fullman*

Posts Tagged ‘AKBAYAN’

In a decision dated November 11, 2009, the 2nd Division of the Commission on Elections denied the application for accreditation of Ang Ladlad Party-list, a party-list of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders, on moral grounds.

The decision was obviously penned by apes.

Signed by Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, and Elias Yusoph, the resolution quoted the Bible and the Koran to claim that Ang Ladlad tolerates immorality, and therefore should not be accredited. They said practicing homosexuals are a threat to the youth.

What these statements imply is that these commissioners have been denied something fundamental when they were still kids: love. I am sure that they were never hugged.

They find it perfectly acceptable to issue a resolution – a legal document – that sounds like a pastoral letter from CBCP or a manifesto from a fundamentalist group. They were quick to cite biblical verses or lines from the Koran, but forgot a basic tenet in our Constitution: that we are all equal, regardless of who we are.

They forgot that as commissioners, they are men of law, not men of faith. That the Commission on Elections is an institution of democracy, not a temple. That, as pointed out by an activist, they swore by the Bible to uphold the constitution, not the other way around. The issue is simple: use the law to determine whether a group should be accredited or not. There are no other standards – just the law.

How can we trust the COMELEC to modernize the electoral system when the commissioners still live in the Victorian era? Be wary, because those that that been mandated to automate the elections still believe that the Earth is the center of the universe. It is said that they weed out from the voters’ list women who are as outspoken as Etta Rosales, and they use tawas to make counting machines fool-proof and fraud-free.

But wariness is not enough. This bigotry is unacceptable. So I, Jonas Bagas, gay since birth, a practicing homosexual (occasionally during weekdays, but mostly during weekends), join my  fellow lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders condemning this farce. We won’t take this sitting down. I am a proud member of another LGBT-friendly party-list, AKBAYAN, and I will join Ang Ladlad in this struggle against bigotry in our ballots.

If you want to be part of this fight, then join us this Saturday, November 14, 2009, at 9 AM at the University Hotel of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, QC. We will fight back, and we will recruit more.

GMA's surprise visit during AKBAYAN's National Congress

So President GMA – Gloria Macapal Ayoko – paid AKBAYAN a suprise visit during the Opening Ceremonies of its 4th Regular National Congress and the launching of Risa Hontiveros’ senatorial bid. Below is the speech she delivered.

Senator Jovy Salonga; Senator Noynoy Aquino; Professor Randy David, my future opponent in the second district of Pampanga (sarcastic) good luck to you; members and officers of AKBAYAN na alam ko naman na ayaw nyo talaga sa akin; ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant (pause) hellooo.

For the longest time AKBAYAN especially your representatives in congress have been a pain the ass but I have found ways to get back at you guys. But past is past. Natutuwa ako dahil sa wakas ay natanggap na ng AKBAYAN that I am, after all, a great president. This opportunity to speak to you today is a concrete step towards national unity, reconciliation, beautification, glorification and evaporation. Salamat AKBAYAN at na-realize nyo na that I am not really guilty of any crime (winks).  Ang Hello Garci, NBN-ZTE at fertilizer scam ay mga minor lapse in judgment lamang. Very minor lang yan at wala naman talagang  malisya tulad ng pagpili kay Carlo Caparas bilang national artist at ang one million pesos na bill para sa dinner sa New York. In fact, kahit ang pagpunta ko dito ay lapse in judgement din. For this, please allow me to say (slowly) I am sorry.

Let me tell you that I am not looking forward to the senatorial candidacy of this Risa Hontiveros. Nasa kongreso palang siya, masakit na siya sa bangs. Pati ang statement of assets and liabilities ko pinakikialaman. Don’t get me wrong I have no ill feelings for this Risa Hontiveros. Its just that she is not my type. She represents everything that I am not. I have feeling she is my anti-matter. She is tall on virtues while I am short (pause) on everything. St. Scholastica siya noong high school, Assumption naman ako. Si Risa laging nakikiisa sa sambayanan, samantalang ako laging pinagkakaisahan ng sambayanan. Si Risa nakulong na, ako (teasing) hindi pa. Si Risa byuda, ako (pause) sana. FG I love you. At higit sa lahat, si Risa magsesenador na, ako naman magkokongresista.

But I have to give this Risa Hontiveros an A for persistence. Kahit binomba ng bumbero sa  mendiola, kahit hinuli ng mga pulis sa welcome rotonda at kahit tinggalan ko pa ng pork barrel ay hindi pa rin natitinag at tuloy parin ang paglaban sa akin. Risa Hontiveros kung sa mga SONA ko hindi ka nakikinig, pwes ngayon makinig ka. I have three words for you, (slowly) “I will never endorse you for senator in 2010.”

I, thank you.

*Speech was written by Percival Cendana, Deputy Secretary of AKBAYAN, a certain “Wilma Mae”, and Josel Gonzales, a salingkit in AKBAYAN’s Gay and Lesbian Collective. Photos by Marlon Cornelio of AKBAYAN-Youth.