AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros condemned today the ‘bigoted, homophobic, and medieval’ COMELEC resolution that rejects the application for registration of Ang Ladlad party-list, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) group.

“It is a disgusting display of ignorance and bigotry. It betrays a disturbing ignorance of their mandate as a poll body, and the commissioners involved should be forced to review their duty as election officials,” Rep. Hontiveros said. “They should be made to read the constitution.”

Rep. Hontiveros is the author of the Anti-Discrimination Bill, which grants equal rights to LGBTs. The bill also bars discrimination against LGBT political parties.

She added that the COMELEC committed a constitutional violation.

“By using religion as a basis to reject Ang Ladlad’s accreditation, they have crossed the constitutional boundary between the State and religion. For that alone, they can be impeached,” Rep. Hontiveros stressed.

“It is ironic that they view LGBTs as immoral, when the LGBT community is a part of the human family. Filipino LGBTs are citizens of our country, and they deserve to be accorded with equal rights,” she said. “Furthermore, what is the ascendancy of COMELEC to be the country’s moral compass when it has accredited the party-list of Palparan, a human rights violator.”

Rep. Hontiveros pointed out that COMELEC’s 2^nd Division committed a grave abuse of discretion.

“Their duty is to implement the party-list law. If Ang Ladlad was able to fulfill the requirements for accreditation, then the group should be accredited. The views of the COMELEC officials on homosexuality is absolutely immaterial, and their religious beliefs do not supersede our laws and our Constitution,” she said.

She said that the COMELEC resolution is a backslide from efforts to modernize the electoral system.

“What is the point of automation if we have outmoded and medieval COMELEC officials? If they cannot even follow a basic constitutional principle – the separation of Church and State – how can we trust them to modernize our elections, or even to follow our election laws? If they cannot follow what our laws say, then they do not deserve be in COMELEC,” she said.###