December 30, 2025
MANILA – When Vice Ganda walked up the stage at the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2025 Gabi ng Parangal on December 27 to receive the Best Actor award for Call Me Mother, it felt like a moment of cultural shift.
“Salamat po nakita niyo po ako. Salamat po kinilala niyo po ako (Thank you for having noticed me. Thank you for having recognized me),” Vice said, visibly emotional.
“It’s really 2025. And it is really possible. And it is real. Queer people can be Best Actors. A queer person in a gown can be a Best Actor. It’s 2025. It’s about damn time.”
READ: Vice Ganda on MMFF 2025 triumph: ‘Queer people can be best actors’
The speech quickly went viral. So did the backlash.
Comments raised discriminatory questions about whether a queer person should receive a “Best Actor” award. Others ridiculed the moment altogether, a reminder that visibility often coexists with hostility.
Yet a global survey paints a different picture: one suggesting the Philippines may be among the most accepting countries in Asia when it comes to LGBTQ+ family members.
That contrast—tolerance on paper, discrimination in reality—frames the challenge ahead.
A rare ‘balance’ in Asia
In an August 2024 survey across 15 middle-income countries, the Pew Research Center asked how adults would feel if a child came out as gay or lesbian.
University of the Philippines associate professor and INQUIRER Metrics data scientist Dr. Alicor Panao notes that many countries still struggle with the idea.
“Across much of the world, families remain uneasy about having a gay or lesbian child,” he said, explaining that in countries such as Ghana, Indonesia, and Nigeria—where more than nine in ten adults say they would feel uncomfortable if a family member came out as gay—the discomfort is overwhelming.
Latin America, meanwhile, showed much higher comfort levels, with around four in ten in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile saying they would be comfortable, “suggesting a region where inclusion is taking deeper root.”
Asia, however, is mixed.
Thailand—despite recently legalizing same-sex marriage—still shows deep hesitation. According to the Pew survey, 61 percent of Thai adults said they would feel uncomfortable if their child came out as gay, while only 24 percent said they would be comfortable.
India, Panao stressed, reflects a similar gap. Only 16 percent of respondents said they would feel comfortable, compared with 58 percent who said they would be uncomfortable.
The Philippines, however, stands out in the region. The survey found Filipinos almost evenly divided: about 40 percent said they would feel comfortable if their child came out, while around 45 percent said they would feel uncomfortable.
“This balance places the country among the most accepting in the region,” Panao said, explaining that this “balance” signals something deeper: “It suggests that behind the country’s strong religious traditions lies a growing social tolerance that could pave the way for long-delayed protections.”
“That near parity in sentiment represents more than divided opinion. With nearly as many Filipinos comfortable as uncomfortable, the social climate may finally be ready for lawmakers to move beyond debate and begin institutionalizing recognition and protection of LGBTQ+ rights,” he added.
READ: Being gay in PH: Living life to the fullest
The Pew survey also showed a pattern across countries: people tend to be more comfortable with the idea of having a gay son or daughter in places where same-sex marriage is already legal, such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand.
What makes the Philippines notable, however, is that a substantial share still expressed comfort with a hypothetical gay child even without marriage equality in place—hinting at a society where acceptance may be moving ahead of formal legal protections.
What the survey cautions
The Pew Research Center, however, cautions that expressions of comfort do not necessarily translate into full acceptance or a sense of safety.
“In some countries, people’s answers varied by age, education, and religious identity. And views are related to how important religion is in their lives,” the think tank said in its report.
It also stressed that it did not ask respondents why they would feel comfortable or uncomfortable with having a gay or lesbian child, and that parental concern may, at times, stem from fears over their child’s safety rather than rejection.
That distinction matters in the Philippines, where social tolerance often coexists with risk and vulnerability.
A 2022 study by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) revealed that, among 174 LGBT children surveyed in the Philippines:
- 75 percent said they had experienced physical maltreatment;
- 78 percent reported psychological abuse;
- 33 percent disclosed incidents of sexual abuse.
The picture becomes even more concerning when mental health is taken into account. Findings from the 2024 Philippines National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People show that LGBTQ+ youth in the Philippines are twice as likely to consider suicide compared with their heterosexual peers, with many reporting thoughts or attempts at some point in their lives.
Violence, harassment continue
In June, transgender woman and rights advocate Ali Jejhon Macalintal was shot dead inside her acupuncture clinic in General Santos City. Her killing followed a series of attacks against transgender women, including the case of Gian Molina, whose body was found in the Cagayan River near San Isidro, Iguig.
Earlier this year, two other transgender women were also killed: Ren Tampus, a 35-year-old beauty salon owner whom the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) reported was gunned down in January in General Santos, and Shalani, who was discovered dead and dismembered in February in Caloocan City.
In a statement, the CHR warned:
“These killings, marked by cruelty and impunity, reflect a disturbing pattern of transfemicide—the gender-based killing of transgender women—driven by misogyny, transphobia, and the systemic belief that their lives are disposable.”
“CHR reaffirms that transgender individuals deserve to live without fear, and a life of equal dignity and rights,” it added.
READ: Dark reality: Gay people struggles persist after coming out
Data from Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM)—an initiative that tracks the killings of trans people worldwide—show that at least 50 transgender or gender-diverse individuals have been murdered in the Philippines since 2010, the highest recorded in the region.
Even as Pride events attract hundreds of thousands and local governments such as Quezon City and San Juan push “Right to Care” measures, national legislation remains stalled.
At the UN, the Philippines even repeatedly rejected LGBTQ-specific recommendations during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), calling the SOGIESC-specific recommendations “unacceptable” and stating they are about “same-sex marriage,” which is contrary to the local culture and religion.
Between progress and resistance
There are gestures of inclusion, including free holiday train rides dedicated to LGBTQIA+ commuters. There are cities experimenting with local protections. There is growing social visibility.
READ: Free train rides help LGBTQIA+ riders feel ‘seen, validated’
However, there is still backlash, stalled policy, and deadly violence.
Surveys suggest that Filipinos are no longer as sharply divided as they were before. Yet without laws, accountability, and everyday safety, acceptance remains fragile.