In Cagayan de Oro City, the community organization helming the annual Pride celebration alleged being eased out of the organizing of this year’s event, with the local government unit (LGU) – through the City GAD Office – now claiming “ownership” of Pride in this part of Northern Mindanao.
In a Facebook post, Kahilwayan, the Mindanao-based network of LGBTQIA+ and ally individuals and organizations that had been helming Pride organizing in Cagayan de Oro since 2023, announced that they will not be joining the June 28 event; meaning, the very people supposed to lead and be celebrated will not be helming and/or participating in the Pride event.
For Kahilwayan, the importance of working with LGUs is important, but that this “must be rooted in community participation, consultation, and respect for diverse voices.”
“While Kahilwayan recognizes the importance of working hand-in-hand with local government units (LGUs) and institutions, we also believe that true collaboration must be rooted in community participation, consultation, and respect for diverse voices. The creation and planning of Pride must involve those it claims to represent. Activities that claim to celebrate and uplift LGBTQIA+ lives must be co-owned by the community — grounded in its realities, and responsive to its needs.”
A source who asked to remain anonymous stated various issues in their dealings particularly with the LGU’s so-called “Equality Focal Person”. These include: shifting of Pride into a Mardi Gras event instead of highlighting the issues of the LGBTQIA+ community; branding issues, with the LGU representative allegedly pushing for the rebranding into CDO Pride for it to be more aligned with the packaging of the city, and even if this is not what the LGBTQIA+ community wants; using Pride as a political tool by excluding those not belonging to the same political color as the organizer; and budget issues.
“Exclusion of grassroots voices, lack of transparency, and the gatekeeping of Pride undermine the very values we fight for. Equality cannot be dictated from the top down—it must be built collectively,” Kahilwayan stated further.
Highlighting that Pride continues to be a tool for the struggle for the attainment of LGBTQIA+ people’s human rights, Kahilwayan stressed that “Pride marches have always been more than colorful parades or performative displays of acceptance. They are grounded in history — born from struggle, defiance, and the demand for recognition, justice, and rights. Pride is an avenue to confront systemic oppression, highlight community issues, and rally our voices toward genuine inclusion.”
And so for Kahilwayan, “when the essence of Pride is diluted, we must take a stand.”
CDO mayor, Rolando Klarex Uy, is now the face of select CDO Pride promotional materials, with the LGU pouring money into this year’s gathering – e.g. prizes for the Mardi Gras competition go as high as ₱130,000.
In the spirit of fairness, using their Facebook accounts and publicly available email addresses, Outrage Magazine already reached out to various offices in the CDO LGU, particularly: the Community Improvement Division, which handles the GAD efforts of the city, through email addresses cid@cagayandeoro.gov.ph and cidcmo.cdo@gmail.com; and the City Information Office through its Facebook account and through email addresses cio@cagayandeoro.gov.ph and ivy.guantero@cagayandeoro.gov.ph. The direct message to the CIO Facebook account was already “seen”, but no responses were received as of press time.
As it announced that it will not participate in this year’s Pride event, Kahilwayan stressed that this is “not a withdrawal from the movement — it is a call to reclaim the spaces meant for us. It is a call to organize, resist, and reimagine what Pride should look like in Cagayan de Oro: inclusive, community-led, and unapologetically rooted in justice. We enjoin every member of the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies to continue pushing for inclusion, equality, and respect in all spaces — especially where our voices are most needed.”
UPDATE: As of 3:26PM of 4 June 2025, the CIO provided the contact details of the Gender and Development (GAD) office, and Outrage Magazine already sent an email to the same (gad.cdoc@gmail.com). The email bounced “because the address couldn’t be found, or is unable to receive mail.”
At 3:46PM of 4 June 2025, a message was also sent to the Facebook page of CDO Pride 2025.
Updates will be made if/when responses are received.
