Filipinos Are Bristling at an LGBTQ Group’s New Membership Card

Filipino netizens are unhappy about a membership card that was mistaken to be for all LGBTQ members.

The card, touting perks and discounts for its members, was revealed on Facebook by LGBT Pilipinas Party-list, a non-governmental organization advocating for LGBTQ rights.

The card contained pertinent information including the person’s full name and their photo, but also their birthday, blood type, government-issued information, and contact information in case of emergency. It also includes a government logo and the logo of the party-list.

The Facebook post quickly became viral on social media, with many members of the LGBTQ community raising questions about the purpose of a card meant specifically for them.

“We don’t need discounts, we need equal rights,” one Twitter user said.

“This is not necessary,” another tweeted. “We don’t want to be marginalized, but somehow this will still separate us. Also, there are some who are not yet out.”

Another said that the card drives confusion.

“We all don’t want to be branded by our SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression),” the user added.

It turns out, however, that this was all a misunderstanding—the card was meant for LGBT Pilipinas Party-list’s members specifically. Moderators of the Facebook page spent all of yesterday putting out fires and issuing clarifications and emphasizing that the government isn’t issuing these cards.

“We are under [the Securities and Exchange Commission], so we have the capacity to issue membership IDs that come with perks,” read their statement.

Still, this hasn’t stopped the criticisms from pouring in. Some pointed out the general distrust towards having a huge database of LGBTQ members. Some even likened the card to the pink triangle, a symbol used by Nazis to identify homosexuals in concentration camps.

Social media users have also laid doubt on the “face” of the campaign, Bataan 1st District Representative Geraldine Roman, the first openly transgender woman elected to the Congress of the Philippines. In her 2017 election run, she left the Liberal Party and allied with ruling party PDP-Laban—the same political party as President Duterte. She also backed the death penalty pill in 2017.

However, there’s no indication that Geraldine Roman is involved with the making of the membership card, nor is there any information linking Roman as a member of the party-list. According to the Facebook post, the party-list dedicated the first card they issued to their “community icon and foremost champion.” Roman, however, has not shared the post on her official social media accounts. By any stretch, she has no clue.