Kuwentong Peyups
Atty. Dennis Gorecho
CCP Queer plays to celebrate Pride month
Many gays still experience feelings of isolation, guilt, and shame due to the clash between their religious upbringing and their sexual orientation. Family rejection and cultural stigma are significant challenges.
Both the traditional Catholic Church and Islamic teachings explicitly condemn homosexual acts as sins. However, diverse theological interpretations, reform movements, and supportive communities exist within both traditions.
These groups actively advocate for the acceptance and inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer ( LGBTQ+) individuals in society.
Virgin Lab Fest (VLF) celebrates Pride Month by staging one-act plays linked with the LGBTQ+ community.
VLF is known as the Philippines’ only festival dedicated to “untried, untested, and unstaged one-act plays” showcasing diverse voices that touch on complex human experiences and social issues, including those with LGBTQ+ themes.
Four out of the 15 plays celebrate Pride Month, either as the storyline or the characters portrayed: HARAM by Alab Usman, LUALHATI by Gab Mactal, TAKSYAPO! by John Lapus, and POLAR COORDINATES by Ade Valenzona.
HARAM explores the complex intersections of faith and identity through three interconnected vignettes, focusing on queer Muslims struggling to navigate love and religion across borders and barriers. It delves into religious anxiety, the pain of being labeled haram (forbidden), and the ways some queer individuals continue to hold on to their faith.
LUALHATI is about a former nun turned philosophy professor Jacinta, who comes face to face with Lualhati, a nun from her time at the convent after 20 years when they were just novitiates. Their memories of faith and romance emerge on the last night of the wake held at the convent.
TAKSYAPO! is a Kapampangan expression used to release anger or frustration. Through humor, sharp wit, and shared confessions about homosexuality, love, loyalty, and disappointment, strangers discover an unexpected connection—proving that sometimes healing can begin with a single shout of “TAKSYAPO” , within the walls of a rage booth.
POLAR COORDINATES is about a student struggling with academic performance, family dynamics, and sexual identity. Both father and son turn out to be gays.
Opposition to gay practices is based on the religious view that it is an inordinately perverse passion that runs contrary to human nature.
Classical views, generally, consider sodomy and gay behavior to be unnatural; a disposition that defies practical reason. Consequently, religious groups committed to a belief that God created a natural order for both biological and non-biological life continue to be the most vehement opponents to homosexuality in all its forms.
In many Muslim-majority nations, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, homosexual acts are criminalized, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to the death penalty.
The view that homosexuality is incompatible with Islamic theology is associated with the story of Lot in the Koran (also in the Old Testament) which recounts the destruction of the tribe of Lot allegedly due to their engagement in homosexual acts as “evidence” for God’s condemnation of homosexuality.
LUALHATI depicts lesbianism in convents that explores the relationship between the Catholic Church and homosexuality which is complex and often contentious, involving various conflicting views.
According to Catholic doctrine, solely having same-sex attractions itself is not considered inherently sinful; it is the act of engaging in sexual activity with someone of the same sex that is regarded as a grave sin against chastity that is contrary to its moral teachings.
As all religious sisters take vows of chastity, orientation does not dictate a sister’s standing, provided her vow of celibacy is upheld.
“Sa mga nagsasabing puro kabaklaan ang mga dula ng VLF…tama ka,” says playwright and VLF co-founder Rody Vera. He stresses that VLF wants to give voice to marginalized sectors that are invisible in public discussion and discourse, particularly the LGBTQ crowd.
Established in 2005 by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), VLF is known as the Philippines’ only festival dedicated to “untried, untested, and unstaged one-act plays” showcasing diverse voices that touch on complex human experiences and social issues.
This year’s VLF carried the theme “Hubo’t Hubad” with the aim of “stripping down all pretense of innocence while showcasing the bold Filipino voice and spirit.”
The plays are grouped into four thematic sets labeled A, B, C, D (Tengang Kawali, Kapit Tuko, Balat Kalabaw, Pusong Mamon) with each set featuring three new plays plus set E (Dilang Matalim) which revisits standout plays from previous years.
VLF XXI will run from June 3 to 28, 2026 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater).
This year’s Pride March and Festival, dubbed #LoveLab4n!, will be held on June 27, 2026 in the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City.
(Peyups is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0908-8665786.)