So Heidi Mendoza, who is running for a senate seat in the 2025 Philippine general election this May, just admitted she lost the LGBTQIA+ community’s vote. In a Facebook post, she stated that “masakit po sa akin yung withdrawal ng LGBT community pero naiintindihan ko po.”
This stemmed from Heidi’s position re LGBTQIA+ issues – i.e. anti-discrimination bill (that has been pending in Congress for over 20 years now) and marriage equality. She is, basically, giving a “qualified no” to these; meaning… it’s a “no” for her.
To be fair, she said she’s still studying them.
And yet… it’s still a “qualified no” for her.
Heidi tried to package the “qualified no” as not a “no” by meeting influencer Sassa Girl, screaming token “representation”. She also tried selling herself as the “baklang nanay” who will fight for inclusive funding for LGBTQIA+ people.
And yeah… Sassa eventually dropped Heidi, too.
In truth, there are still LGBTQIA+ people who plan to vote for her, and they have been vocal about this, going as far as gaslighting other LGBTQIA+ people, making them feel bad for focusing “only” on LGBTQIA+ issues and failing to see a bigger picture. That is, if the likes of Heidi will not win, then the less qualified will have more chances of getting seats in the senate.
Two things sort of get me re this.
- Heidi’s insinuation that LGBTQIA+ human rights as just a “popular issue”.
- This insistence that those who refuse to support her are “single issue people”.
Intersex people can’t even conveniently change their names and gender markers because the process allowed by the Supreme Court decision in the 2008 Cagandahan case is too costly. For those forced to live their assigned sex at birth even if they identify with the opposite sex, hardships have been reported – e.g. unnecessary medical interventions, difficulty in accessing education, discrimination in the workplace, inability to form relationships, et cetera. For intersex people, this is a lifelong struggle, not a “popular issue” that will come and go.
For transgender women who can’t enroll in schools (or – if already studying – are kicked out of schools, or not allowed to graduate) because their gender expression is not aligned with their sex assigned at birth, this isn’t just a “now” issue. Too many are unable to get decent jobs, there are those who end up doing sex work (not necessarily by choice), the inability to earn proper wages affecting health-related concerns, and so on. This, too, is an ongoing issue for them.
And that single issue statement is just as offensive since THAT single issue has to do with our very own existence. Because… how does this work, exactly? We ban political dynasties (Heidi says yes to this), but… nope, we shouldn’t grant LGBTQIA+ people marriage equality? Let’s impeach Sara Duterte (Heidi says yes to this, too), but… qualified no pa rin sa LGBTQIA+ people’s human rights? So we are expected to support other issues… just not those particular to us?
Heidi’s CV is, without a doubt, impressive – e.g. she was Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services from 2015 to 2019; and worked for the Commission on Audit (COA) from 2011 to 2015. But nope, di na yan sapat ngayon.
Because when we see Pacquiao, Villanueva (father and son tandem), Sotto, Abante, et cetera hinder the anti-discrimination law, we sort of expect this na. They were never our friends. But when a “friend” like Heidi – who, by all means, seems more qualified than those who will get seats in the senate for sure – shows us how she really sees us, then… ibang level na siya, promise. Mahirap kasi makibaka for equal rights for LGBTQIA+ people kung ang “kaibigan” mo pala, ang “kakampi” mo sana, hindi rin pala naniniwala, or at least may alinlangan that you deserve it.
