Magapa-rehistro ka ba bilang bakla, lesbiyana o transgender?
A census on LGBTQIA Filipinos is being eyed to identify the number of LGBTQIA Filipinos, thereby inform politicians of the sector they are contradicting every time they promote anti-LGBTQIA policies.
Announced by Cong. Geraldine Roman, Representative of Bataan, First District during the once-a-year Pride-related bash hosted by the British Embassy in Manila, there are no specifics yet on how the census is to be done “in the coming months”. Its intention is clear, nonetheless, as the data gathered is being eyed to be used in pushing for the passage of the anti-discrimination bill that has been languishing in Congress for 24 years now.
Census is the systematic gathering of information on specific populations.
This is not the first attempt to “count” LGBTQIA Filipinos.
In 2017, former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista ordered the profiling of city hall employees who belong to the LGBTQIA community, particularly asking them of their sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation and gender identity. It was supposedly voluntary, with the data gathered to be kept confidential.
Sadly, the results of censuses can also be used for evil. For instance, the 1933 census done by the Nazis in Germany included race-specific questions, which informed the Nazi’s race-based policies.
As Roman stressed, specifics will be released in the coming months, including who will do the census, the scope, data handling, et cetera.
