MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE) Being gay is neither a sin nor a sickness, party list Ang Ladlad told the Supreme Court as it asked the high tribunal to reverse the November 2009 ruling of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) denying their application for accreditation on the ground of immorality.
In its 26-page petition for certiorari, Ang Ladlad, led by professor and writer Danton Remoto said the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, made conclusions unsupported by records and committed several violations of the constitution.
The Comelec in its ruling invoked Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) - dealing with the glorification of criminals, violence in shows, obscene publications, lustful or pornographic exhibitions - to support its decision that Ang Ladlad espouses doctrines contrary to public morals.
?Homosexuality per se does not fall within the ambit of the penal law,? petitioners said.
?Even granting that Ang Ladlad publicly espoused the principle of tolerance towards diverse sexual-orientations that by itself may not constitute immorality. Religious scholars are not unanimous in their interpretation [of the pertinent Biblical passages]. It is a well-known fact that until now, Scriptural hermeneutics or exegeses particularly of Paul's writings to the Gentiles, the pagans or idolatrous Romans, are being contested or subjected to debate by Biblical scholars. The contextual milieu within which the statement was issued by Paul may thus not necessarily apply to the herein petitioner, much less to its application for registration."
It added that ?Despite historical views of homosexuality, it is no longer viewed by mental health professionals as a ?disease? or disorder. But, obviously, neither is it simply a matter of deliberate personal election. Homosexual orientation may well form part of the very fiber of an individual's personality. Consequently, under Justice White?s analysis in Powell, the Eighth Amendment may pose a constitutional barrier to sending an individual to prison for acting on that attraction regardless of the circumstances. An individual's ability to make constitutionally protected ?decisions concerning sexual relations,? is rendered empty indeed if he or she is given no real choice but a life without any physical intimacy.?
Petitioners said that the Comelec?s ruling that they failed to comply with the requirements under the law was baseless. They maintained that they have complied with the requirements set by the law, but that the Comelec stood by the penal provision, which they allegedly violated.
?The refusal by the Comelec to register Ang Ladlad as a party-list candidate to the 2010 elections continuously imperils the chances of the LGBT community to have its sectoral representative in Congress,? they said.
They said the high court ?should immediately overturn the utterly invidious Resolutions of the COMELEC. It is the duty of the Philippines to uphold the right to sexual orientation and gender identity.?
