Late breaking news: I first got a text message from indefatigable Jonas. Then this e-mail, providing the full details. In between rushing some documents, packing my things (I'm going to Legazpi today), I've been mumbling profanities - what a jerk!
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Hello folks, our dear friend from the sixth district of Manila did it again. inq7.net's Maila Ager wrote about the incident briefly, but here's a more detailed account on what happened.
Since there's an agreement with the House leadership that the bill would be approved this month, Etta delivered the sponsorship speech today. Everybody assumed that Abante was not there, and then suddenly, after Etta spoke, dumating si Abante, who immediately moved to have the session suspended.
While the session was suspended, a fuming Abante quickly approached Etta and said that the rights of lesbians and gays are not fundamentally HR issues. He said that repeatedly, and when Etta started arguing with him on the merits of the bill, dun na tumaas ang boses niya. Some reps had to go to him and pull him away from Etta.
When the session was resumed, Abante moved to adjourn the session. There was a quorum, though, and when he realized his folly, he moved to suspend the session again.
When it was resumed, he began questioning the technicality of Etta doing the sponsorship speech - she's no longer the chair, that he, as the committee chair, did not even know that the bill is in today's agenda, etc. Etta argued, however, that the rules provide that she, as one of the principal authors, may sponsor the bill. Also, the bill has been in the order of business since last year, so Abante should know that any moment the majority may tackle the bill.
The session was suspended again. Etta was told by the majority floor leader (Del De Guzman) that the bill will be tackled again next week, so the deliberation was suspended for the meantime.
While Etta was debating with Abante, Risa was moving around asking the other Reps to support the bill should Abante move to divide the House over the bill (he did not, which means he is aware that he would lose). Risa said that even the most homophobic reps said that they will support the bill. Rep. Villanueva of CIBAC, who's from the Jesus is Lord Movement, also committed to support the bill.
Anyway, after the ADB, the house majority tried to tackle the repro health bill. At sino ang humarang? Who else, but our dear Abante.
Anyway, i think we need to be more vocal about our support for the bill. Malaki ang naitutulong ni Etta, Risa and Mayong sa House of Reps, pero wala tayong ganyang allies sa Senate.
My concrete proposals:
Maglabas ang LAGABLAB ng press statement to condemn Abante's homophobia and ask him to resign as chair of the human rights committee. Baka pwedeng may similar statements din na ilabas ang ibang orgs? AI din? I will also ask the women's orgs kung pwedeng mag-issue din ng statement, since common enemy natin si Abante ngayon.
Next week, preferably on Monday, pwede ba na may mga at least 10 sa atin na pumunta ng House of Reps? Ipapa-recognize sa floor na guests ni Etta, that we are from a coalition supporting the bill.
Send letters of protest to Abante. Dapat ma-feel niya ang galit ng mga diosa. Even the conservative reps in Congress felt kanina na masyado siyang fundamentalist (merong ba ng moderate na fundamentalist? hmmm...). Baka pwedeng magpadala ng materials to prove na naabuso ang mga bakla at lesbiana, at duty nya na protektahan tayo from abuse.
Sana po ay pwede tayong kumilos for this.
Jonas
[INQ7 story here: Debate mars sponsorship of gay rights bill]
5 comments:
suggestion: why not give away the email ad, tel numbers, mobile numbers ni abante. let's barrage him with hate calls, emails, text messages.
suggestion lang naman.
hmmm... ok lang din... hehe. actually i forwarded your comment to my friend jonas, who is the sec.gen of lagablab -- check out also lagablab blog for updates -- that's lagablab.wordpress.com
i mean, we write in our blogs about abante, it's like tayo-tayo lang ang nagbabasa. why not make one statement (para doon sa lahat ng tinatamad magsulat) and ask everyone (gays, friends, supporters, etc) to copy/paste and send it to abante, congressmen. the same statement pero different senders. naisip ko lang naman.
siguro naman may time ang mga bakla to do this. nakakasulat nga ng post, nakakapagchat nga ng ilang oras, ito pa kaya.
yung lang.
mandaya and bananas: lagablab actually does that kind of campaign. we participated in their letter-writing campaign to support the bill's version sa Senate, also yung pressure campaign sa Aruba re Inday Garutay. yung org namin nag-work din in the past re the homophobic Hello Joey campaign ng PLDT, which PLDT responded by silently concluding yung ad campaign storyline nila. i might be sharing with blogmates soon yung letter asking Abante to be removed from helming the committee -- in other words, keep posted, it's coming soon. salamat sa suporta! ^_^
Homophobic?
Bill Brinkworth
The slandering brand of being a “homophobic,” an “irrational hatred or fear of homosexuals or homosexuality”, is being used to force civilization into accepting their sexual behavior. No one wants to be labeled differently, so the “marketing’ tool of attacking a normal person by making them appear odd or different has greatly been used to force the public to accept the homosexual sexual practices.
Having an aversion to the immoral practices and dangers the homosexual exposes themselves and others to, does not make one phobic (an irrational, excessive, and persistent fear of some particular thing or situation (1)) nor is it irrational or hateful. It is common sense.
Not wanting my house robbed does not necessarily make me harpaxophobia (fear of being robbed). I am not monopathophobic (fear of definite diseases), just because I don’t want people catching diseases the homosexual crowd is spreading.
It is normal to not like certain things. It is natural for people to have some anxiety and agitation towards the homosexual’s practice. Ask any young person, that hasn’t been desensitized by the media or the public school’s social engineers, what they think of the practice and their first reaction will be “yuck” and disdain. Homosexuality is an odd and unacceptable behavior. Unless people are trained to accept it. It is abnormal not to dislike the sin along with others as: robbery, adultery, and pedophilia.
Prior to 1973, homosexuality was recognized as a mental disorder. After tremendous pressure from homosexual groups the American Psychiatric Association removed the practice from their “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II). On May 19, 2003 the Association (2) met in San Francisco to consider removal of other sexual perversions from their manual including pedophilia, exhibitionism, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism and sadomasochism. I’m wondering if they are going to generate a belittling label for one that contests the approval of those perversions, as they have for those that have opposed homosexuality.
There is cause to dislike and want to stop their lifestyle from spreading and hurting more of the public and further eroding more traditional family values. Their practices have exposed our civilization to STD’s, such as gonorrheas, Hepatitis A and B, AIDS, syphilis and many more diseases and infections. Just as terrorists tactics have changed how the world functions, the homosexual movement has changed how America is today.
Their lusts, with little social restraint, have expanded to threaten our children. “Gay,” and organizations such as North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) clearly indicate that they are trying to remove restraints, so they can have legal sexual experiences with our children. The Boy Scouts had good reason for not wanting homosexual leaders, as several leaders had molested their charges (3).
“Homophobia” was a word coined by psychologist George Weinberg and discussed in his early 1970’s book, “Society and the Healthy Homosexual.” For over 5,000 years previously, Bible established morality had recognized this perversion as wicked and wrong. Now, for the last 40 years, it has been deemed unacceptable and wrong to even question its practice in normal society. The shoe is now on the other foot. We that believe it is a degrading, dangerous sin are the ones that are wrong. Hmmm?
It is clear we will be pressured to tolerate even more then homosexuality and "gay" marriages. This “homophobia” labeling is clearly a way to keep any from questioning the homosexual’s immorality. I’m wondering if the homosexuals are the ones with real phobias as: social phobia (fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations) or Theophobia (fear of God or religion).
http://www.openthoumineeyes.com/Articles/Homophobic.htm
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