Rights vs.

Culture

The topic of gender has always been a sensitive topic to most people. On one hand there are
those who support the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) community, and on the
other hand, there are those with more conservative views who do not. There has always been a debate
whether the rights of the LGBTQ people should be protected, as per the conditions of the Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Bill, and even then, the bill itself is still a proposed
legislation, which means that it is still not official yet. Even so, given these facts, therein lies the question
of whether the SOGIE Bill be should be approved. And the answer to that should be no, the SOGIE Bill
should not be approved by the Congress of the Philippines.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Gender refers to the socially constructed
characteristics of women and men – such as norms, roles and relationships of and between groups of
women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed.” With the term “socially
constructed”, it can be said that the notion of gender is different from place to place; different from
culture to culture. In the Philippines however, and according to Filipino poet and critic Lilia Quindoza
Santiago, Filipino culture may have a more flexible concept of gender; kasarian (Tagalog for "gender") is
defined in less binary terms than the English word; the word kasarian can mean "kind, species, or
genus". And in the Philippines, the term kasarian has always been interchanged between sex and
gender, with sex pertaining to the biological differences between male and female. With that said there
are two main points to be addressed in this topic

First of all, the societal views of the masses cannot be changed on a whim. Even in the
Philippines’ pre-colonial era, the Filipinos have been tolerant of the concept of modern day LGBTQ, this
is shown by the worship of the Tagalog deity Lakambati, who was said to have both the reproductive
organs of male and female or a hermaphrodite, or as modern interpretations have stated, a
transgender. Even the babaylans, who were typically female spiritual leaders, akin to priests or
shamans in native communities, can also be taken by males who crossed genders, and were
called asog. However, through conversion of the Spanish to Christianity, we have been taught to
treat those who are not considered male or female in poor taste. This also branches out to hate
those who wish to change the sex that they are born with. And so, in modern times, we are
presented with a country whose beliefs mostly adheres that there are only two sexes and two
genders.

Other countries, on the other hand show to have accepted the LGBTQ community.
Coincidentally or not, some of these countries also happen to be first world countries. Notably, as of
2019, 28 countries recognize same-sex marriage, to list some of the more well known, they are:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States. It brings up a point that
these countries, compared to the Philippines who is ranked 23rd as one of the more liberal countries
in the world as of 2019, happen to have a much more progressive society than us as they focus
more on ones capability in society than what genitals one was born with.

And lastly, the SOGIE Bill in itself is flawed. The SOGIE Bill is intended to prevent various
economic and public accommodation-related acts of discrimination against people based on their sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression and the fact remains that those who are not involved within
the bill will not be protected, this implies that discrimination against others, such as people with special
needs, will still be, technically, legal. In response to this, the possible solution would be to just change a
bill. It may sound like the easiest solution but, in actuality, it is not. The process of making a bill is a
multistep process, one that can take months or years before it can even be passed. That does not even
include if it will be passed or not. The SOGIE Bill for example, was re-filed by then-senator Miriam
Defensor Santiago on 2016 by the 17th Congress, until today’s 18th Congress, has not been approved.

A concept that would be much better would be to have an anti discrimination bill instead of a
bill that only tackles the expression of gender identity and such. President Rodrigo Duterte himself even
states that he supports "an anti-discrimination law patterned like the one approved in Davao.” This
stated in itself that the government is not against to the passing of anti discrimination bills, and in fact
favors them.

The concept of gender has taken its toll on us Filipinos, what with the news about those of the
LGBTQ community treated poorly. The fact that even until now we choose to decide others’ worth
based on whether you were born with an ovary or a testicle proves how shallow we think. While it is
true that we have the right to both have our own beliefs and voice them out does not mean that we
should not let this become a rift that divides our society. Societal construct or not, whatever gender we
believe we are in, we should be respected by others and not told otherwise.

