In a somewhat emotional vlog released on Facebook, Yeng Constantino expressed her support to the LGBT community, following the Manny Pacquiao debacle. Yeng said her appreciation of members of the LGBT community stems from having a gay brother, and from those she works with in the entertainment industry.
Video: About LGBT issue. Dahil sa isang tweet napasagot tuloy ako. Pero salamat na din. ❤️ peace to everyone.
Posted by Yeng Constantino on Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Yeng, a Filipina pop rock singer/songwriter and actress, said that she was asked to express her support to Manny Pacquiao, also a Christian. But what not many people may know, said Yeng in the vlog, is that she has a gay brother.
Yeng called her brother before she vlogged, asking him if he knows of Pacquiao debacle. Her brother confirmed he did, and that he was hurt by it.
In return, Yeng asked him for forgiveness not because she represents Pacquiao, but because she does not want her brother to believe that society sees him as depicted by Pacquiao (i.e. “masahol pa sa hayop” or worse than an animal).
Yeng is now calling for the open expression of love to LGBT people because “kung ako nga may pagmamahal na ganun sa kapatid ko, paano pa si God (if I can love my brother that much, how much more God)? Eh… God is love.”
To the LGBT community, Yeng said that while she is not Pacquiao, “pero believe me or not, hindi lahat ng Kristiyano ay ganun ang tingin sa inyo. Marami-rami rin po kami. Mahal po namin kayo (believe me or not, not all Christians see you the way Pacquiao does. There are also many of us. We love you).”
And to Christians who want her to take a stand against homosexuality, Yeng said she will not take that route because her ministry is a “ministry of reconciliation.”
Yeng won the title “Grand Star Dreamer” in the inaugural season of Pinoy Dream Academy, the Philippine edition of Endemol’s reality TV show Star Academy, in 2006
