RAINBOW COLORS. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Baguio City celebrate pride month with a street parade along Session Road and performances at the Igorot Park on Saturday, June 24.. (Jethro Bryan S. Andrada)
BAGUIO CITY – Over 500 members of the LGBTQIA+ community, along with several other groups and organizations marched along Session Road to celebrate Pride month on Saturday, June 24.
A short program that featured solidarity messages from gender groups and performances from several organizations and drag queens was also held at Igorot Park.
The main advocacy of the pride festivities in Baguio City this year was the immediate passage of the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation Or Gender Identity Or Expression) bill, a piece of legislation that has yet to become law since its first filing 23 years ago.
“We hope they (Congress) feel the urgency. Northern Luzon and Baguio are showing force here, showing their numbers, (and urging them) to pass the bill,” Northern Luzon Pride co-chairperson Herson Arcega said.
“It’s important for us to go out in the streets and for us to do these kinds of events to shed light on discrimination and to show that many are fighting for the passage of the SOGIE Equality bill,” Julia Soriano, the other co-chairperson of Northern Luzon Pride, added.
(Jethro Bryan S. Andrada)
Wage hike, end to violence
Apart from the SOGIE bill, however, the attendees also called for higher wages for workers and the end of state-sponsored violence.
Soriano said these sentiments were also included in Baguio pride since there was recognition of “the intersectionality of the struggles” of the LGBTQIA+ community with other sectors of society.
“All calls are welcome, not only for LGBT rights,” she added.
Arcega and Soriano said that for this year’s pride festivities, another goal was also to involve local LGBTQIA+ artists and drag queens.
Artists
Before the parade, a three-day pride fair was organized at Igorot Park which featured pride merchandise made by local artists.
“We have to support LGBTQ artists so their experiences can be portrayed and shown to more people,” Soriano explained.
Arcega said that as a creative city, Baguio houses a large number of queer artists who deserve to be featured and who were “a big help in making this event (Pride month) a success.”
Drag performers “The Emerald’ and “Faze’ also took the spotlight at the end of the pride parade with two lip sync performances.
“We have a lot of local drag queens here in Baguio, and they are very talented. We’ve really seen their growth,” Arcega added.