MANILA, Philippines?Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Leila de Lima lambasted election commissioner Nicodemus Ferrer for his comments that there were many gays and lesbians in Congress and so a party-list representative for homosexuals would not be necessary anymore.

He said Ferrer?s comments showed that he apparently had not ?appreciated the essence? of marginalized groups having representatives in Congress even after the Commission on Elections ruling disqualifying Ang Ladlad, a gay group, was roundly criticized.

?That?s foul. I call it doubly appalling. Those comments if really true, were doubly appalling even if it?s made in jest,? De Lima said in an interview.

?The ruling itself of the (Comelec) second division is already appalling as it is? now, these coded comments of the honorable commissioner...(it) is doubly appalling,? she added.

De Lima said gays have been marginalized as ?common objects of discrimination? in Philippine society.

They need to be represented in Congress to push for measures to address their concerns and interests to get rid of that discrimination, she said.

?The issue here is discrimination and discrimination is a human rights issue,? she added.

De Lima said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) would support Ang Ladlad in its fight to be allowed to run in the May 2010 elections even if the issue reached the Supreme Court.

?We are determining if we should intervene at the Comelec or they might decide to go directly to the Supreme Court,? she said.

?Their No. 1 enemy right now is time. They only have how many days because (Comelec) has to finalize the list of party-list groups because that would be included in the ballot. So, time is running out,? she said.

De Lima, a well-known election lawyer before she was appointed CHR chair, said Ang Ladlad might go to the Supreme Court, but there was also the danger of the tribunal junking its petition ?on a technicality.?

?That?s because you usually have to file a motion for reconsideration with the Comelec en banc first. But of course, there are exceptions to the general rule like cases with urgent necessity,? she said.

?But we will support them. That was relayed to Ang Ladlad already. We will definitely support,? she added.