A total of 394 nonbinary individuals took center stage Saturday when they joined Quezon City’s special “Graduation Rights” at the QCX Quezon Memorial Circle.
The gathering was one of the special activities the city lined up for its 85th anniversary and the celebration of Pride Month.
The event was historic, as Quezon City became the first local government unit (LGU) in the country to hold a symbolic ceremony that gives members of the LGBTQIA+ community the opportunity to march as their authentic selves.
Participants included those prohibited from joining their graduation rites because of their gender identity and expression or were forced to conform to outward appearances inconsistent with their SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and sex characteristics).
“The oldest ‘Rainbow Graduate’ was 75 years old,” the Quezon City government said in a news release emailed Sunday.
The person was identified as Crispina Salvador, who just finished elementary school. “I’m extremely happy to graduate at 75 years old,” Salvador said in a short video posted on Facebook with a hearty laugh.
Mayor Joy Belmonte led the ceremony, highlighting its significance, as her administration continues to set the benchmark for adopting diversity, equity and inclusive policy frameworks. TV host KaladKaren, a transgender woman, delivered the keynote speech.
“Graduation rites are everyone’s rights, regardless of gender identity and expression. In Quezon City, you have the right to express your truth, no matter your sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE),” Belmonte said.
“Hopefully in the future, we will no longer need to hold such a ceremony because all schools will be inclusive,” the mayor added.
Belmonte and KaladKaren handed out special diplomas to the “Rainbow Graduates,” who were also provided a formal graduation pictorial where they had a chance to express themselves as their true selves.
Addressing the ‘Rainbow Graduates,’ Kaladkaren echoed Belmonte’s thoughts and hopes that this kind of ceremony would be held not just in Quezon City, but across the country. She also called for the enactment of the SOGIE Equality Bill.
“(I hope) the basic rights like protection from discrimination won’t stay as a dream for people like us. That will happen if we have the SOGIE Equality Bill becomes a law. This is not a special privilege for the members of the LGBTQIA+ community… because we also have the right to vote,” Kaladkaren said in Tagalog.
Belmonte thanked the Department of Education (DepEd), which has long issued a memorandum protecting all students from “gender-related violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination and bullying” and the promotion of gender equality and non-discrimination in all governance levels.
However, the mayor called on school administrators to properly implement these policies. “With these policies in place, we want the schools to be guided and abide by them. This is to ensure that even our schools are safe spaces for our LGBTQIA+ members,” Belmonte said.
Vice President and outgoing DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte also expressed her solidarity with the members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Pride Month serves as a reminder of the power of love over hate, discrimination, and indifference toward a sector that had historically been subjected to shame, persecution, and inequitable opportunities in life,” Duterte said in a statement released on Sunday.
She described the annual festivity held in June as a “victory for all” that deserves to be observed as a “celebration of our humanity.”
“This is a victory for all—not only for those who dreamed of a world without othering—a world where everyone is valued, accepted, and empowered, but also for all of us who toppled down the wall that isolated the LGBT sector and deprived them of recognition, respect, acceptance, and love,” Duterte said.
“And let us take pride in how we stood for the cause of the LGBT sector, especially those that promote our shared values and aspirations as a democracy. Let Pride Month become a celebration of our humanity,” she added. — With Rio N. Araja