Content warning: This article discusses an account of violence against LGBTQIA+ individuals, abduction and murder
Today, the LGBTQIA+ community mourns the death of three members of our community.
On Jan. 13, GMA wrote that the remains of four reportedly abducted individuals were found by personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) while they were conducting routine highway maintenance near a remote area in Brgy. San Jose, Tagaytay. Authorities had discovered the bodies of Nicole Quilaneta and Erika Endrina on Jan. 12, while two more bodies were found on the morning of Jan. 13. One of the bodies discovered on Jan 13. was identified as Brgy. Zapote Uno councilor RR Bondoc. The three (Quilaneta, Endrina and Bondoc) are said to be part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
In a separate report, GMA said that Quilaneta, Endrina and Bondoc were allegedly abducted around midnight of Dec. 19. According to police, they were having a drink with three other individuals in Brgy. Ligas Dos in Bacoor, Cavite before they were taken by armed men and forced into an SUV.
Endrina’s sister Sherly Mae Generelao told GMA that their family did not know the motive behind the abduction and killing because the victims had no known enemies and were not involved in illegal drugs.
We have clamored hard for the passage of the SOGIESC-based Anti-Discrimination Bill, more so after slain trans woman Jennifer Laude’s convicted killer walked free.
We do not need more proof of the urgency of passing a bill that prohibits violence committed against individuals on the basis of their SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics). Proof came, nonetheless.
National democratic LGBTQIA+ organization Bahaghari has condemned the killing of the individuals who have been dubbed the “Cavite 3.”
“State impunity [as shown in the release of] criminals such as Joseph Scott Pemberton has only inflamed the existing culture of violence and injustice against the [LGBTQIA+]. The abduction of the Cavite 3 is a testament to the criminal neglect, and the free pass granted by the state to slaughter our community,” the group said in a statement. “We demand a full investigation [of] the abduction of Cavite 3! We demand the urgent passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill! No one must ever live with [the] fear of violence [and] the certainty of impunity [from] aggressors—all for living one’s truth.”
We join the call for justice for Cavite 3 and the demand for better protection for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Art by Jan Cardasto
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