Pride March set on Saturday

A protest and a party was how organizers of the Metro Manila Pride March envisioned their program on Saturday which would gather members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.

On its 23rd year, however, the longest-running Pride March in Southeast Asia also aims to welcome everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, to fight discrimination and stand for empowerment.

Loreen Ordoño, program co-coordinator, said their fight remains even after two decades of struggle.

“We march for the people who came before us, we march for the people who can’t and we march for the people who stand with us, here together,” she said.

With the theme “Here Together,” an expected 6,000 members of the LGBTQ community and its allies would gather in Marikina, a historic first for the city, to celebrate the “biggest safe space” for LGBTQ Filipinos.

This year’s festivities will be anchored on the passage of antidiscrimination bills both in the Senate and House of Representatives.

The legislation has been languishing in Congress for the past 17 years.

An online survey conducted by the group in April showed that the top issues experienced by the LGBTQ community were lack of acceptance and violence at home, discrimination in the workplace and bullying in schools.

This year’s festival will kick off at noon with the Proud Street Fair, a marketplace for LGBTQ-friendly businesses, at Marikina Plaza de los Alcaldes. The march will begin at 4 p.m. —Jhesset O. Eñano