Philippines senate president refers to Pride Month as one of the ‘seven deadly sins’
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he delivers his state of the nation address, as Senate President Vicente Sotto the III (top L) and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano (top R) look on at Congress. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Vicente Sotto, the incumbent Senate president of the Philippines, compared Pride Month to one of the “seven deadly sins”.
The 71-year-old lawmaker ripped into a Department of Education memo that invited schools to consider observing Pride Month each June, reported Rappler.
He stated that celebrating the month would “cause confusion” among youth as well as calling Pride “the head of Satan”.
Among religious believers and scholars, the sin of pride – feeling a sense of superiority – is considered one if the most serious of the seven deadly sins.
Although, Pride Month itself has little to do with superiority and more to do with being lifted to the social, legislative and political position which is the norm for non-LGBT+ people.
‘Pride is the head of Satan’, says Philippine senator leader Vicente Sotto.
The comments were made, the paper reported, during Senate budget deliberations yesterday.
Department of Education officials had called for schools to celebrate Pride as well as Women’s Month, Human Rights Month and other campaigns to end violence against minority groups.
However, Sotto expressed his concern that Pride was being “lumped together” with these other functions.
LGBT+ people stage a protest march near the presidential palace to denounce President Rodrigo Duterte as they mark Pride Month. (Jes Aznar/Getty Images)
“These are all very good undertaking,” the Senator said, “but if something like that got in, suddenly there’s a Pride month.
“As far as I know, Pride is one of the seven deadly sins.”
He then quoted from his own book, A Vision for a Drug-Free Philippines: “Pride is the head of Satan and humility is its headache.
“So I hope that the Department of Education will try to avoid something as controversial as this.”
Although, the department stressed that the memo – aimed to strengthen gender equality in schools – is not an obligation, and that participation among schools is optional.
LGBT+ rights in the Philippines.
Constrained by homophobic laws coded to preserve “family”, Philippines’ LGBT+ community have created a discing culture to combat their situation.
In the southeast Asian country, while lacking in rights, LGBT+ folk are generally accepted by citizens and constantly ranks as one of the most gay-friendly places in the world.
Participants parade a LGBT+ flag during a Pride pride march in Manila. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Many crucial figures in Filipino mythology were queer, but the county’s lawmakers continue to turn away from enshrining queer Filipinos with rights.
Legislation supporting marriage equality has been pitched multiple times but has never been passed.
