Naomi Testifies At Philippine Congress Hearing

Y'all know I have much love for my transpinay sister Naomi Fontanos, who is the Executive Director of GANDA Filipinas.

Was thrilled to hear she spoke at a December 5 (Philippine time) Philippine House of Representatives hearing as a resource person.  It was for a Committee on Women and Gender Equality (CWGE) hearing on proposed national anti-discrimination measures.   Multiple bills have been filed in the Philippine Congress to protect the human rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters in that nation

I'm exceedingly proud of Naomi, our transpinay and transpinoy sisters and brothers, and our allies there who have worked tirelessly for years to make this day happen.  

Let's hope and pray the arc of the moral universe is bending toward justice and human rights for our trans cousins in the Philippines.   Let's also hope that their testimony legislators heard opened hearts and minds, leads to legislative passage and heralds the beginning of a marvelous 2014 human rights wise for all of us around the world. 

Here's what Naomi had to say about it courtesy of her FB page:

Spoke at Philippine Congress in a hearing on anti-discrimination legislation and was overjoyed that more than one bill to protect the rights of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Filipinos had been filed in the House of Representatives.

I was happy, too, that representatives from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other agencies expressed their full support to end all forms of discrimination in the Philippines. This, certainly, did not happen overnight and is the product of the hard work of activists and allies who came before us. I am grateful to them for making this moment possible. I also want to thank activists of the present time who work tirelessly and sometimes anonymously but always lovingly to make sure that those who will come after us will have, hopefully, a better quality of life.

Dios mabalos sa indo gabos! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! Thank you all so very much!

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 Your trans cousins here in the States and around the world hope that the better life you're working towards for you and future generations happens sooner rather than later.