https://www.who.int/gender-equity-rights/understanding/gender-definition/en/
Garcia, J. Nelia C. (2000). "Performativity, the bakla and the orienting gaze". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 1
(2): 265–281. doi:10.1080/14649370050141140.
"Kasarian." Tagalog-English Dictionary. 2nd. ed. 1986.
"LAKAPATI: The "Transgender" Tagalog Deity? Not so fast…".
Garcia, J. Neil C. "Male Homosexuality in the Philippines: A Short History" (PDF). Retrieved 9 July 2018.
Perper, Rosie (12 June 2019). "The 28 countries around the world where same-sex marriage is legal".
Business Insider. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-most-tolerant-progressive-and-eco-friendly-countries-
2017-1
"Debunking Some Misconceptions About the SOGIE Equality Bill". Preen.ph. March 19, 2018.
https://www.senate.gov.ph/about/legpro.asp

Kontrasepsyon para sa Nasyon

Ang bansang Pilipinas ay puno ng maraming tao. Kahit na hindi isama ang mga turista na nasa
loob at OFW na nasa labas ng ating bansa, ang Pilipinas ay may mahigit na 10 milyong katao na naitala
ngayon lamang Nobyembre 2019. Sa dami ng taong naninirahan sa Pilipinas, at pati na rin sa liit ng lawak
n gating bansa, kailangan na natin bawasan ang ating pagdami di lamang para sa ating mga sarili kundi
sa mga hinaharap na henerasyon din. Ang isang maaaring solusyon para sa suliraning ito ay ang
kontrasepsyon, o contraception sa wikang Ingles. Sa kasalukuyang kondisyon ng ating bansa, ang
kontrasepsyon ay isang bagay na dapat na agad pinatupad.

Hindi maikakaila na ang populasyon ng Pilipinas ay malaki kung ikukumpara sa ibang mga bansa.
Ayon sa tala ng Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Bansa, na mas kilala sa kanilang Ingles na pangalan na United
Nations, ang Pilipinas ay may populasyon na 108,726,377. Ayon sa datos na ito, ang Pilipinas ay
nagtataglay ng 1.4% ng populasyon ng mundo. Bilang pagkukumpara, ang Italya, na halos
magkasinglawak na sakop ng kalupaan sa Pilipinas ay mayoon populasyon na 60,550,075. Dahil ang
Pilipinas ay maliit na bansa lamang ang paggamit ng pagpigil sa pag-aanak ay kinakailangan na natin.

Ang paggamit ng kondom, bilang halimbawa, ang pinakatanyag na uri ng kontrasepsyon. Ang
kondom ay di lamang ginagamit para sa pagpigil sa pag-aanak, kundi para mapanitili na ligtas ang
pagtatalik ng dalawang tao. Ang rason dito ay sa paggamit ng kondom, hindi din maaaring kumalat ang
mga impeksyong nakukuha dahil sa pagtatalik. Kabilang na dito ang sakit na HIV(human
immunodeficiency virus) na maaring magdulot ng AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)
nakakamatay.

Ang isa pang paraan ng pagpigil ay ang paggamit ng birth control pills bago ang pagtatalik. Sa
paggamit ng mga tableta na ito, ang pertilisasyon ay nahahadlangan dahil napipigilan ng mga tableta na
ito ang obulasyon para sa mga babae. Ngunit kahit isa itong paraan na pagpigil sa pag-aanak, ito ay
nagdudulot din ng sakit para sa kababaihan na gagamit nito, kahit gayunpaman, ang paggamit ng tableta
sa pag-pigil ay ang nanatiling pinakatanyag na paraan sa kababaihan dita sa ating bansa.

Kung titignan natin ang Pipipinas sa kasulukuyan, makikita natin na kasama ng kahirapan ang
pagkakaroon ng malaking populasyon na tila hindi na kayang suportahan ng ating bansa. Sa
pagpapatupad ng mga programa na nagpapaibsan sa suliraning ito, masasabi natin na tayo ay nasa
tamang daan upang paunlarin ang bansa at ang mga kapwa nating mamamayan. Dapat ngayon pa
lamang masolusyonan na natin ang suliraning ito sa ating lipunan, dahil kung hindi natin ito gagawin
para sa ating sarili sa kasalukuyan, ang ating mga hinaharap na henerasyon ang mahihirapan.

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/philippines-population/
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/
http://world.bymap.org/LandArea.html
https://psa.gov.ph/content/contraceptive-use-philippines