Rainbow explosion in Eastern Visayas.
The city of Tacloban hosted its third Pride parade, and second Pride Week in Eastern Visayas, which – even if helmed by the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Tacloban College – aimed for “inclusivity via participation of all,” said Pierce Docena, assistant professor at the Division of Social Sciences of the UP Tacloban.
The very first Pride parade in Tacloban happened in 2015, when student groups in UP Tacloban joined Women’s Month activities. This year, the main organizer of the Pride Week was Docena’s LGBT Psychology class in UP Tacloban, which invited other UP organizations to sponsor/co-sponsor certain activities during the weeklong celebration. These UP organizations included UP Runggiyan, UP Lente, UP Ideopraxist, Living Positively, UP Iolaus, UP Halcyon, League of Filipino Students Metro Tacloban Chapter, HallyUPi, UPVTC Student Council, UP Psych Circle, UP Debate Society, and UP Hingyap. 8Haven, a regional network on HIV advocacy, helped with the free HIV counseling and screening.
“We wanted this year’s Pride Week to be more inclusive,” Docena said, adding that this was achieved by “inviting non-UP people to take part in the activities (particularly in the Color Run and the Forum on LGBT Health and Well-Being).
For Docena, “organizing a Pride Week in Eastern Visayas is relevant because our region remains unconcerned about LGBT issues. As of now, we don’t have a strong or visible group or network of LGBT people in Tacloban (or in the region, for that matter). The Pride Week is one of our initial attempts to bring LGBT people together and give them opportunities to meet each other and create a network that will hopefully push for their rights.”
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF UP LENTE
With Tacloban still not having an anti-discrimination ordinance (ADO), “there are still so many things that need to be done before we even reach the point of legislation, and the Pride Week, for me, is a good start.”
The 2nd Eastern Visayas Pride Week was also supported by the Commission on Human Rights Regional Office 8, Sanlakas, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, 8Haven, the Leyte National High School Student Council, ASEAN Youth Leaders Association – Leyte Chapter, and PopUp Kitchen.
This year’s Pride Week similarly received funds from by the Gender & Development Program Office of UP Tacloban as it was part of the Women’s Month celebration; Yellow Doors Hostel; and Salon Grandioso.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF UP LENTE
