Philippines: Police Officials On Board with LGBT Sensitization Training From United Nations Human Rights recommendation to concrete action in the Philippines
February 28, 2013

“Human rights are for humans and LGBT persons are not to be excluded from the protection of the police when we apply the rule of law. ”
– Police Chief Superintendent Fajura

“This is a major breakthrough.”
– Ging Cristobal, IGLHRC

Manila (28 February 2013)—The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and LADLAD LGBT Party launched a partnership with the Philippines National Police (PNP) Human Rights Affairs Office to convene a national Gender and Sexuality training program to sensitize police officers when engaging with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Ging Cristobal of IGLHRC, Raymond Alikpala of LADLAD LGBT Party and Oscar Atadero, a veteran LGBT activist and a former secretary-general of Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (ProGay), planned the engagement in collaboration with Police Chief Superintendent Nestor Fajura, Chief of the Philippines National Police Human Rights Affairs Office.

Police Chief Supt. Fajura stressed that he is concerned with the consistent complaints of police misconduct his office has heard from LGBT groups. Police Chief Supt. Fajura indicated that he wants to address this concern by engaging directly with LGBT people. The training series will include an LGBT community dialogue with the PNP and six three-day gender and sexuality workshops with human rights regional officers, police precinct officers, and women’s and children’s desk officers in major provinces all over the Philippines in the coming months.

“The aim of this engagement with the LGBT sector is to sensitize the police force to bring about attitudinal change that greatly affects how the police enforce the rule of law and to make the necessary recommendations to incorporate inclusion of LGBT issues and rights in the formal training program of instructions (POI) in the policies and standard procedures of the police force,” said Police Chief Supt. Fajura.

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