LGBTQIA+ network Bahaghari, along with progressive groups and non-member LGBTQIA+ individuals, staged a lightning rally to denounce the US-led Pax Silica initiative and Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration’s promotion of foreign-led investments in the country.
“For the LGBTQIA+ community, the struggle for equality cannot be separated from the struggle for national sovereignty. The Philippines is not for sale. Our farmlands, ancestral domains, natural resources, and communities belongs to the Filipino people,” Bahaghari stated in a statement released to the media.
For Yell Teresa, Bahaghari national spokesperson, this administration’s priorities are skewed.
“Mas mauuna pang pirmahan at isulong ang Pax Silica initiative kaysa sa SOGIE Equality Bill. Para kanino ba ang gobyernong ito? Kung kaya nilang magbukas ng ating lupain at ekonomiya para sa interes ng mga dayuhang kapital, bakit hindi nila kayang ipaglaban ang dignidad at karapatan ng LGBTQIA+ Filipinos?” said Teresa.
“Hindi magiging ganap na malaya ang LGBTQIA+ community hangga’t hawak tayo sa leeg ng mga dayuhan. Ang laban para sa SOGIESC equality ay laban din para sa pambansang soberanya. Kailangan nating magkaisa bilang LGBTQIA+ community at makibaka kasama ang buong sambayanan laban sa Pax Silica!”
For Bahaghari, “genuine development must serve the Filipino people, not the foreign corporations, imperialist powers, or a handful of local elites. The LGBTQIA+ community will allow its struggle for liberation to be used to legitimize projects that threaten Filipino lands, livelihood, and sovereignty.”
“Stop dragging the LGBTQIA+ community and the Filipino people into your imperialist interests! PHILIPPINES IS NOT FOR SALE!” Teresa ended.
Bahaghari calls LGBTQIA+ Filipinos and all sectors to “unite against Pax Silica and all policies that surrender our land, resources, and national interests to foreign powers. The fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation is inseparable from the fight for national sovereignty and genuine people-centered development.”
