The Aquino administration will continue to push for the rights of lesbians,
gays, bisexeuals and transgenders even as the issue of same-sex marriage remains
out of the government’s legislative agenda.
“We’ve always pushed for equality,” deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said following a report ranking the Philippines as among the few gay-friendly countries in the world.
“Non-discrimination is something that we really abide by,” Valte said.
According to the survey conducted by the US-based Pew Research Center, 73 percent of adult Filipinos agreed with the statement that “homosexuality should be accepted by society.”
The figure was up by nine percentage points from 2002 and placed the Philippines at tenth spot among the 17 countries that were found to be gay-friendly.
The percentage of Filipinos who said society should not accept gays also fell from 33 percent in 2002 to 26 percent this year.
The survey showed the level of acceptance in the Philippines is even higher than in Japan, South Korea or the United States, where some states allow same sex marriage.
But Valte said the administration had not discussed the possibility of allowing gay marriages.
“We’ve not had any discussion on that particular point,” she said.
In 2011 President Benigno Aquino III said same-sex marriage, in principle, should be a personal choice.
But he expressed reservations on allowing gay couples to adopt children.
“It is their choice. Normally I would say, you’re adults, you should be able to do whatever you want so long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else,” Mr. Aquino said during an open forum with members of the Asia Society in New York in September 2011.
See the source article at this link
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/06/10/malacanang-pushes-for-gay-rights/
“We’ve always pushed for equality,” deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said following a report ranking the Philippines as among the few gay-friendly countries in the world.
“Non-discrimination is something that we really abide by,” Valte said.
According to the survey conducted by the US-based Pew Research Center, 73 percent of adult Filipinos agreed with the statement that “homosexuality should be accepted by society.”
The figure was up by nine percentage points from 2002 and placed the Philippines at tenth spot among the 17 countries that were found to be gay-friendly.
The percentage of Filipinos who said society should not accept gays also fell from 33 percent in 2002 to 26 percent this year.
The survey showed the level of acceptance in the Philippines is even higher than in Japan, South Korea or the United States, where some states allow same sex marriage.
But Valte said the administration had not discussed the possibility of allowing gay marriages.
“We’ve not had any discussion on that particular point,” she said.
In 2011 President Benigno Aquino III said same-sex marriage, in principle, should be a personal choice.
But he expressed reservations on allowing gay couples to adopt children.
“It is their choice. Normally I would say, you’re adults, you should be able to do whatever you want so long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else,” Mr. Aquino said during an open forum with members of the Asia Society in New York in September 2011.
See the source article at this link
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/06/10/malacanang-pushes-for-gay-rights/
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