Pubmat by Raymond Tayag

Mark 12:30-31 NIV

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You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, 

It is no hidden fact that the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic and conservative country. 81.04% of the population identify as Roman Catholics, Catholicism and the church both have large influences on our political and social environments, and centuries worth of this has perpetuated conservative ideologies throughout the country. 

While it is true—and somewhat comforting to some—that in these present times the majority of the country has grown and adapted to a more progressive, accepting, and liberal version of itself, it would be naïve to assume that ages of hate would be buried so soundly, so soon. With harmful and stereotypical portrayals in media, homophobic bills, and online hate speech; time and time again we are made to face the reality that even in the modern world we claim to be in, nothing will ever truly rid us of the backward and medieval thinking passed on from generation to generation. 

and with all your soul,

Data from the Philippine LGBT Hate Crime Watch, dated from 1996 to June 2012 tell us that 164 people from the LGBTQIA+ community have been murdered for no reason other than their sexuality. This fact becomes increasingly appalling as it forces us to realize that when it comes to the conversation of protecting the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community that includes their basic right to be alive as well; because as much as we like to delude ourselves that crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community halt at baseless bashing on the Internet or being angry with them for throwing pride parades, that is painfully far from the truth. 

Along with the truth of these people who have been killed, comes the reality that people don’t even care enough to update statistics that came from eight years in the past. Almost a decade later, people might seem to care less and grow even angrier. What about Jennifer Laude, who was killed and stripped of even a mere slither of justice by former President Duterte? What about Estee Saway, a transgender teacher who was murdered in broad daylight just last month? What about, what about, what about…

It is so easy to say that everyone is vulnerable to violence or that it is unfair that such focus is being put on one community when there are others out there that might be just as vulnerable. But it is also easy to take a moment to think and realize that pain is not a competition. No one deserves to feel afraid just for being alive and belittling their suffering by comparing it and defining it as a universal experience is nothing more than a disgusting display of ignorance and privilege. 

No other community in our country experiences this kind of hate, pain, and judgment for only being who they are. People who the law considers the “usual” or the “normal”, are able to live freely unafraid of being harassed, assaulted, or murdered on the street based on their sexuality or gender identity; while those who do not fit into that category have to fight, constantly, for their lives and their rights. 

So, how is it fair that despite heterosexual people being able to live peacefully, unbothered, and quite frankly the opposite of oppressed, that some individuals find it necessary to file bills that aim to protect rights that have never been threatened, under the same roof that refuses to pass a bill which aims to protect the rights of the people who constantly are? This does nothing more than legitimize and emphasize the oppression that the LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines experiences. 

The hatred is political, it is systemic. 

 and with all your mind, 

One of the largest and most used arguments used against this community often traces back to religiosity and its teachings of it. When religion and a painful grip on past practices are the only ammo in the arsenal to protect them from a world that threatens them to think critically and realize their lack; it becomes clear to most how powerful cowardice disguised as prejudice can be. 

Genesis 19:1-11… Leviticus 18:22… Leviticus 20:13… Judges 19:16-24… 

Read the Bible, memorize it, and live by it; but never, ever follow more than what is applicable and convenient for you. 

God will forgive you for your lying, your lust, your adultery, and your stance against the death penalty. God will forgive you for being a drunkard [Galatians 5:19–21], God will forgive you for being tattooed [Leviticus 19:28], God will forgive you for spreading speeches of hate, God will forgive you for condemning an innocent to hell, God will forgive you for wishing death on someone else, and God will forgive you for being an overall despicable human being because nowhere is the point of no return, and God is always forgiving and accepting, but only when  you decide for him to be so.

The Bible is filled with symbolism and teachings sometimes interpreted to weaponize them against a group of individuals you choose to hate because you have convinced yourself God has told you to do so. So, when you go to sleep at night and the voices of the people you continue to oppress and villainize creep up on you, remember that you do it, all of it, for your correct, imaginary god. The one you made up in your head, the one so different from the God we grew up to believe in.

and with all your strength…

Brazen hate crimes, harmful language, and even more harmful laws are still being painted into the world. Whether it is under the false pretenses of conservatism—people just wanting to keep to tradition or who have a difficult time letting go of old ideas—or under the disguise as the will of God by people who only ever seek religion when it is convenient for them, it is moronic and shallow to believe that just because hateful actions have “reason” that it immediately negates the horrid effects they cause. 

No matter the reasons, no matter the roots, and no matter how different the beliefs you hold close to your heart are, what has ever made the destruction and devastation of a community sound so celebratory? When have oppression, repression, criminal speech and acts ever been taught to be the “right thing”? When will the fight ever be enough to make others see that the ones they’re fighting against are only just people, just like them?

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But the second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no other commandment greater than these.