political exploitation, they suffer from extreme discrimination and other forms of oppression brought about by the rotten semi-colonial and semi-feudal society,” the LPC said.

In the statement, the communist guerillas said that the LGBT community’s struggles are alongside with the fights of the other sectors. They explained that individuals in the LGBT also belong to various sectors, such as the peasants, workers, urban poor, and indigenous people.

“The LPC is active in discussing and educating its forces and the masses about the LGBT rights to remold and rectify wrong ideas, and conducts activities such as solidarity night featuring songs, poems, and skit on LGBT,” the rebels said.

The NPA command also pointed out that the celebration of Pride Month is a collective people’s action in forwarding the sector’s rights and welfare.

“It (Pride Month) started as a movement of the LGBT against discrimination, in unity with the working class, and to express solidarity for the LGBT,” the LPC said.

In the past, several news outlets carried stories about gays and lesbians tying the knot in guerilla zones officiated by their comrades. The first publicly announced same-sex marriage in the NPA happened on February 4, 200, as featured by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Pride month origin

The Pride Month celebration traces its origin from the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, also known as Stonewall Riots, in New York City. It started when the police raided Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village on June 28.

The incident unleashed the pent-up anger of the gays and lesbians from continuous harassment from the police. It sparked a riot that lasted for days. Historians and LGBTQ+ activists view the event as the “galvanizing factor” that eventually gave birth to the LGBTQ+ rights movement across the globe.

In the Philippines, the Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (PRO-Gay Philippines) held the first conscious effort to commemorate the Pride Month. However, the sustained memorial of the event took off in 1996 with the 1996 Metro Manila Pride March led by ReachOut Foundation.

Dispersal condemned

In a separate statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounced the violent dispersal of the Stonewall Uprising commemoration by the LGBTQ+ members and allies in Mendiola on June 26.

“Ang walang-batayang pag-aresto sa benteng nagrali ay bahagi ng desperadong pagpapatahimik ng rehimeng Duterte sa mamamayang disgustado sa kanyang lansakang terorismo (The baseless arrest of the 20 protesters was a way of the Duterte regime to silence its people who are calling out and exposing the state terrorism.)” the CPP statement said.

A video of the protest and the dispersal went viral. It showed the participants of the rally peacefully holding a rally, wearing face mask, and observing physical distancing. The camera also caught the police, forcing them to disperse and arresting several protesters.

The incident also drew criticism from different groups and personalities.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, called the incident “worrisome”, noting that the protesters were exercising their fundamental human rights.

In a statement, the Metro Manila Pride lambasted the police for the unjust arrest of the protesters, underscoring that they were peaceful and practicing physical distancing

The Commission on Human Rights and activist groups Anakbayan and Gabriela also condemned the dispersal and arrest of the demonstrators.

The Manila Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrested protesters’ release after spending four nights in detention at the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters. The police charged them with disobedience of person in authority under Republic Act No. 11332 or the Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases, and for violation of Batas Pambansa 880 or the Public Assembly Act. # nordis.net