BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Lester Dellosa BICOL What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? LD: Every day as a Queer Filipino on the autism spectrum feels like living inside a kaleidoscope, each moment bright, vivid, and a little bit unexpected. I’m constantly tuning into every sound, color, and social cue, all while deciding how much of my spontaneous, flamboyant self to share in a straight, neurotypical world. Presenting myself as “normal” when I don’t fit that box feels like a performance; I weigh each word, each gesture, to keep both myself and those around me safe. Literally a talent, letting my queer light shine brilliantly, but not so blinding that it eclipses others. Yet in that balance lies my power, an unapologetically authentic experience that honors every facet of who I am. I live in the coastal city of Legazpi City, Albay, and every time I step out wearing something gay or flamboyant, I immediately feel like a fish out of water. I vividly remember the very first time I walked out wearing a skirt, whispers, sideways glances, and the occasional sly laugh. They'd give me a feeling that I'm a lone sirena on land, and my liberated, queer self was a surprise in a place where tradition runs deep.  Compared to Manila, queer energies pulse through every street corner. Here in the province, that same freedom moves more slowly, but it’s no less powerful. It felt weird being highlighted by my queer choices back then, but as years passed, Legazpi City has grown more tolerant of queer personalities and is slowly progressing. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? LD: What I’d love every Filipino to know is that queer energies in Bicol are as loving as our sea, yet as fierce and uncontainable as the Mayon Volcano. We’re far from the quiet margins, you’ll catch us dancing at barrio fiestas, wearing rainbow anikaniks to silently banner ourselves, and turning every sidewalk into a runway. So next time you think of LGBTQIA+ Filipinos, know that in Bicol, we don’t just survive, we erupt in color and resilience. https://www.instagram.com/its.lestah/ Photographer: Chinitong Mandaragat  ( https://www.instagram.com/chinitongmandaragat/ )

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Ron Roxas LAGUNA What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? CC: I’m Ron Roxas, a 23-year-old BS Clothing Technology student and fashion designer from UP Diliman. Growing up queer in the province of Laguna, my safe space lies only in our house, particularly in my room playing dolls with my sisters. This safe space shrunk smaller as I faced homophobia beyond the four corners of our home, when I was teased using “bakla” as some sort of insult by my classmates.  Afraid to be labelled differently, I was forced to conform — “masc”-ing my femininity and keeping my true identity to myself. This gradually changed when I became surrounded by people who made me feel embraced for who I am, like my supportive family and The Haus, a fashion organization I joined in my senior high school. Personally, the university, having a progressive image, serves as a safe space for queer people in contrast to the harsh realities of homophobia and bigotry more commonly faced in the larger society. This enables me to be comfortable to live my truth and freely express my flamboyant self. This further emancipated me in reclaiming my identity I almost once lost. In result, this space also allowed me to foster and enrich my creativity freely through my fashion designs — serving as a healing medium to relive my childhood queerness of playing dress-ups. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? Firstly, I want people to realize how troubling it is for me to find my safe space miles away from the province where I grew up. I know how times are already changing, especially whenever I go home and I observe lesser glares when they see me wearing skirts and heels as I commute. On the other hand, I do recognize that being able to study in such prestigious university is a privilege and so is having this safe bubble for me as a queer person. I’m lucky, most queer people I know don't have their classrooms as a safeguard from discrimination. Some have it worse where their institutions enable and are perpetrators of hate crime. But we have to understand that such safe space is still a bubble, very much vulnerable, especially when it comes to stepping outside of it and facing the glaring reality we live in. It is necessary for us to expand such safe spaces for queer people everywhere in our country. It is our right to feel like we don’t have to worry about how we dress, act, talk, and how our environment will respond to it. The dangers of homophobia and transphobia is real — trans people are being killed; HIV is being stigmatized and weaponized against queer people; and the list goes on. That’s why we must continue to fight for the passing of the SOGIE Equality Bill, because somewhere out there a young queer person needs this protection — a reminder that the society is capable of loving everyone. https://www.instagram.com/rnrxs/ Photographer: Wilmark Jolindon  ( https://www.instagram.com/thewilmark/ )

