Michael Ellis of Chicago on his relationship with Jesus “Jheq” Bacsal of Laguna province: “Some things you just know. We love each other.” RAFFY LERMA
Love won, 15 times over, in a mass wedding for gay couples at a covered court in Barangay (village) Sangandaan, Quezon City, on Sunday afternoon.
The collective Rite of Holy Union was conducted by the LGBTS (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight) Christian Church Inc. which has held four mass unions for the LGBT community in the Philippines since its formation in 2006. It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a religious society.
The church’s founding pastor, Rev. Crescencio “Ceejay” Agbayani Jr., considered Sunday’s ceremony the “most historic” following the US Supreme Court’s ruling allowing same-sex marriages in all 50 states and a similar petition pending in the Philippine Supreme Court.
In May, lawyer Jesus Nicardo Falcis III asked the high tribunal to nullify portions of the country’s Family Code which limits marriage to a union between a man and a woman.
“This is a statement of support for Attorney Falcis. We are asking the Supreme Court to recognize our weddings,” Agbayani said in an interview before the mass wedding.
He pointed out that the Constitution, in protecting the right of spouses to found a family, does not specify that a couple should be a man and a woman.
Agbayani admitted, however, that compared to the sacrament of matrimony, the Rite of Holy Union does not have a “legal entity” in the Philippines. But in other countries where same-sex marriages are valid, the certificate of Holy Union issued to gay couples is recognized as “proof of togetherness.”
Despite knowing that the ceremony was not legally binding, trans man Julie “Jayem” Morta, 30, and his bisexual partner, Verlyn Castillo, 28, decided to join the mass wedding not only to cement their union but to make a public statement as well.
The pair has been living together in Pasig City for the past six years. Two years ago, they adopted one-month-old Julian who acted as their ring-bearer.
But all is not well in Castillo’s family. She has been staying with Morta and his family because her father wanted them “out of his sight,” according to Morta.
For equality, legality
“We want the people, the Supreme Court to realize that this [wedding] can happen. We are doing this for equality. We are asking for a chance and for legality,” said Morta as the Inquirer interviewed him while he was getting dressed for the wedding and Castillo was getting her makeup done.
For partners Manilyn “Glenn” Carillo and Jennifer Corsiga, their reason for joining the mass wedding was to have their year-old union “blessed.”
“I want to prove that I love her. That she is the one I want to be with my whole life,” Carillo said in an interview before exchanging vows with Corsiga. Carillo added: “We also want to adopt a child, maybe in four years or so. We just want to have a normal life.”
For couple Jesus “Jheq” Bacsal, 28, and Michael Ellis, 38, Sunday’s wedding was an expression of their long-distance love for the past two years. Bacsal hails from Laguna province while Ellis is from Chicago. They have been communicating most of the time online.
“We’re both ‘commitment’ kind of guys. We believe that when you feel that strongly about somebody, it’s like putting all your chips on the table. We’re lucky we found each other somehow. We were able to maintain our relationship over two years, 84,000 miles apart,” Ellis said, grinning beside his groom in an interview before the wedding.
Holding Bacsal close, Ellis said the decision to tie the knot was made during his first time in the Philippines last year. “We knew we can have a long-term relationship. We clicked in all the right ways. Some things you just know. We love each other,” he added.
Ellis said though that he also planned to marry Bacsal in Chicago but he wanted to spend time with his partner’s friends and family in the Philippines.
Bacsal, meanwhile, told reporters that while their relationship was widely accepted in their community in Laguna province, they had to contend with gossipers.
“When you’re at least 10 feet away, that’s the only time they say mean things. Nobody has ever criticized us to our face,” he told the Inquirer.
Asked to react to criticisms that their weddings contradict religious teachings, Morta replied: “We don’t consider this immoral because we love each other.”
Corsiga was firm in her belief that the US Supreme Court ruling could also happen in the Philippines, saying, “There are already so many pushing for it here. So it’s not impossible.”