Spare us the Bible verses, transgender solon tells critics

Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman. GREG REFRACCION/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON FILE PHOTO

Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, the country’s first transgender congresswoman, on Tuesday said that so-called “men of God” should spare the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community from Bible verses.

“This is part of who we are, we did not choose (this), kaya utang na loob, spare us the Bible verses kasi hindi naman applicable lahat,” Roman said in an interview with INQ&A.

Roman, who is also a Catholic, urged people not to judge on what’s between the legs, but what’s inside the heart.

And while she hit Bible-quoting critics, Roman brandished her own theology by saying God is greater than the Bible.

“If you do not have love, mercy, and compassion in your heart, kahit kabisaduhin mo pa iyan from Genesis to Revelation, your knowledge is useless. Doon tayo sa essence. That’s how I reconcile, being Catholic and being transgender,” she said.

“Malay n’yo, kaya ginawa ng Diyos ang LGBT community ay para subukan kung paano kayo magtatrato sa amin, malay n’yo isang malaking pagsubok lang ito,” Roman added.

The solon also said that there is no problem if a transgender person dresses to his or her gender identity. “Ano ba naman ang problema doon?” she asked.

“Ito ngang mga nagsasabi, mayroon pa ngang nagku-quote, ‘o dapat ang lalaki, bihis lalaki,’ lalaki and vice versa, Old Testament iyon… tanong ko rin sa mga nagci-cite ng Bible verse, kayo ba kumakain ng mga walang kaliskis na seafood?” Roman said.

Senator Manny Pacquiao last week traded Biblical lines with Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is also a staunch supporter of equality, when they debated over her bill that seeks to stop and penalize discrimination on the basis of gender identity, including a person’s nonconforming clothing choices such as cross-dressing.

READ: Pacquiao, Hontiveros trade Bible quotes over cross-dressing

Pacquiao, who is known to be religious and conservative, noted that in the Bible, “there are only two types of persons—a man and a woman,” and said that men and women must adhere to the gender into which they were born, and wear clothes specifically made for their gender.

“It is not the outside, it is what comes from the heart,” Roman said. CBB