LGBT MARRIAGE: DOES THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

PROVIDE FOR SUCH CHANGE

S.Y 2015-2016

In partial fulfillment for the requirements for the course of

Legal Research

By:
Vender, Mae Duffyne B.

Introduction
The issue in legalizing same sex marriage has been going on
for decades. It has received a lot of objection and opposition since it
contradicts the accustomed meaning of marriage provided for in the
Family Code, which is a special contract of union between a man
and a woman. The decision of the United States gained traction
anew following recent developments on the issue. On June 26, the
US

Supreme

Court

issued

landmark

decision

declaring

unconstitutional any form of same-sex marriage bans across all 50

states on the basis of the Fourth Amendment, rendering same-sex
marriage legal throughout the country. Legalizing gay marriage has
brought a new trend which then providing the arguments on
supporting gay marriage.
The researchers pond upon this issue because it is a fact
nowadays that homosexuals are common subject of discussion that
are not well accepted by the majority.

It is a never ending

controversy and an interesting issue, which led the researchers upon

studying the said issue.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study aims to find out the whether there is a legal basis in
the Philippine Constitution in legalizing Same-Sex Marriage.
Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:
1. Whether or not the prohibition on the exclusivity of marriage
between woman and man under the Family Code is absolute?
2. What measures can the government undertake to legalize same
sex marriage?
3. Whether or not there is a need for revision to legalize same sex
marriage in the Philippines?

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Gay. It refers to a male homosexual.

Homosexual. In connection with human beings, homosexuality
includes sexual thoughts, feelings, fantasies and overt sexual acts
involving a member of one's own sex. The term "homosexual" is
more specifically applied to a person who regularly practices overt
sexual acts with members of the same sex past adolescence into
adulthood.
Legalization. To make legal or lawful; authorize or sanction by law.
Lesbian. Pertaining to or characteristic of female homosexuality.
Marriage. Legally, it is a binding contract between the two parties
that joins together their possessions, income, and lives.
Relationship. Is an emotional or other connection between people.
Same Sex Marriage. A similar institution involving partners of the
same gender.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This study aims to discover the constitutionality of same-sex

marriage with regard to our 1987 Philippine Constitution. Whether
our laws can support same-sex marriage and assess existing laws
which barred the same sex marriage to be absolute, and to determine
policies and the measures that the government will undertake on this
issue.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

With the separate opinions speculating throughout the country
with regard to the legalization of same-sex marriage and whether our
law supports such change. It is important for the society to know and
to be informed about the current status of the same-sex marriage in
the Philippines as well as the possibility of legalizing same-sex
marriage in the country. This could also help the government to
recognize measures to undertake on the issue of same-sex marriage.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This study will focus on how the rights of the LGBT

community with regard to the legalization of same-sex marriage in
the Philippines. It will be limited by the laws and theories in the
country and will be gathered through the soft copy materials, hard
copy materials as well as the information from literatures that will be
cited and reviewed.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

According to Victoria Dizon Urieta on her thesis entitled

"Perceptions of homosexuals and other people" at the De LaSalle
University, 1998, Homosexuality has been considered a deviant
behavior because of the fact that it is immoral and its lifestyle does
not conform to society's standards. Majority of the people in the
Philippines are not used to the mindset of the homosexuals who are
pursuing the law towards the legalization of same-sex marriage
because it is against the mores. In addition to that Philippines is a
Catholic country with strong beliefs on unity of man and woman as
stated in the bible.

On the article seen at the Philippine Star newspaper entitled

"Same sex marriage issue paves way for anti-discrimination bill" by
Artemio Dumlao, In Baguio City ,Philippines Christian groups led
by the Catholic Charismatic Christian Movement believes that the
same sex marriage controversy is a grand design by some sectors
to push House Bill 1483 (Anti-Discrimination bill) filed by Bayan
Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casino. According to the group, the
same sex unions officiated by the Metropolitan Community Church
(MCC) here on June 29 have been pitting family members against
each other, the opposing Catholic Church and other Christian groups
versus the proponents and even government officials caught in the

controversy. The critics of same sex unions have also gone beyond
debates and discourse as the city council here is poised to declare
MCCs Myke Sotero and two others who officiated the wedding as
persona non grata and is contemplating a case against them.

