[Music]
yes I was born fabulous I always
believed I was and I am
unfortunately the moment I was born
because there was something dangling
between my legs I was biologically and
monotonous ly male my parents equated
the best education to an exclusive
school an all-boys school I have heard
horror stories done to those who were
different done to those who dance to the
beat of their own drum these poor souls
were pushed around or bullied or laughed
at so I taught myself to wear a mask I
decided to create my own stage and play
the role of what was supposed to be your
perceived to be normal walk like a man
talk like a man act like a man play like
a man I performance was really very
flawless I almost convinced myself not
until one day when our English teacher
assigned us to do a role play I was
given a female role to which I was in a
stage of total utmost happiness and that
female role however was supposed to be
kissed and one in one during one of our
her CIL’s my leading man let’s call him
Fred
jumped on me and started hugging me and
kissing me
and the director said cut I jumped up
looked at Fred and and I saw his eyes
and he smiled at me and said how did I
do to which I replied on my way home I
only thought of Fred those those eyes
were the most beautiful pair of eyes his
scent were those of the musk of a
darkness and his lips when he touched
mine
Oh God that kiss when I was in high
school I decided to accept that I was
different
to celebrate my colorful unique and
beautiful self but it was not all that
easy
I have experiences when I walked to the
halls of the school and young kids would
shout in unison by your by your by your
and I also had experiences where young
men would touch me in my body because I
was gay and it was okay to be violated
when I was in college I entered here in
Silliman University and I remember a
good friend of mine who was then student
government president she said to me if
you want to make it here in silliman I
yell Bugbee Nyota translation don’t be
too flamboyant you see cinnamon is a
Christian institution and they frown
against such lifestyle
do not judge her twenty years ago this
city you call gentle weren’t as gentle
to the LGBT community there was even one
Dean in silliman who had who staged a
protest against the city government of
dumaguete for staging a gay pageant I
think she succeeded because up to today
I have not seen another gay pageant
sponsored by the city government ever
and as I discovered and uncovered my own
uniqueness deep in the recesses of my
heart I started asking questions
who are those or who is that someone who
will stand and rejoice with me for being
me naturally
when is that someday when tolerance
breeds acceptance and we move forward
and beyond sexual orientation and gender
expression where is that somewhere where
people like me are free my rise to fame
and silliman was not very difficult I
mean I aced my subjects I was very
active in the co-curricular and
extracurricular activities and I would
probably won’t be one of the most
colorful and flamboyant personalities in
the campus when I was in was on my way
to fourth year college I ran for the
student government president not knowing
what lie ahead and in the course of the
elections issues about my sexual
preference orientation and gender
expression came into about and I did not
know how to deal with it I lost that
elections for with only three votes I
took it as a triumph by itself I took it
as a sign that given give it some time
maybe silliman would be there there are
two sad events that shaped me as a gay
student leader in silliman first was
when a very close friend of mine was
raped in his dormitory he was forced to
perform oral sex to someone who he
trusted very much
second was when my best friend in the
same dormitory was raped by five men yes
five of them after the electoral loss I
realized that my calling was really to
defend the LGBT community in the
university so I organized the and
founded the Basildon society or the
bakla Nancy Lehman Lou malabon
translation gays and silliman fight it
was an LGBT group advocating equal
opportunities and the eradication of
discrimination in the university we
applied for recognition for the
organization in the university but we
were disapproved we then called an
appealed for appeal support from the
community but we were but it fell on
deaf ears we just prayed we lingered and
we persevered and and out of nowhere the
silliman Church issued a statement of
support to the Basildon Society it
called the university to reverse its
decision for for disapproving a
recognition and it called on the
community to support the Basildon
Society it it garnered national and
international support from groups in UPD
Leeman and groups in Rhode Island in San
Francisco in USA it became not only a
turning point of the University but in
my life too but the LGBT the costs of
the LGBT must not be placed inside a box
to limit its potentials it skills and
our possibilities
I ran again for the su SG president a
year after that and I this time I won by
a landslide a year after my presidency I
was elected as the youngest president of
the Silliman Alumni Association
incorporated both were milestones
showing how far silliman community
gone fast-forward 20 years after I
continue the lobby I continued the
advocacy and today I have championed the
passage of the LGBT code in Mandaue City
and also the anti-discrimination
ordinance of Cebu City these words
supposed to protect the LGBTQ I sector
from the discrimination of employment
restroom use sexual orientation and
gender expression growing up being
butchered with so many concepts about
