Philippines Supreme Court: Ke-ray-zee!

[post-op lover]

Just came across this decision by the Supreme Court of PI:

http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/jurispr....689.htm

After she got SRS, she applied for a name and sex change in the registry, so she could marry an American. The court decided it wasn't allowed. Not because of anything about practical matters, but entirely on how inconvenient it would be for the judiciary:

"A change of name is a privilege, not a right."

"changing petitioner€™s first name for his declared purpose may only create grave complications in the civil registry and the public interest"

Fuck me, I thought that parents were free to give their children any name they chose, and it was the responsibility of the state to serve the people. Not the other way around.

Not changing gender, well, that's debated all over, but not allowed to change name is just fucking stupid.

Here are some of PI's contestants for imbeciles of the year:
RENATO C. CORONA
REYNATO S. PUNO
ANGELINA SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ
ADOLFO S. AZCUNA
CANCIO C. GARCIA

Unfortunately, I think Mitt Romney will beat them, but that's just because America has a fetish for imbeciles these days.

Now, for the LB in question, I wonder if she's hot.


POL

[brocklanders]

They say Philippines is the land that logic forgot or it is also labeled an intellectual wasteland....both are true IMHO.

[alan1chef]

.....and you think that transgender discrimination is a problem in Thailand....as the song says...."you ain't seen nothin yet"...

[James Taylor]

The Phills is a Catholic country. What's not Catholic is Muslim or evangelical Christian. Not a very conducive atmosphere for fighting for the rights of the transgendered...

[rxpharm]

Actually the decision by the Philippines Supreme Court is not as crazy as it sounds.

Supreme Courts in various countries have to decide what role they will serve (or are allowed to serve). They can serve to uphold the laws of a country, or they can serve to interpret and set precedents for changing the laws of a country for social change.

The Philippines Supreme Court wrote in their decision that it is outside the legal system's realm to remedy the problems of transgender people in the Philippines - it is up to the legislature of the country to do so.

So in this case it is the government's lack of action that is the issue.

This contrasts with Korea where the courts set the precedent for transgenders to change their name and gender on identity documents with Harisu's successful court case a couple of years ago. The government responded to the court case, passing legislation to establish a procedure for any transgender person who wants to change their ID document name and gender.

There is an organization in the Philippines that is working to promote rights of transgender women in the Philippines called STRAP, and here is their reply:

Official statement of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines regarding the
decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
1
Filipina transsexual group to Supreme Court: We understand
The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) understands
why the Supreme Court of the Philippines denied the petition for a change of
first name and sex of Ms Mely Silverio, a landmark decision penned by
Associate Justice Renato Corona, promulgated on the 22nd of October 2007.
In one way or another, we are all ignorant. Since omniscience is not a human
quality, the decisions and choices that we make in life, no matter how we
claim to be rational and intelligent, are always limited by the information that
we have, the quality of the information, and by our capacity to process and
interpret them. Moreover, our biases, prejudices, and emotional commitment
to our long-cherished beliefs affect the manner we reach our conclusion. This
is unavoidable for basking in the bliss of perpetual ignorance is very
comfortable. Just like any decision, this one, without doubt, suffers from it. We
understand for STRAP is also ignorant.
STRAP is ignorant of how the justice system in the Philippines really works or
whether it is working at all.
STRAP is ignorant of whether or not the freedom of expression enshrined in
our constitution includes gender expression.
STRAP is ignorant of the wisdom behind this decision that leaves us with the
unnecessary suffering and inconvenience brought by the €œM€ on our birth
certificates until Philippine Congress finally decide that we deserve to live a
dignified, joyful, and self-fulfilling existence, just like every human being.
STRAP is ignorant of why our Supreme Court cannot be like the Supreme
Court of South Korea, which decided in 2006 to allow transsexual people to
change their sex on their birth certificates. Justice Kim, commenting on their
decision, said that their decision €œis the best choice to alleviate the suffering of
transsexual people at a time when any tangible legislative measures to
protect their rights is most likely a long time coming.€
Official statement of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines regarding the
decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
2
But we are not comfortable in our ignorance for we know that there are a lot of
countries whose legal systems allow our legal identity to reflect, even without
sex reassignment surgery, the gender we actually live rather than the gender
declared by the doctors upon our birth. Of course, these countries have
access to the latest information regarding the reality behind the category of
sex. Information that, undoubtedly, the Supreme Court of the Philippines
failed to take into consideration. Perhaps the Supreme Court simply has no
access to them. We understand.
However, access to information does not always guarantee wisdom. Without
compassion, understanding, and the humility to accept that you are ignorant,
wisdom is impossible. Perhaps our country€™s institutions have not yet reached
the same stage and level of compassion and understanding that other
countries have towards people like us. We understand.
We are among the daughters and citizens of this country. We are humbly
reclaiming the right to define our gender identity. Our male name is not the
name that we use every day. The male on our birth certificates is not the life
we live every day. The legal identity that we carry is a lie because that is not
who we really are. We want the gender that we actually live, present and
declare every day be the one reflected on our birth certificates and not what
the doctors declared upon our birth.
We are not asking for the stars, just our real life to be reflected on our legal
papers. When will we be understood? We hope that Philippine Congress is
listening, compassionately.
In loving kindness,
The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines
E : [email protected]
W: www.tsphilippines.com

Yes, there are problems faced by Filipina ts, but the changes they seek can only be addressed by the government - and this is similar to the kinds of problems faced by Thai lbs. As mentioned in the post about Discrimination is Everywhere - in the Academia Forum things are not as bad in Thailand. The Catholic conservative culture in Philippines makes the social acceptance much more difficult and the process of change a bigger challenge.

[alan1chef]

Thanks for showing the response from STRAP. You are right, the first step is legislative and it is important to note that even with legislative action, it may take years for that legislation to become actual practice. Society can be slow to change and slow to accept; sometimes it takes changes of the generations to make those changes into reality. It is promising however, that the courts even chose to make comment. That in and of itself is a step toward recognition of the issue.