In The Philippines Gays, lesbians blame Aquino for woes

Filipino gays and lesbians said they will join a simultaneous rally across the Philippines to dramatize their protest against President Benigno Aquno’s so-called neoliberal economic and social policies which they claimed worsened their situation.

The rallies will coincide with Aquino’s second State of the Nation Address.

The Lesbians for National Democracy (LESBOND) and Progressive Organization of Gays (ProGay Philippines) listed a litany of woes they attributed to “continued neoliberal policies of Arroyo and past administrations that continue to destroy the jobs, livelihoods and financial security of our families and communities.”

Goya Candelario, spokesperson of the militant ProGay group, said instead of building strong national industries that create jobs, Aquino keeps peddling his pet projects such as the Public-Private Partnerships and business outsourcing.

“They are merely repackaged Arroyo regime programs that do not provide permanent solutions to the jobs disappearing overseas,” Candelario said.

Both groups blamed Aquino for the rise in prices of basic commodities, wage cuts and school fees and for “sweeping millions of gays and lesbians out of schools and the workplace, and into the streets where the only jobs to be had are freelance sex work, pornography, and other hazardous jobs that expose them to sexual violence and HIV/AIDS.”

Mindanao Examiner
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