LGBT from being sick psychologically or
to being influenced environmentally or
being passed on with a various bakla in
the familia or just simply just being me
I there
I am barrage with so many questions on
how I survived in a world of lawyers
where it is supposed to be a dog-eat-dog
world or or how I survived in the
government when it is alluded to a snake
bit you see friends the integrated bar
of the Philippines and the government
are close to my heart and being one of
the most flamboyant characters in it has
been a challenging ordeal to be an
officer of the IBP and one who collects
taxes for local government units are
both thankless and aspiring thankless
because as you work you are already
being judged by a lot of people but
aspiring because you want to create a
better image for this community we need
more people who are among in the LGBT
sector to go beyond entertainment and
high fashion go beyond the salons or the
beauty parlors or the nightclubs or the
party scenes we need I dream of the day
to see more LGBT people serve in the
fields of law medicine education
military Air Force Navy and to all
fields less taken because of fear of
discrimination
eee coming said it best to be nobody but
yourself in a world which is doing its
best night and day to be like everybody
else means to fight the hardest battle
any human being can fight and never stop
fighting so I never stopped today I am a
lawyer a tax collector a mother or a
father of beautiful strong-willed 11
year old girl I am a social activist a
daughter and sometimes a son I am gay I
lived my life with all these identities
to form my story and here are my truths
life is theater in your self-written
plot in every act give the best
performance be your best director the
the most versatile protagonists and the
most brutally honest critique second
find comfort in your weirdness you are
irresistible and irreplaceable you are
not like everybody else and that makes
you amazing be in touch with your
energies your influence as well as your
limitations
third embrace the power and express it
you embrace your power and you express
it and do not cower in the dark and
suppress yourself do not let other
people Whittle you down to their sizes
unleash your full potential fourth be
brave sometimes in life you may see that
the path is dark and dangerous but you
are strong trust your instincts
keep swimming the mistral part and you
will find your way and last be a love
beam love always wins I find comfort in
my truths and I challenge myself every
day to be more do more and be better
I am perfecting the art of being
fabulous and I dedicate others and I
dedicate my life for to help other
people find their own Flair
quintessential I’m proudly queer and in
all facets in life I am regal thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
yes I was born fabulous I always
believed I was and I am
unfortunately the moment I was born
because there was something dangling
between my legs I was biologically and
monotonous ly male my parents equated
the best education to an exclusive
school an all-boys school I have heard
horror stories done to those who were
different done to those who dance to the
beat of their own drum these poor souls
were pushed around or bullied or laughed
at so I taught myself to wear a mask I
decided to create my own stage and play
the role of what was supposed to be your
perceived to be normal walk like a man
talk like a man act like a man play like
a man I performance was really very
flawless I almost convinced myself not
until one day when our English teacher
assigned us to do a role play I was
given a female role to which I was in a
stage of total utmost happiness and that
female role however was supposed to be
kissed and one in one during one of our
her CIL’s my leading man let’s call him
Fred
jumped on me and started hugging me and
kissing me
and the director said cut I jumped up
looked at Fred and and I saw his eyes
and he smiled at me and said how did I
do to which I replied on my way home I
only thought of Fred those those eyes
were the most beautiful pair of eyes his
scent were those of the musk of a
darkness and his lips when he touched
mine
Oh God that kiss when I was in high
school I decided to accept that I was
different
to celebrate my colorful unique and
beautiful self but it was not all that
easy
I have experiences when I walked to the
halls of the school and young kids would
shout in unison by your by your by your
and I also had experiences where young
men would touch me in my body because I
was gay and it was okay to be violated
when I was in college I entered here in
Silliman University and I remember a
good friend of mine who was then student
government president she said to me if
you want to make it here in silliman I
yell Bugbee Nyota translation don’t be
too flamboyant you see cinnamon is a
Christian institution and they frown
against such lifestyle
do not judge her twenty years ago this
city you call gentle weren’t as gentle
to the LGBT community there was even one
Dean in silliman who had who staged a
protest against the city government of
dumaguete for staging a gay pageant I
think she succeeded because up to today
I have not seen another gay pageant
sponsored by the city government ever
and as I discovered and uncovered my own
uniqueness deep in the recesses of my
heart I started asking questions
who are those or who is that someone who
will stand and rejoice with me for being
me naturally
when is that someday when tolerance
breeds acceptance and we move forward
and beyond sexual orientation and gender
expression where is that somewhere where
people like me are free my rise to fame
