LGBTQIA+ national census underway – group

MANILA, Philippines — A national census of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community is underway, according to the Equality Alliance.

“The Equality Alliance has agreed that we should conduct in the next six months, a national census on the number of LGBTQIA+ individuals in the country. So never in the history of our country have we had this kind of census,” Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman said in an interview on Friday.

Equality Alliance,  a broad league of organizations calling for the passage of the  Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression (SOGIE) bill, will carry out the nationwide census through its wide network as tapping traditional polling firms is costly.

Various groups call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify the SOGIE Equality bill as urgent during a press conference in Quezon City on Friday, June 14, 2024. This photo shows members of the Equality Alliance, which include Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman. INQUIRER.net/Jean Mangaluz

READ: Marcos urged to certify SOGIE bill as urgent

Roman, a member of Equality Alliance and staunch proponent of the SOGIE bill, underscored the importance of the LGBTQIA+ census especially in politics.

She also said the national head count will allow LGBTQIA+ groups to properly record cases of gender-based abuse.

“We want to constitute ourselves as a strong lobby because it seems that politicians will only listen to us if they realize that we are many,” she said.

In her district in Bataan, Roman said LGBTQIA+ population is around 6,000.