In Vincent Cabrezas column in Inquirer Northern Luzon, The

fifth Baguio Gay Pride celebration, which was led by homosexuals
dressed as fairies and Goddesses of Equality, proceeded on Sunday
despite heavy and continuous rains. The parade honored the
solemnization of the unions of eight gay couples, who were wed
by pastors of the Metropolitan Community Church at a local bar on
Saturday. Cyrene Reyes, one of the Baguio Pride Network organizers,
said the parade also celebrated the legalization of same-sex unions in
New York, where the 1969 Stonewall riots were ignited by a standoff
between a gay community in Greenwich Village there and the New
York police. The Stonewall incident inspired the international gay
rights movement, which fought for laws criminalizing gay
discrimination and which pushed co-habitation rights of same- sex
couples. But a measure that would legalize same-sex unions in the
Philippines, as well as a law that would allow them to adopt children,
is farthest from our minds at the moment, said Bayan Muna Rep.
Teodoro Casio.

Casio was here to draw support for House Bill No. 1483
(Anti- Discrimination Act of 2010), a measure penalizing people who
discriminate against homosexuals. Casio said HB 1483, if passed,
would also make the state recognize other sexual orientations. This

bill is the third measure that proposes to update Philippine standards

on sexuality and domestic relationships, next to the more
controversial Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and
Population and Development Act of 2011 (HB 4244) and the Divorce
Bill (HB 1799), according to Casio. He said the Catholic Church has
described the confluence of these civil rights bills as an assault on
morality. But there was no deliberate design to advocate all these bills
at the same time in Congress, he said. We only have three years [to
promote civil rights legislation of this nature], and we are glad when
Congress finally discusses them on plenary, like the RH bill. Casio
said activist lawmakers have been competing with their colleagues,
and just seeing our bills selected for hearing by congressional
committees is already a thrill.

There have been failed attempts to legislate laws on

discrimination, reproductive health and divorce, but these ideas
have generated a healthy public support this year, which have
prompted Congress to address these concerns, Casio said. These are
relatively easier measures to pass, compared to proposals for
legitimizing same-sex unions, and laws allowing same-sex couples to
adopt children which are too far beyond our [societys]
understanding. He said the most important consequence of pursuing
these measures would be to widen the public constituency that
believe in gay rights, reproductive health and divorce for battered
women as legitimate concerns.

Casio said he would seek a congressional inquiry into hate

crimes against gays uncovered by the Philippine LGBT Crime Watch,
an online organization linked by social networking site, Facebook.
He said the group claimed that 97 homosexuals have been murdered
in the country since 1996. These reports are culled from news
reports so we need to determine whether the murders are directed
against gay individuals, he said.

In Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jocelyn R. Uy wrote that Catholic

bishops wants government to stop same sex marriage rites. A
wedding is a holy union of a male and a female. It must be
solemnized and registered with the civil registrar... those who got
married and who led the ceremony have mental problems, said
Cenzon. He urged the national government to take the necessary
steps against same-sex marriages as they violated the Civil Code of
the Philippines. Even the Baguio local government is condemning
this kind of act, added the bishop. According to Archbishop Emeritus
Oscar Cruz, homosexuals remain as integral members of the society
who must be respected, but they must also remember about the
inherent and intrinsic finalities of marriage. In the sphere of faith
and morals, homosexuals must be loved such as by pointing out and
reminding them of the pertinent and existent realities and truths, said
Cruz in a statement.