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Krystahl Guina BUKIDNON What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? KG: As I have observed and experienced as a queer person living in this world, it is both filled with ease and hardship. Due to the influences of colonialism, the world has changed its views on “queerness”;  It alters its history and remarks that the natural world is only binary. Discrimination, prejudice, and racism has been experienced by both young and adult queers, worse to happen is death. But after all these negative things, goodness will uplift and shine those people with a good heart. A lot of indigenous communities in parts of the Philippines have defended and upheld its culture and history despite the challenges of colonialism and modernity. Many have protected the queerness inside the community that really helps in building the knowledge in knowing the natural world and spirituality. My life has been so blessed and honored growing knowing that I know my roots that became my foundation in protecting my heart and soul from outside influences. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? KG: In the Talaandig-Manobo tribe of Pangantucan, Bukidnon, we call queer people “Babaylan” or “Bantuwing” and we are the healers and warriors of our community. Most of us are Babaylan or shamans and we are the vessel in connecting the physical and spiritual realm. Our presence is vital to the community in maintaining the balance and harmony between human and nature. Possessing the energy of feminine and masculine, our capabilities in understanding human and nature is beyond the scope of colonialist perspective. Prayers and chanting of voices is part of our weapons to fight the colonists in conquering the fundamentals of our [indigenous peoples] identity. I am part of a performing arts group called “Kulahi Pangantucan Performing Arts” and most of us are babaylans. We use our art in awakening the sleeping consciousness of every individual. Our voices, dances, and music is a powerful spiritual force in navigating our identity as Filipinos, Filipinos in the pre-colonial times. My life has been so beautifully shaped by the morality of my ancestors’ heritage. I see the world so differently, different in a way that it radiates to other people in becoming their long lost identity. I will always honor my ancestors for this enlightenment. I will always honor my community for we, the queers, have received so much respect, love and honor. https://www.instagram.com/krystahlguina/

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Cassandra Lucas PARA Ñ AQUE What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? CL : Being trans in the Philippines can feel like living under a spotlight you never asked for. People stare like you’re an exhibit, not a person. There’s still so little awareness around SOGIE, and most would rather stay ignorant than try to understand. It’s like they’d rather pretend we don’t exist. It gets exhausting. Sometimes just stepping outside feels like an act of resistance. But in the middle of all that, I’ve found people who see me as i am, not as a spectacle, but as a whole person. People who make space for me, respect me, and remind me that I deserve to take up space, too. Because of them, I’ve learned to ground myself, to stand taller, and to become more confident in who I am. I’ve learned to stop seeking validation from those who won’t even try to understand and instead, pour love into the people who truly love me back. That’s where my strength comes from. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? CL: I want Filipinos to understand that being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially as a trans person, isn’t just about identity but it’s about everyday survival, safety, and dignity. Where I am, being visibly queer or trans feels like living in a glass box that people would stare, judge, or dismiss you like you’re not fully human. There’s still a lot of ignorance around SOGIE, and many would rather pretend we don’t exist than try to understand. But despite that, I’ve found strength in the people who choose to see me, accept me, and love me. That support has helped me become more grounded, confident, and sure of who I am. So if there’s one thing I’d want Filipinos to know is that we’re not asking for special treatment, just the same right to exist peacefully, proudly, and freely in our own skin. https://www.instagram.com/itsacass/ Photographer: Wilmark Jolindon  ( https://www.instagram.com/thewilmark/ )