and silliman was not very difficult I
mean I aced my subjects I was very
active in the co-curricular and
extracurricular activities and I would
probably won’t be one of the most
colorful and flamboyant personalities in
the campus when I was in was on my way
to fourth year college I ran for the
student government president not knowing
what lie ahead and in the course of the
elections issues about my sexual
preference orientation and gender
expression came into about and I did not
know how to deal with it I lost that
elections for with only three votes I
took it as a triumph by itself I took it
as a sign that given give it some time
maybe silliman would be there there are
two sad events that shaped me as a gay
student leader in silliman first was
when a very close friend of mine was
raped in his dormitory he was forced to
perform oral sex to someone who he
trusted very much
second was when my best friend in the
same dormitory was raped by five men yes
five of them after the electoral loss I
realized that my calling was really to
defend the LGBT community in the
university so I organized the and
founded the Basildon society or the
bakla Nancy Lehman Lou malabon
translation gays and silliman fight it
was an LGBT group advocating equal
opportunities and the eradication of
discrimination in the university we
applied for recognition for the
organization in the university but we
were disapproved we then called an
appealed for appeal support from the
community but we were but it fell on
deaf ears we just prayed we lingered and
we persevered and and out of nowhere the
silliman Church issued a statement of
support to the Basildon Society it
called the university to reverse its
decision for for disapproving a
recognition and it called on the
community to support the Basildon
Society it it garnered national and
international support from groups in UPD
Leeman and groups in Rhode Island in San
Francisco in USA it became not only a
turning point of the University but in
my life too but the LGBT the costs of
the LGBT must not be placed inside a box
to limit its potentials it skills and
our possibilities
I ran again for the su SG president a
year after that and I this time I won by
a landslide a year after my presidency I
was elected as the youngest president of
the Silliman Alumni Association
incorporated both were milestones
showing how far silliman community
gone fast-forward 20 years after I
continue the lobby I continued the
advocacy and today I have championed the
passage of the LGBT code in Mandaue City
and also the anti-discrimination
ordinance of Cebu City these words
supposed to protect the LGBTQ I sector
from the discrimination of employment
restroom use sexual orientation and
gender expression growing up being
butchered with so many concepts about
LGBT from being sick psychologically or
to being influenced environmentally or
being passed on with a various bakla in
the familia or just simply just being me
I there
I am barrage with so many questions on
how I survived in a world of lawyers
where it is supposed to be a dog-eat-dog
world or or how I survived in the
government when it is alluded to a snake
bit you see friends the integrated bar
of the Philippines and the government
are close to my heart and being one of
the most flamboyant characters in it has
been a challenging ordeal to be an
officer of the IBP and one who collects
taxes for local government units are
both thankless and aspiring thankless
because as you work you are already
being judged by a lot of people but
aspiring because you want to create a
better image for this community we need
more people who are among in the LGBT
sector to go beyond entertainment and
high fashion go beyond the salons or the
beauty parlors or the nightclubs or the
party scenes we need I dream of the day
to see more LGBT people serve in the
fields of law medicine education
military Air Force Navy and to all
fields less taken because of fear of
discrimination
eee coming said it best to be nobody but
yourself in a world which is doing its
best night and day to be like everybody
else means to fight the hardest battle
any human being can fight and never stop
fighting so I never stopped today I am a
lawyer a tax collector a mother or a
father of beautiful strong-willed 11
year old girl I am a social activist a
daughter and sometimes a son I am gay I
lived my life with all these identities
to form my story and here are my truths
life is theater in your self-written
plot in every act give the best
performance be your best director the
the most versatile protagonists and the
most brutally honest critique second
find comfort in your weirdness you are
irresistible and irreplaceable you are
not like everybody else and that makes
you amazing be in touch with your
energies your influence as well as your
limitations
third embrace the power and express it
you embrace your power and you express
it and do not cower in the dark and
suppress yourself do not let other
people Whittle you down to their sizes
unleash your full potential fourth be
brave sometimes in life you may see that
the path is dark and dangerous but you
are strong trust your instincts
keep swimming the mistral part and you
will find your way and last be a love
beam love always wins I find comfort in
my truths and I challenge myself every
day to be more do more and be better
I am perfecting the art of being
fabulous and I dedicate others and I
dedicate my life for to help other
people find their own Flair
quintessential I’m proudly queer and in
all facets in life I am regal thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
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