LOOK: 205 LGBTQ+ couples cement their love in QC commitment ceremony

Likewise, Belmonte said that this commitment ceremony is one of the ways to live up to the city's Gender Fair Ordinance, which was slated in 2014. 

"Tayo ang isa sa mga pinaka-unang lungsod na nagpasa ng isang batas kung saan sinasabi natin na pantay-pantay ang lahat ng tao dito sa ating lungsod," she said.

"Sa ordinance na 'yan, katulad ng nabanggit ko, pinangako namin ang pagkakapantay-pantay ng bawat tao, ano man ang kanilang kasarian," the mayor added.

Among the sponsors and guests for the event were LGBTQ advocates, including Ging Cristobal and Drag Race Philippines season 2 winner Captivating Katkat.

In case you didn't know, QC has held other commemorations of queer love in the past. A total of 222 queer pairs took part in the love-filled affair in 2022, where they declared their love and strengthened their commitment to each other.

'Sure na ako sa kanya'

Beaming with love, witnesses such as the couple's family members also graced the affair. One such couple is Jhonick Ramos and Racquel Bordeos, who have been in a relationship for 26 years. For them, this commitment ceremony paved the way to amplify their "love and commitment" towards each other amidst a society where love for queer couples is still a challenge and a question.

"Sure na kasi ako sa kanya, kami na talaga," Ramos told PhilSTAR L!fe when asked why they joined the ceremony.

Cristobal, a project coordinator at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) for Asia and the Pacific Islands, said that the ceremony is no game but rather a challenge for couples to maximize their love with each other.

"Tandaan niyo hindi ito laro, hindi man legal ang ating relasyon sa buong Pilipinas, dapat namnamin natin, lasapin natin na dito sa Quezon City nirerespeto ang relasyon natin," Cristobal said.

Cristobal who also brings 12 years of LGBT activism in the Philippines and Asia emphasized, "Kung magrerelasyon kayo, tiis, magpakabait at pinaka-number one talaga ay maging tapat sa isa't isa at sa sarili."

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that the city has taken a huge leap toward the inclusivity of its resident queer couples.

On June 24, the same day as the city's Pride festival, the LGU launched the country's first "Right to Care Card" for LGBTQ+ couples, an initiative that will allow resident queer couples to make medical decisions for their partners.

“Dito sa care card na ito ang isang LGBT couple na matagal nang nagmamahalan through special power of attorney will be able to have authority over the health care decisions na dapat gawin or kailangan gawin para sa isang partner,” Belmonte said on Friday, June 23.

Holy Union in the Philippines

Open Table Metropolitan Community Church, an ecumenical Christian church in Mandaluyong with specific outreach to members of the LGBTQ+ community, offers holy union—which is the closest thing queer couples in the Philippines can get to marriage right now.

According to Open Table MCC, the rite of holy union is a duly authorized clergy's spiritual joining of two persons. Hence, the essence of this rite is the pair's vow, their pledging of deep fidelity to each other.

Although in essence, a holy union sounds like a marriage, it is not since the government recognizes the latter.

"If it's on the religious aspect, it's exactly the same. The principle is the same; the theology is the same. It is marriage, but the word 'marriage' took on a legal meaning and legal consequences," Rev. Joseph San Jose previously told L!fe.

"Since wala pang law na nagrerecognize ng pagsasama, ng pagsosolemnize ng LGBTQI+, then we coined the term 'holy union.'"

According to San Jose, the unions are not recognized in the country but can be recognized in other countries in some instances. But most marriages must be legal in the home country to be legally recognized anywhere.