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday PB MANILA What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? PB: For the longest time I don't really think on fulfilling my sexual needs with anyone nor having any romantic pursuits, without asking myself why I behave that way. Some would say I was too focused with studies and eventually my career to not bother with sex and/or romance, but I argue that even those career-driven individuals can still have those kinds of desires, to which I don't have. It was until three years ago that I went on a deep dive learning on asexuality and aromanticism, that I confirmed and acknowledged my aroace orientation. I am a closeted aroace, and I only have came out to my close friends. I have not (and have no plans) to come out to my family and relatives. I already sensed their homophobic attitude even way back when I was younger. Why bother coming out to them if they will be dealing with something more misunderstood than the other queer identities they have already prejudiced. They are already aware of my disinterest on pursuing a relationship or starting a family of my own, and I don't need to disclose it to them to validate my stance. On the bright side, I am fortunate and grateful that my close friends accepted me and are supportive when I came out to them. Asexuality and aromanticism are not much fully known here in the Philippines. Even I was not aware that those exist; back then I only know of homosexuality only – it is either you are straight or gay, and nothing else in between. Growing up, I never encountered any resources for information on LGBTQIAP+ (and worse that I was enrolled on a private school where homosexuality is looked down not only by my peers, but also the teachers who express their homophobia against students who are “openly” gay behind closed doors.) Quite later on that I learned about asexuality and aromanticism through the Internet, and through AVEN  ( The Asexual Visibility and Education Network ) I get to interact briefly with fellow aros and aces from around the world. In the Philippines, we have Aromantic and Asexual Support PH , a virtual social learning organization in the Philippines for aromantic and asexual awareness (I used to participate in their community, but I'm currently inactive.) Upon seeing the views and experiences of my fellow aces and aros, I then realized and shared the same lenses as them on how we see society tending to be obsessed with sex and romance. True enough, I grew up being exposed to romantic centered media  – from children stories of “finding true love” and “happily ever after” to teleseryes  that revolve on love triangles, childhood friends to lovers, infidelity, etc. They were entertaining to me, but somehow I cannot connect with them on a level that I see myself getting involved romantically (or sexually) with anyone. I do have my share of having crushes in the past, but I never pursued any of them; I felt something was missing that would convince me to make the move. Whenever my friends have a deep conversation about sex and romance, I always feel disconnected and overwhelmed to the point that I sometimes back out and step away from the conversation. I tried to find fellow aros/aces online and hoping I could befriend at least one, but sadly I found no one to engage further. A friend once told me that I was lucky that I don't feel the need to date anyone. I am aware on how messy dating and romance could be. I have already have been told countless stories of cheating and heartbreaks from my friends. But at the same time, I am also aware on how fulfilling it is to be with someone – living together, having to share resources, supporting each other, and being at one's back in times of happiness and sorrow, you know, all that stuff. It's not helping that I currently live alone, separated cities away from my relatives; and I mostly do everything by myself. Sure, from time to time I step outside, meet up with friends, or sometimes socialize (to my best) on events I'm interested. But at the end of the day, I go home and stay in my room for most of the time alone. As an introvert I'm already used to being alone, and my friends will be always there should I feel lonely. Yet sometimes I wonder if I could see myself be deeply connected with someone in the same way as most people experience, but without the mandatory need for sex and/or romance. For now I am fine for what I have, and I don't feel the need of seeking or waiting for anyone. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? PB: Both aromanticism and asexuality and are spectra of experiences and identities. One's asexual and/or aromantic experiences may be different from another. They are not equivalent for being prude, conservative, or being celibate. Aromantics and asexuals are valid, and they belong to the LGBTQIAP+ community. Arophobia and acephobia does exist, even inside the queer community. Comments such as “You just haven't found the right person” or viewing aro/asexuality as mental illness, or a phase or a choice are discriminatory towards aromantics and asexuals. To be an ally to them, accept and believe them. You may read online resources on aromanticism and asexuality to know and understand more, but you can always ask themselves nicely about it. Lastly, do not assume everyone needs sex or romance to be happy – let them (or rather, anyone) choose their own path.

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Samson B. BATAAN What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? SB: For the most part, it was just dealing with a small town and narrow minds. When I came out to my parents they were understanding. However, when I came out to my sister, she thought it was gross (until she asked me for advice on how to kiss a girl a month later). HAHAHAHAHA. For HS and College, I've mostly been based in QC, but recently, I've been back in my province more and had to interact with my extended family more frequently once again. It honestly wasn't that hard: everybody sort of got it, and I didn't need to really come out. Even with some homophobic comments I receive every now and then, I think everybody just sort of outgrew the stronger sentiments they had before. The world grows, and I think ignorance just dies on its own. I think it's at least true that a homophobe learning that homosexuality isn't bad happens more often than allies becoming homophobes. However, in the post-truth era of growing anti-vaccine truthers, underground incel culture, and anti-trans rhetoric, we have to still do our job and inform people. The work doesn't stop, and being passive isn't going to work anymore if we want to thrive. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? SB: This town doesn't really have queer spaces, but with modernity, it's become easy to connect with people far away so l don't take that for granted. I'm here physically away from my friends, but I will do anything to make my little corner of the world tender and warm. https://www.instagram.com/nn_sns_nnsns/

