“The LGBTQIA+ community — as well as those claiming to support it — must never forget the need for inclusive Pride. That cliché that none of us is free until all of us are free is true; we can’t claim to be fighting for human rights for all LGBTQIA+ people when only few can claim to be free and the rest continue to suffer.”

So said Mx Disney Aguila, co-executive director of Bahaghari Center for SOGIE Research, Education and Advocacy, Inc. (Bahaghari Center), while attending the Pride reception of the British Embassy Manila.

Aguila also represented Outrage Magazine that handles the media arm of Bahaghari Center.

Said to be a reaffirmation of UK’s “steadfast commitment to rights and equality for all”, the embassy’s Pride observance saw the launch of the Comprehensive LGBTQIA+ Legal Guidebook, a guidebook that offers legal insights, actionable steps, and best practices for safe and effective advocacy. This was developed by Mujer-LGBT Organization, TrustLaw, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, with support from the British Embassy Manila.

Pride, said Aguila, a Deaf transgender woman, may be observed for a month, though only for a month in a year. “The issues of LGBTQIA+ people continue to exist beyond Pride month. Even more so for those at the grassroots, the underprivileged in the LGBTQIA+ community. So our work should not end during Pride.”