Gays defend participation in Santacruzan parade

MANILA, Philippines - The gay community on Tuesday defended themselves against Church officials who said they should not be allowed to join in the traditional Santacruzan parade. In a report by GMA’s 24 Oras, Danton Remoto, chairman of the gay group Ladlad, said it was not the intention of the gay participants of Santacruzan to insult the Catholic Church. “Ang mga baklang sumasali sa ganyan, wala silang intensiyon na mang-insulto o manlibak sa Simbahan (Those gays who joined the Santacruzan, it was not their intention to insult the Church),” he said. Jasmine Peñaflor, one of the gays who joined as Reyna Emperatriz in a Santacruzan parade in Sta. Elena in Marikina City last Sunday, said joining the decades-old Catholic tradition is a “dream come true” for him. “Naiiyak ako habang nagpaparada. Eto na yung pinakahihintay ko (I was teary-eyed while marching. This is what I’ve been wanting to do.) It’s not just a parade for me,” he said. Last Sunday’s Santacruzan parade in Marikina that featured gays caught the ire of several ranking church officials, including Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, who said allowing gays to be part of the Santacruzan “defeats the real purpose of the religious procession.” The television report said Rosales’ sentiments were echoed by Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez. “Yung pagsama nila sa official religious activities (their participation in official religious activities), that is being condemned,” he said. Iñiguez however admitted that they cannot do anything gays joining the Santacruzan parade, especially those that are not sponsored by the Church. “We can only discourage it,” he said. - GMANews.TV