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Remus BACOLOD What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? R: It means knowing how to be visible without being too seen. People are polite, sometimes even warm, but there is a limit to how much of yourself you’re allowed to show. If you fit into a role they recognize the comic relief, the creative, the friend who never talks about love then you’re tolerated. But anything deeper, anything too real, becomes uncomfortable for them. There is pressure to keep your truth small, especially around family and faith. You learn how to edit yourself, not out of shame, but out of survival. And yet, in spite of that, we still find ways to live fully. We laugh, we love, we make space where there wasn’t any. Queer joy here is not loud, but it is steady. It stays with you, even when no one else is looking. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? R: That we are more than who we appear to be in passing. We are not just your entertainers, your best friends, or your silent relatives. We carry full lives,  complex, ordinary, joyful, and difficult just like anyone else. Many of us move through the world quietly, choosing peace over confrontation, but that doesn’t mean we are any less brave. We love deeply. We work hard. We care about our families, even when we are not fully accepted by them. And while we are often asked to shrink ourselves, we continue to show up. Not just for ourselves, but for each other. I want people to see us not as a category or a trend, but as part of the community, real, present, and deserving of the same respect, dignity, and freedom to live fully. https://www.instagram.com/remusbaudelaire/

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Christian Ray Villanueva CEBU What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? CRV: I recently got engaged, so the meaning of queer feels like it’s shifting for me. My partner is from Belgium, and I’ve always had this pull toward European art and culture. In my work, I always stress that art should transcend culture in some ways, but at the same time, there’s a responsibility to carry your roots with you. I’ve been deeply immersed in my inner world lately. I work closely with my emotions and psychological language. Recently, I’ve been drawn to Jungian themes—the darker, shadowy, raw parts of life. I feel like a hound that’s out for blood, but also like I’m back in this quiet, formative period. It reminds me of being 17 again, when I wasn’t established as an artist yet. I feel like I’m still being shaped, still giving birth to myself in many ways. I try to keep a routine. Breakfast is always one pancake, one egg, four pieces of bacon. For dinner, usually chicken teriyaki. I work in between. I don’t socialize much these days. I try to stay away from gallery openings and events. My life has become quiet, almost monastic. I only keep a few close friends around—the ones I can be silly with. There was a time when my career was blooming, and I found myself constantly sharing, constantly giving. But I realized I was polishing my persona more than actually taking care of myself. These days, I find myself returning to fairytales. My favorite is The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen. I relate to Elisa, silently sewing nettles in a cave to save her brothers. I even have this beautiful perfume with a swan on the back. It smells exactly like the story—ivy-like, rosy, melancholic. I try to write every day. I’ve been craving less of a professional life, and more of a real one. Being queer already makes you feel like an outsider. Add being disabled on top of that, and you end up feeling like an alien everywhere you go. When I was living in Negros, my hometown, I was always alone. My high school classmates had their own lives, and I poured myself into my art. In Cebu for college, it was more of the same. Solitude, work, my foundation, my career. But that quiet loneliness tied to my disability never really left me. I’ve always felt a little separated from the rest of society. Art keeps me company. So do my friends. The creative life is lonely sometimes. I deal with depression and anxiety, but it doesn’t stop me from doing what I want to do. I love reading in the dark with a candle lit. I love cooking for friends, hosting small dinners. When everything feels quiet, Marie-Louise von Franz and the Moomin books keep me company. Last year, some film students visited me at home to film a documentary about my life—my cancer journey. My fiancé was with me, which made it feel safe and familiar. Another time, a different group of students interviewed me in a nearby milk tea shop. These days, I prefer small spaces like that, quiet moments with people who actually care. I’m currently on vacation with my family. I haven’t seen my mom in ten years, and being with her now has reminded me how important it is to have people around who love you not for your achievements, but for who you really are. My fiancé reminds me of that every day. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? CRV: People often expect queerness to be loud—pride flags, parades, boldness. But for some of us, it looks different. I’ve always seen myself as more reclusive. The inner world feels just as real and important as the outer world. That’s something I’ve taken from my love of Jungian psychology. There have been seasons of extroversion in my life, but right now is a season of deep introversion. I feel like a recluse, almost like a monk. I love my solitude. Being queer isn’t always about being loud, and I don’t mean that in a cheeky or dismissive way. I just think there’s a quiet kind of power in it too. I haven’t been as active in queer circles lately—or any circles really. But I still see what’s happening around me. The queer community here is still fighting. It feels 50/50. We hear stories of queer kids, trans people being mistreated. I still struggle with fully coming out to certain people in my family. We have a long way to go, and I think it starts with looking at the roots of all this—the systems that allow discrimination to stay hidden under the surface. https://www.instagram.com/butchlng/

