MANILA – The Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (ProGay) came out in support of defeated boxing Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao who lost to American Timothy Bradley, saying that he still needs to come home quick to prioritize important bills in Congress.
“We sympathize with the Pacquaio camp and all his saddened supporters. But in defeat, we rise again and help build equality in our nation by knocking out discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Goya Candelario, spokesperson of ProGay said, in a statement to the Mindanao Examiner.
He said Pacquiao should now re-assess his political stand against marriage equality issues and learn to totally accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality as a member of the House of Representatives.
The boxer-turned-congressman was criticized by human rights groups for speaking out against US President Barack Obama’s support for equal marriages for lesbians and gays a few weeks before the fight in the US.
“We ask Congressman Pacquiao to support our equality by endorsing the passage of House Bill 1483 or the Antidiscrimination Bill if he really is supportive of LGBT citizens,” Candelario said.
ProGay also called on Pacquiao to keep supporting the bills filed to legislate a 125-peso wage increase to revive the economy and thus help gay and transgender salon workers in the slums get a boost in their earnings.
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