Cruz, judicial vicar of the National Appellate Matrimonial

Tribunal, has emphasized that nature itself has stipulated that

marriage is between a man and a woman and the institution of
marriage provides them the standard possibility of procreation and
upbringing of children. The conclusion from these observations is
obvious: there can be no marriage between two individuals of the
same sex, there can be no sexual union between parties of the same
sex and there can be no possibility of the birth of children between
two persons of the same sex, he said.

Cruz also warned that the sacredness of marriage, the values

system and the family life of Filipinos would crumble if the country
emulated other nations permitting same-sex marriage and even
divorce.

The bishops were reacting to the ceremony held to supposedly

celebrate the unions of seven lesbian partners at a local bar in Baguio
City on Saturday. The ceremony, which also stirred the citys
evangelical community, was led by pastors of the Metropolitan
Community Church, a Christian church ministering to homosexuals.

According to Ige Ramos of Philippine Daily Inquirer, in the

Philippines, same-sex unions will never be legalized as long as the
political sector continues to allow itself to be influenced, not just by
the Church of Rome, but also by all Christian faiths. This was never
more evident than during a recent debate among presidential
candidates, when all revealed their true colors by stating that they did

not fully approve of the long-delayed Reproductive Health bill. This I

view not as a reflection of their principles, but rather what they felt
their fundamental Christian voters wanted to hear. And therein lies
the hypocrisy!

Consider also the moralistic stand taken by the Comelec when

it initially refused to accept Ang Ladlad as a legitimate political party,
on the grounds that they spread? Immorality? One has to wonder
what those righteous people in the Comelec are so concerned about.
Whether you consider it immoral or not, homosexuality is not a
chosen lifestyle. It cannot be passed on or inflicted upon others, nor
is it like some disease that can be contracted. To put it simply, you
either are or you arent It is genetic and nothing in this wide world
will ever change that. Acceptance, of course, is something else. It is
an ironic fact that despite the various churches? Continued and even
obsessive, condemnation, homosexuality and indeed same sex
partnerships are generally accepted in our country. What is needed,
however, is for the populace to stand up and be counted by
demanding that civil rights be granted to all, regardless of sexuality
or faith. And hares a thought; its just possible you may be fighting
for the future rights of your own children.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

INPUT
1987 Philippine
Constitution
Family Code of

PROCESS
Discussion
Analysis

the Philippines
Theories on the
Same-Sex

OUTPUT
The legal basis
for the
legalization of
same-sex
marriage

Marriage

Figure 1
The first box shows the necessary materials where the
conclusion that the study are solely based upon.
On the second box you will see that the researcher conducted
several discussions and analysis in gathering data
The third box shows the output of the conducted research

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION
This chapter presents the general statement of the research
about the findings of the study and it is in these findings that
determine whether the objectives of the study have been answered.

Laws that Prohibit Same-Sex Marriage in the Philippines

Under the Family Code the marriage is defined as a special
contract of union between woman and man that barred the same-sex
marriage here in the Philippines. However our Constitution does not
say so, where in Article XV, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution only
states that Marriage, as an inviolable institution, is the foundation of
the family and shall be protected by the state and in Section 3 where
it provides that The state shall defend: 1) The right of spouses to
found family in accordance with their religious convictions and the
demands of responsible parenthood. It is apparent on the researchers
that it is not unconstitutional for the country to legalize same-sex
marriage being that it was not stated in the 1987 Constitution that it is
strictly for only the union of man and woman. Laws that prohibit
same sex unions are not absolute and can be amended by a
subsequent law.

Revision or Amendment on the Current Laws

Established already is the fact that through the course of the

research the researchers found that it is not unconstitutional to
legalize same-sex marriage. Though, Further steps in the Congress
must still be undertaken in order to give the LGBT community the
same rights as that given by a woman and man. Particularly, the
amendment of the Family Code where the laws on marriage are being
followed and is the current and apparent restrictions of the LGBT
Community in exercising their rights and fully experiencing the equal
protection clause that is provided by in the Constitution.