Last 11 November 2009, COMELEC officially denied Ang Ladlad the chance to participate in the 2010 party list elections. COMELEC said that Ang Ladlad advocates doctrines that are immoral, and that it promotes the abuse of the youth by older gay men. COMELEC cited the Holy Bible and the Koran as the basis for calling Ang Ladlad immoral.

Ang Ladlad is a national organization of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT) that advocates the human rights of LGBTs in the Philippines. It has been trying to participate in the party list elections since its inception in 2003, and it has been twice denied accreditation.

In 2007, Ang Ladlad was denied participation in the party list elections because, according to COMELEC, there are no gays and lesbians outside Metro Manila; they said that Ang Ladlad only represents the Metro Manila community. As a side comment, then COMELEC chairperson Ben Abalos said that gays and lesbians will not vote for Ang Ladlad; gays and lesbians are too embarrased to come out during the day, so they make like phantoms, coming out only in the dark.

COMELEC raises fresh hell in 2009 by calling all gays and lesbians immoral. According to the COMELEC resolution,Ang Ladlad "tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs. In Romans 1:26, 27, Paul wrote:

'For this cause God gave them up into vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet'.

In the Koran, the hereunder verses are pertinent:

'For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women "ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." (7.81). "And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime!" (7:84) "He said: "0 my Lord! Help Thou me against people who do mischief!"(29:30).'

I will not even attempt to enter the discourse of religion in order to defend Ang Ladlad and my lifestyle. That discussion is best left among me, my Church, and my God. However, this arena that COMELEC belongs to is a political arena, and the discourse should be politico-legal. The COMELEC decision should have been based on legal documents and existing public policy; COMELEC did not provide any, and it lifted its judgment entirely from the Bible and the Koran.

My problem with the COMELEC decision is that it invariably violates the separation of church and state, and that it presupposes that the Bible and Koran are legal documents when they are not meant to be so. It would be so funny if it weren't so sad that guardians of our most sacred ballots are idiots whose pompous self-righteousness are horribly misplaced.

Using the Bible and the Koran to disqualify Ang Ladlad is like using a biology textbook to prove the existence of God: the material used is grossly disproportionate to the dimension of discussion. The Bible cannot be used to define what is legally moral: it is a document that was not designed to function that way. Precedents from earlier cases on morality, documented legal cases, and accepted public policy should be used for this purpose. If COMELEC decides to disqualify Ang Ladlad on the basis of morals and good customs, it cannot use the Bible and Koran. COMELEC should look somewhere else.

Also, the passages quoted by COMELEC were lifted from www.bible.org. The commisioners did not even bother to pop open a Bible.

The COMELEC decision also includes a quote from Lehmann Strauss: "Older practicing homosexuals are a threat to the youth." The quote was also taken from the internet, the very same www.bible.org. COMELEC relied on Strauss as the authoritative source for this declaration.

Lehman Strauss may have been a good man, but he is hardly an authoritative source for matters as complex as sexual orientation and religion. He worked as a pastor from 1939 to 1963, and he hosted a radio show. Apart from that, I cannot find any information on his published studies.

I am gay, am growing old, but am definitely not threatening the morals of the youth. As my good friend said, "Hindi tayo THREAT. In fact, tayo nga ay mga TREAT to the youth."

The COMELEC decision was poorly founded, ill-researched, and badly written. It was wrong to use the Bible and Koran in a politico-legal discussion; the COMELEC should start going through official documents of the Supreme Court, like any other implenter of public policy should. They should visit a library soon, and leave the internet to the youth who are trying to find love in their lives. They should also mind their own business, because whom we fuck is our business, not the government's.

Current Mood: angry