In this YouTube interview, Ryan recounts a gender‑based discrimination incident from when he was in Grade 2. During a school Christmas party, a guard tried to prevent him from entering, citing his gender expression. Ryan’s father intervened, insisting that his child be allowed in, and the guard relented. The conversation, led by Pura and moderated by Speaker C, expands to discuss the broader context of LGBTQ+ student rights in the Philippines. They reference existing DepEd policies that protect queer and trans students, note that these policies are national guidelines, and highlight the role of the NGO Rainbow Rights in monitoring school compliance and advocating for affected families. The dialogue underscores the importance of parental support, institutional accountability, and awareness of legal protections for gender‑diverse children.
Any instances that you've been discriminated because of your gender?
Actually po, num grade 2 po ako nunyun, po yung hindi ko makakalimutan kase parang hindi pa po ako totally out. Alam napo nang parents ko na ganun ako at age up sigat num grade 2 po. Then ano po yun, siempre hindi pa po ako ganun makapag-express ng cuisine talaga ako. Mga dadami pa po ako nun panglalakhan. Then sa classroom po namin, meron po ako 'ng teacher na, diko po alam kung Nakabot sa konentas. Eto puyong ot ko nun that time. Then ano po, di po ako nila pasok ng guard sa school. Ayn't natit po konentate ko since may dalapo ako magapagay in that time. Kasina Christmas party po. Sabi po ni papa nun sa ano, walang namandaw po malisa sa ot ko. Abing ganun tate ko sa guard.
Bakit ay mo po pasok niyo ano ko? Walang namalisa sa ot niya ganyan. Okay.
Para po po pasok ko, nakosineguin naman po nun tate ko. Naman prepare for mo ko that time. Christmas party. So ayun pina pasok po ako. How long ago was this?
2 years ago. Yes, 2 years ago. Oh, okay. Correct.
Yes.
In school, hospital, all set. Yeah, yeah.
And to be honest, some schools have to comply with the policies that was imposed by DEPED already to supposedly help queer kids and even trans kids to be just who they are. So hindi nandina dapat maguing excuse na, "Oh, ganito sa school naman." If you have to comply, we have guidelines for this. So we have, in little ways, may mga policies na dapat sinusunod na na schools. Yes. So nagasulat na yon sa pag-ask.
Is it a national law?
It is a national thing. So parang it's kinda weird na ang gang na yon. May mga schools pa deng ganun, "Kaya we—" we call them out. It's important to tell them, you know, you might not know this but we have policies already in schools. So Pura, when you say we call them out, you're talking about your organization that you're part of? Well, yes, but we do that, which is Rainbow Rights. It's an NGO that helps for people who are discriminated against. But even you as an individual, even you as a parent, gayang nagginawa ng parent ni Ryan, you have to tell them na we should be allowed, you should allow my kid to come in 'cause pweding reference na meron tayong policies that help children to be safer in school.
I'm glad that your parents were very supportive. Yeah, thank you, parents like you.
