LGBTQIA advocates formed ‘Bakla Bantay Boto’, an all-LGBTQIA poll-watch coalition and campaign against electoral fraud in the upcoming Philippine national elections this May 9.
According to Rey Valmores-Salinas, convenor of Bakla Bantay Boto, this is not only so LGBTQIA Filipinos can practice their democratic right to vote, but also to ensure that their votes are protected against manipulation.
While LGBTQIA Filipinos have always been present in the elections, “we remain invisible in terms of our rights, and against violence and discrimination. But as more of us now mobilize to fight for our future in the 2022 elections… we have taken it upon ourselves to safeguard people’s ballots against corruption and electoral fraud,” Valmores-Salinas said.
Bakla Bantay Boto’s activities include: trainings on poll-watching and the technicalities behind the voting process, voter’s education discussions, and a nationwide campaign involving LGBTQIA Filipinos in its fight against electoral fraud.
“We deserve a government that will stand for genuine equality in all forms, and to achieve that, we must fight to ensure that our voice and our votes will not be erased. That we will not be erased,” Salinas ended.
For more information, head to the coalition’s Facebook page.
