Walden Bello, the chairperson of Laban ng Masa, expressed his disagreement with an anti-LGBTQIA statement from Congressperson Lito Atienza, party list representative for Buhay since 2013, and is the House Deputy Speaker since November 2020.
Bello is running for vice president of the Philippines as the running mate of Leody de Guzman, chairperson ng Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino; while Atienza is the running mate of retired boxer turned politician Manny Pacquiao, who is seeking the highest post in the land this May.
In his earlier post, Atienza stressed his opposition of marriage equality, claiming only males and females should marry; and they should do so only to have babies.
“We don’t believe in same-sex marriage because marriage is meant for a male and a female and the purpose is reproduction,” Atienza was quoted as saying.
Bello contradicted this, stressing that marriage – as an institution – is evolving. People should, therefore, not be imprisoned in “archaic… definitions” of such practices.
“I disagree with Congressman Atienza. Marriage is an institution created by society. As such it evolves as society evolves. It began not to promote reproduction but to mark possession, of women by men. It then evolved from an instrument of possession into an institution to seal and celebrate a loving relationship between two partners of different sexes. Now, with the further evolution of society’s values, marriage has expanded to seal and celebrate a loving union between persons of the same sex. Institutions must keep in step with society’s growing appreciation of the many dimensions of love between human beings, not imprison society in archaic values, definitions, and practices,” Bello stated.