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Khristiandt Lerona MANILA What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? KL: Growing up, I always needed to live authentically and stick to my truth because if I don't, something inside me gets upset. I'd rather live my truth and be ostracized for it rather than pretend. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? KL: In the nightlife community, everyone is welcome and celebrated. There is a place for everyone, whether you are part of the community and are into techno, house, ballroom, hip-hop, or anything you could think of. You just need to find what speaks to your heart and make meaning out of it. https://www.instagram.com/khristiandt/ Photographer: Wilmark Jolindon  ( https://www.instagram.com/thewilmark/ )

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Open Table MCC MANILA What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? OTMCC: Open Table Metropolitan Community Church (Open Table MCC) is an ecumenical and progressive Christian church with a specific outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQIA+) individuals, families, and communities. As queer individuals from diverse backgrounds, we see that visibility is growing but so are the challenges. Many LGBTQIA+ Filipinos still face discrimination in housing, healthcare, and professional settings, as well as rejection from religious institutions and families that should offer care and support. For those of us connected to Open Table MCC, everyday life includes the act of reclaiming space: spiritual, communal, and personal. We’ve found belonging in a faith community where we are free to come as we are. Here, we live out our Statement of Faith: "We are people on a journey, learning to live into our spirituality, while affirming our bodies, our genders, our sexualities." In a society that often asks us to choose between faith and identity, Open Table reminds us that we don’t have to pick one over the other. Both are gifts. Both are holy. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? OTMCC: We want Filipinos to know that being LGBTQIA+ and being a person of faith are not mutually exclusive. At Open Table MCC, we believe in God’s radically inclusive love that embraces all genders, sexualities, and identities. LGBTQIA+ people are not outsiders to faith—we are part of it. We are your siblings, co-workers, neighbors, and churchmates, who live full, complex, sacred lives. Our presence is not a problem to be fixed, but a gift to be received. We invite you to the table not just metaphorically, but spiritually and relationally. Come and be part of God’s wider work of justice, peace, and healing. ( https://www.instagram.com/opentablemcc.ph/ )

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday Jefaye Elli RIZAL What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? JE: Being a queer person in the Philippines may seem loud and colorful, but oftentimes it feels like a battlecry. Although it is wonderful to see an enormous number of youth in this generation having gender sensitivity awareness, we are still asserting our rights, legal protections, fighting against discrimination, and microaggression. It is lovely to see cisgendered people waving at us, smiling, and laughing with us during pride events, drag shows, or every party we are in but on a daily basis, being a queer person still makes me whisper a soft, tiny, shining dream as I blow my candles every year: I want us to be celebrated and not just tolerated. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? JE: Conservatives consider us as someone who needed "cure" for a disease we don't even have. By simple dressing up, expressing yourself as a queer person is something that they still tend to modify. When in fact, our history tells us that even our wonderful ancestors in the precolonial era, the Babaylans, spiritually, culturally, and symbolically represented the transgender and nonbinary identities of people who held high status in our society. They did not care less about the clothes they wore, they did not give a damn about labels, as they broke down gender roles and stereotypes. If there's one thing to be "cured" in this society, it's ignorance. ( https://www.instagram.com/_jefayerytale/ ) Photographer: Edgar Siervo ( Siervo and Photography )

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday arigoggles PASIG What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country? a: The timing of me discovering my queer identity, I happened to be living in Los Angeles (2015-2022), to now living in Manila. It was eye opening to feel the pressure of fitting into the heteronormative expectations in The Philippines, compared to feeling the openness and the privilege of challenging sexuality/gender roles in Los Angeles.   But what I love about the queer scene here in Manila is how unapologetic and proud the community is here, despite The Philippines being a Catholic dominated country where same-sex marriage is not acknowledged, or legal… yet. I see this pride present itself through the queer parties and events I would find myself in, DJing in or attending. What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are? a: With being able to immerse in both country’s (Los Angeles, CA and Manila, PH) queer communities, it’s unfortunate to hear the same conversations and have the same observations of the lack of sapphic dominated spaces, which goes in hand with feeling tokenized as sapphics. Especially in nightlife, where many spaces cater towards gay men, and then suddenly those gay men spaces would host sapphic nights, it sometimes does come off disingenuous.  But on the flip side, it’s an exciting time to see  sapphic led sapphic parties/events starting to appear. And hopefully, these sapphic dominated parties/events continue to grow and be permanent within queer communities. https://www.instagram.com/arigoggles/ Photographer: Wilmark Jolindon  ( https://www.instagram.com/thewilmark/ )