Filipino Web Series “Hanging Out” / Image via Youtube
Another country in Asia might be considering gay unions and marriage equality.
Last week, Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriages. The country’s lawmakers updated national law after the Supreme Court gave them two years to do so through a historic 2017 ruling.
Now, the world is wondering which Asian countries will follow Taiwan’s lead. Thailand is already on the journey towards legalizing civil partnerships between same-sex couples, which will give them several rights such as inheritance rights, welfare benefits, hospital rights, and tax breaks. But, some rights, like adoption rights, are being purposefully left off the table.
And now, it appears that the Philippines may be walking in the same direction. Or at least, considering it.
Filipino Web Series “Hanging Out” / Image via Youtube
The Philippines’s House of Representatives has released an online survey on same-sex unions and marriages. The poll, which is posted on the chamber’s website and open to the public, asks respondents if they support, reject, or are impartial to legalizing civil partnerships for same-sex couples.
As of writing this article, the survey has over 188,000 respondents. 50 percent, or over 93,788 votes, have said yes to creating legal civil partnerships while the other half has voted against it. Meanwhile, 999 votes (or 1%) have stayed undecided.
In addition to this, a petition seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage in the Philippines was filed by gay lawyer Jesus Falcis. The petition, filed in 2015, is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
The petition asks that the High Court declare Articles 1 and 2 of the Family Code, which define marriage as between a man and a woman, as unconstitutional. Falcis also asked that Articles 46(4) and 55(6) of the Family Code be nullified. These articles state that homosexuality and lesbianism are legal causes for annulment and legal separation.
While we wait on the possibility of marriage equality in the Philippines, civil partnerships are at our fingertips. If you want to support civil partnerships in the Philippines, you can respond to the online poll here.
