A recent study found that a country’s legal recognition of LGBT people correlates with its economic development. It used a fixed effects model to control for year and country-specific characteristics, reducing omitted variable bias.

1. Geraldine Roman is the first openly transgender Filipino congresswoman

Roman, who comes from a political family, competed in the 2016 Philippine elections for the seat of the first district representative of Bataan. She won over Herminia Roman, her mother who was term-limited, with more than 62% of the vote. Her victory made her the country’s first openly transgender Filipino congresswoman.

She’s credited with helping to pass the SOGIE Equality Bill in the House of Representatives, but she also fights for other issues such as eco-tourism, agriculture advancements, education and health. She wants to promote equality in terms of gender, race and socioeconomic status.

The former editor of a Spanish news agency believes her win shows that LGBT people can contribute to nation-building, even in a society where they are still sometimes publicly ridiculed. “I hope my victory inspires people, especially the LGBT community, that they can take part in politics,” she says.

Her win is a positive step, but the battle for full equality in the Philippines will likely be a long one. In addition to advocating for the SOGIE Equality Bill, Roman is pushing for a ban on discrimination in public spaces such as schools, workplaces and commercial establishments. She’s also working to ensure that more poor students nationwide get scholarships so that they can better their lives. In addition, she’s planning to launch a YouTube channel, GeraldineRomantik, where viewers can learn more about her life in the House of Representatives.

2. Ladlad is the Philippines’ first political party for LGBT

Danton Remoto is the founder and chair of Ang Ladlad, which bills itself as “the Philippines’ first political party for LGBT,” or more colloquially, “the gay party.” It was established in 2003 and now boasts regional chapters across the country.

But despite its popularity, the group has yet to win any congressional seats. It has been barred from running in the elections’ party-list system because it fails to meet the required 2% threshold of votes needed to become a registered national party.

Despite the ban, Remoto has not given up on his goal of bringing a gay party to power in the Philippines. He has fought the ban all the way to the Supreme Court, where he won last month.

The court ruled that the election body’s refusal to recognise Ang Ladlad violated the Constitution, which guarantees the separation of church and state, full respect for all citizens’ human rights, and equal access to opportunities for public service. It also ruled that the COMELEC’s decision was discriminatory as it denied LGBT people the right to participate in public affairs on the basis of their sexual orientation, in violation of international law and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The court said that a political party must have “a concrete and genuine national political agenda to benefit the nation as a whole, or at least a substantial portion of its voters.” In this case, the COMELEC failed to prove that LGBT issues would be beneficial to the Philippines as a whole because it was founded on the basis of sexual orientation alone, which is deemed immoral in the eyes of the election body.

3. The Philippines made LGBTQIA+ history with the first Pride march in Asia-Pacific

The Philippines made LGBTQIA+ history with the first Pride march in Asia-Pacific in 1994, which was organized by ProGay Philippines and Metropolitan Community Church Manila to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. This was the first time the community celebrated its identity publicly, and it set the tone for a series of events and organizations that have come to define the Philippines’ LGBTQIA+ movement.

Gay rights advocates are also pushing for anti-discrimination legislation in the country, but the issue is complicated by the fact that 70% of Filipinos are primarily Catholic and believe homosexuality to be immoral. Many people who identify as LGBT are hesitant to come out, and those who do often experience family rejection or societal stigma.

But while the nation’s religious beliefs and political climate make it difficult to pass national laws protecting LGBTQIA+ citizens, individual cities are stepping in to provide protections for their residents. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, for example, has made LGBT rights one of her primary policies and has held mass commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples in the absence of legally recognized marriages or civil unions.

While the Philippines’ LGBTQIA+ movement is gaining momentum, the country still has a long way to go in terms of tolerance and equality. The country’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Equality (SOGIE) bill has been stuck in Congress for over two decades.

4. LGBTQIA+ rights are gaining traction in the Philippines’ media

While the Philippines’ LGBTQIA+ community is gaining visibility, there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome. The stigma against homosexuals and transgender people is widespread in the Philippines, where a majority of Filipinos are Catholic and conservative in their views on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In fact, in a recent SWS survey, 55% of Filipinos said they would support a law to protect the rights of gay and lesbian people. However, the majority of these same people also believe that AIDS is caused by gays and lesbians and 40% said that if they had a homosexual or transgender family member, they would pray for them to change their sexual orientation.

The Philippines’ LGBTQIA+ community has been able to push back against this lingering culture of praying-the-gay-away through various initiatives and campaigns. One of the most visible is Quezon City, where Mayor Joy Belmonte has made protecting LGBTQIA+ rights a major part of her mandate as mayor. Belmonte’s efforts have included a mass commitment ceremony for same-sex couples.

While Pride marches and other events during the month of June are a powerful way to promote LGBT equality, they also serve as important spaces for activists to rally their communities. In the Philippines, where families can easily shame their members for being LGBT, it is crucial that activists have these spaces to meet with each other and speak out against the violence and discrimination they face.