G.R. No. 190582 April 8, 2010
ANG LADLAD LGBT PARTY vs. COMMISSION ON
ELECTIONS
Facts:
Comelec refused to recognize Ang Ladlad LGBT
Party, an organization composed
of men and women who identify themselves as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or
trans-gendered individuals (LGBTs),as a party list based on moral grounds. In
the elevation of the case to the Supreme Court, Comelec alleged that petitioner
made misrepresentation in their application.
Issue:
Whether
or not Ang Ladlad LGBT Party qualifies for registration as party-list.
Ruling:
Ang
Ladlad LGBT Party’s application for registration should be granted.
Comelec’s
citation of the Bible and the Koran in denying petitioner’s application was a
violation of the non-establishment clause laid down in Article 3 section 5 of
the Constitution. The proscription by law relative to acts against morality
must be for a secular purpose (that is, the conduct prohibited or sought to be
repressed is “detrimental or dangerous to those
conditions upon which depend the existence and progress of human
society"), rather than out of religious conformity. The
Comelec failed to substantiate their allegation that allowing registration to
Ladlad would be detrimental to society.
The LGBT community is not exempted from the exercise of its
constitutionally vested rights on the basis of their sexual orientation. Laws
of general application should apply with equal force to LGBTs, and they deserve
to participate in the party-list system on the same basis as other marginalized
and under-represented sectors. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is
not tolerated ---not by our own laws nor by any international laws to which we
adhere.
