Today, everyone is called to intensify efforts to develop a society that fully embraces LGBTQIA+ people, according to Vice President Leni Robredo, who posted on Facebook a message to mark the celebration of Pride Month (i.e. June).
Saying she is “one with the LGBTQIA community” in marking Pride, Robredo stated that “Throughout the years, the LGBTQIA… community provided a shelter to the oppressed, a voice to the marginalized, and a family to the isolated.”
However, she acknowledged that challenges persist, “Mula sa lack of employment opportunities and access to healthcare services, hanggang sa iba’t ibang anyo ng violence at discrimination sa public and virtual spaces, napakarami pang kailangang isulong to truly establish an atmosphere of acceptance and genuine equality for all.”
This is why, for Robredo, “today and beyond this month-long celebration, we are called to intensify our efforts. Ang layunin natin: Isang lipunan kung saan lahat nasisilungan, lahat natutulungan, lahat naaaruga, anuman ang kasarian o katayuan sa buhay. Kung saan niyayakap ang LGBTQIA+ bilang kapwa tao who have the same rights and dignity, and that deserve the same love, respect and acceptance as everyone else.”
In the end, Robredo hopes that the “ties that bind us as a nation” strengthen the people’s “collective resolve to build a fairer, humane, truly equitable society.”
