Transgender Hero
Honouree
Reyna Valmores
Philippines
I am Reyna Valmores, a transgender woman, social activist, and community organizer for LGBTIQ persons in the Philippines. I graduated with a degree in molecular biology and biotechnology and presented my research work both domestically and internationally with merit.
At 21, I became the youngest and first ever trans woman scholar for the ITPND at the MIND Institute, University of California Davis. When I came home to the Philippines, I was able to immerse myself in urban poor communities and saw firsthand the social reality of the poorest and most marginalized members of the LGBTIQ community—especially my fellow transgender women—in the Philippines.
Since then, I began learning from communities of transgender and LGBTIQ persons in different sectors: farmers, workers, fishers, indigenous people particularly the Lumad, precarious professionals, and many more. Last 2020, just as I was supposed to travel back to the United States in pursuit of my PhD, I made the big decision to turn back on that goal to enter full-time advocacy and community work for women, in particular transgender women, and LGBTIQ Filipinos.
Tell us about your work
I am the Chairperson of Bahaghari, the successor organization of Pro-Gay which organized the first ever Pride march in the Asia Pacific known as the 1994 Stonewall Manila. Bahaghari is a long-time authority on LGBTIQ issues in the Philippines, constantly developing insights about pressing LGBTIQ concerns.
Much of our work involves the campaign for a national anti-discrimination law, otherwise known as the SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sexual Characteristics) Equality Act. Originally the SOGIE Equality Act, this Congress my colleagues and I co-drafted revisions for the bill to include protections on sexual characteristics, which would have a great impact for intersex and transgender individuals.
We provide counseling and support for LGBTIQ persons, directing them to pro bono legal aid or services for mental health, HIV/AIDS, or shelter. Among our advocacies is highlighting that violence against transgender women IS violence against women, and that trans women should be included in women’s service desks across the country.
In the past 4 years, I coordinated numerous Pride marches in the Philippines. In my term, Bahaghari co-organized the 2021 Metro Manila Pride and Metro Baguio Pride, and led the first ever Central Luzon Pride and Southern Tagalog Pride celebrations.
What one achievement you’ve accomplished that you’re most proud of? Why?
Our campaign for inclusive schools in the Philippines. When face-to-face schooling resumed in the country last 2022, we were immediately flooded with reports of transgender kids being denied the right to continue their education unless they wore uniforms based on their legal sex. Countless transgender youth were immediately barred, unable to take exams and continue schooling. But after unifying trans students and advocates, we SUCCESSFULLY enacted landmark policy changes in Capiz State University and Iloilo City National High School.
This was the first time in Philippine history that schools formally amended policies to finally allow transgender students to sport uniforms and hairstyles befitting their gender identity and expression. Many schools have since followed this example.
What do you find most challenging about your work? Why?
The political climate belying advocacy work and activism in the Philippines. It is no secret that the Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for social activism. In my work, I am no stranger to red-tagging, vilification, and smear campaigns, especially by entities who are terrified of the idea that LGBTIQ and especially transgender persons can take up space politically. As an outspoken advocate, I also became a political prisoner alongside 19 individuals in 2020, igniting national and international conversation after we were unjustly arrested and imprisoned for organizing the 2020 Pride march in Manila.
What do you do to recharge your battery?
Wow, I realize this is the most chill among the questions. Haha! I recharge through reading (I like fantasy novels), video games (especially Pokémon games, RPGs, League of Legends, etc.), and…eating (Asian cuisine is unstoppable). Besides the fun hobbies, I also take the time to talk casually to people. By that I mean, talk to the driver of the jeepney on my morning commute, the vendor who sold me eggs in the market…anyone. It is quite an effort for me, as a naturally reserved person, but I do it to learn pressing issues in people’s daily lives. In my experience, it really helps me objectify and put things into perspective when I get stuck over-ruminating my own concerns.
What is your vulnerability and how do you overcome it?
Shyness and self-doubt. Ever since I became a human rights worker, more often than not I would find myself being the youngest person in the room. I would often question myself, thinking myself still wanting for experience and wisdom that older generations of advocates already possess. I often feel that, because of the brutal situation of activism in the Philippines which forces so many into silence, I had to be thrust into a mountain of responsibilities in a time when I still consider myself untried.
I combat this by reminding myself that, firstly, it is good to have fresh perspectives by having a balance of age groups, backgrounds, and experiences in any movement—even and especially in its leadership. Secondly, that learning is lifelong and dialectical. I learn from my colleagues—young and old—they learn from me, and we learn from the rest of the transgender and LGBTIQ persons in our campaigns and advocacies both in the Philippines and internationally.
You have been nominated for the Transgender Hero category. What was your reaction and please, tell us why?
I was pleasantly surprised! It is a huge honor to be recognized for work related to transgender and LGBTIQ persons, but also it never really crossed my mind to be nominated for an award regarding such campaigns in the first place. My immediate thought when I was informed was: I might have the opportunity to meet more people sharing the same advocacies as me, and we will then have the opportunity to further amplify each other’s initiatives!
What is a warm/hopeful message that you would like to share with the communities in the Asia Pacific?
(or anything else you would like to share)
Every transgender and LGBTIQ person has a gift. We are talented, creative, and brave, and the harshness of the world against our community has seen to it that our skin all but transforms, from silk, to steel. Still, this is not yet when we are strongest. Like grass woven into rice baskets, we are strongest in sifting the bad from the good when we combine our gifts, when we decide to link our arms towards the path of collective action.
For this reason, I urge my fellow transgender and LGBTIQ friends in the Asia Pacific to come together: let us form organizations, coalitions, service desks, refuge centers, shelters, Pride formations, international networks, and strengthen all forms of community among us. A world where we are not merely accepted, but embraced as equals, is possible. But first, we need to fight for it. Together. Makibeki, ‘wag mashokot! (Filipino gay lingo: “Dare together, have no fear!)
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