Comelec rejects gay party Ang Ladlad’s appeal
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 12/17/2009 1:57 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo’s tie-breaking vote ended the gay group Ang Ladlad's bid to be included in the party-list elections in May 2010.
Melo’s vote broke the 3-3 tie of the Comelec en banc voting on the gay group’s petition seeking to overturn the Comelec Second Division’s ruling rejecting Ang Ladlad as a party on “moral grounds.”
The Comelec’s decision is final, which means Ang Ladlad may only appeal its case with the Supreme Court.
In a ruling dated November 11, the Comelec said that although the party presented proper documents and evidence for their accreditation, their petition is “dismissible on moral grounds.”
Page 5 of the ruling states that Ang Ladlad’s definition of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) sector as a marginalized and disadvantaged sector due to their sexual orientation “makes it crystal clear that the petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs.”
The Comelec ruling quotes passages from both the Bible and the Koran (taken from internet site www.bible.org) that describe homosexuality as “unseemly” or “transgressive.”
The Comelec said accrediting Ang Ladlad would pose risks to the Filipino youth.
“Should this Commission grant the petition, we will be exposing our youth to an environment that does not conform to the teachings of our faith,” the ruling stated. With a report from Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News
via Comelec rejects gay party Ang Ladlad’s appeal | ABS-CBN News Online Beta.
Here’s to hoping that The Supreme Court does the right thing!