An immigration office in the Philippines has come under fire for prioritizing LGBTQ applicants.
The lane grants priority service to groups you’d expect at the Land Transportation Office in Manila. Senior citizens and pregnant women are prioritized, as are people with disabilities.
However, fourth on the list are LGBTQ folk. Quite how one proves they are entitled to this priority is best left to the joys of ignorance…
The post was viewed more than 127,000 times on social media platform X, with many questioning its validity.
Others considered what identities would be permitted under priority service.
Nevertheless, the question everyone wanted to know was: is it real? Well…
It was.
The sign’s existence first went viral in April 2023. Its presence was part of a “gender and development” initiative, with officials informing Facebook users of “the need to recognize and provide equal opportunities” to people who had been “ostracized” in the past.
“Slowly we have to encourage and foster their confidence,” officials added.
The sign came under heavy criticism including from LGBT groups. Bahaghari (Rainbow) chairperson Reyna Valmores noted the “convenience” of a priority lane but told local media that such lanes “exist to help people with physical and, or mental difficulties in processing transactions”.
“We of course recognize that this may be well-meaning. However, this does not erase the fact that the implication of LTO’s LGBTQ+ priority lane is dangerous. To this day, many people including lawmakers cling to the erroneous notion that being LGBTQ+ is a disorder,” she said at the time.
