Heavy downpour failed to dampen the spirit of queer love at the “Love Laban 2 Everyone” Pride event which met an abrupt end due to the bad weather.
Thousands of LGBTQIA+ community members and supporters gathered and celebrated Pride Month on Saturday, June 22 at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.
The “Love Laban 2 Everyone” Pride event was organized by local LGBT organization, Pride PH, which reported an estimated crowd of at least 200,000 attendees, which was double from last year’s Pride event at the same venue.
The colorful celebration was spearheaded by QC Mayor Joy Belmonte who was seen among those participating in the “Pride March” along with queer individuals, allies, families, ambassadors from different countries, human rights advocates, and local organizations to reflect on Pride as a celebration and protest.
The event featured two powerful marches: the LOVE march and the LABAN march, starting from Tomas Morato and ending at the Quezon Memorial Circle, where attendees can engage in different booths and fun activities at the “Pride Expo.”
Meanwhile, beginning at 5PM, the Pride Night had a great start as the hosts, social media personalities, Pipay, Yani Villarosa, and Christian Antolin, hyped up the crowd with lively and hilarious spiels.
The concert began with actress-singer Janella Salvador performing her 2015 hit pop song “Mahal Kita Pero,” followed by her recently released track, “Hey You,” which featured a GL (girl’s love) couple’s love story portrayed by the latter and her former “Darna” co-star Jane De Leon in its music video.
Queer singer-songwriter Jason Dhakal serenaded the crowd with his soulful R&B covers. Nica Del Rosario, Matthew Chang, and Justine Peña joined forces as trio and belted out some of their hits and latest songs. Alt-rock band Sandiwa engaged with the crowd with his powerful performance of queer-inspired songs.
Alternative pop band Cup of Joe energized the crowd with some of their popular tracks, “Estranghero,” “Bukod-Tangi,” and “Tingin,” which they continued to perform on stage despite the heavy rain.
Unfortunately, the highly-anticipated production numbers by the event’s star-studded line-up, including Vice Ganda, Gloc-9, Ben&Ben, and BINI, were canceled after the weather began to worsen during the event.
Event organizers decided to cancel the performances to ensure the safety of the attendess, staff, and other performers, after some electrical and sound equipment were “compromised” by the heavy downpour.
The Quezon City local government released its official statement on its social media pages, expressing gratitude to the thousands of attendees who celebrated the event despite the bad weather.
Despite the abrupt end to the event, the local government unit (LGU) thanked the participants for the large turnout and positive conduct and highlighted the community’s unity and strength in advocating for equality.
“Gusto naming magpasalamat sa lahat ng nakiisa ngayong Love Laban 2 Everyone Pride Festival,” the LGU wrote in their statement.
It continued, “Maraming salamat din sa pagiging disiplinado kaya naging maayos at ligtas ang ating programa simula kaninang umaga.”
They praised the community and allies for their good behavior and emphasized the importance of continued support for the SOGIE Equality Bill.
“We are proud of our community along with the many allies that have joined us dahil ipinakita natin ang ating good behaviour and also our resolve. We will need more of this show of force and love letter to national leaders in the crucial 6 months na kakailanganin natin ang lakas at suporta ng isa’t isa para sa SOGIE Equality Bill at para makamit ang pangarap nating lipunang may pag-ibig at pagkakapantay-pantay,” the statement read.
“Hindi po ito ang pagtatapos ng ating laban. Ang Pride ay pang-araw-araw, at marami pang pagkakataon na tayo ay muling magsasama-sama,” it concluded its message.
