#UnleashingLove: 4th Iloilo Pride March

Hello Everyone,

We are the Iloilo Pride Team, a small community-based organization in Iloilo City, Philippines. We have been self-sustaining since 2014 organizing LGBTIQ+ events in our beloved city. The organization is volunteer-led and strives to mainstream conversations of human rights, inclusion, HIV/AIDS and SOGIESC in our city. Our story began in 2015 when four friends decided that it was time to make a change and start a movement for LGBTIQ rights. This started with a small meeting with Justin, Gabriel, Russel, and Knoi, who became the founders of the organization.

Over the years, we have gained substantial support from private and government agencies since our first pride march in 2016. Our first pride march witnessed 200 people marching alongside our rainbow flags. The next year in 2017, we tripled that number to 800 pride marchers calling to "let love win, in the city of love". In 2018, we were surprised to see a staggering 2000 pride marchers that came from across the region. We are all doing this with minimal support because we are not from the Capital region, but a small island city.

The Iloilo Pride Team story is one that is filled with inspiration because we initiated this movement in a city that was once extremely conservative. Through our efforts and the support of our partners, we have assisted in the passage of two "Anti Discrimination Ordinances", one in the province of Iloilo in 2016 and one in the city of Iloilo in 2018. Three overwhelmingly successful pride marches have changed the hearts and minds of our Ilonggo communities towards LGBTIQ identities. This has also allowed us to organize several events and lectures on LGBTIQ rights, HIV/AIDS and other topics that are meaningful to our community.

Yes, we are slowly pushing forwards but we still need as much support as possible. For the 4th Pride March, we envision a grand celebration with the theme #UnleashingLove! With the amount of $1000 (collectively), you would be able to support a growing community here in Iloilo City. So all we're asking is a donation between $10 to $100 to help organize our pride march and continue this Iloilo Pride Team story with us.

This support will mean that we could once again give the Iloilo City LGBT community an opportunity to highlight their stories and identities without fear of discrimination. This will mean we can once again celebrate our identities and celebrate love in all its forms.

Any support you can give will be appreciated!

And if you can, JOIN US this OCTOBER 12, 2019 for the 4TH ILOILO PRIDE MARCH! #UnleashingLove

Justin Francis Castro Bionat
Founder, Iloilo Pride Team

Here are some links to our previous pride marches and other initiatives:

1. https://www.panaynews.net/iloilos-lgbt-community-stages-pride-march-today/

2. https://outragemag.com/city-iloilo-holds-first-lgbt-pride-march/

3. http://teammag.ph/2nd-iloilo-pride-march/

4. https://www.bworldonline.com/lgbt-friendly-iloilo-city-plans-creation-of-support-office/

5. https://visayas.politics.com.ph/councilor-love-baronda-turns-into-stage-boss-for-iloilo-pride-team-leader/

6. https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1502060/ILOILO/Local-News/Iloilo-LGBT-community-backs-anti-discrimination-bill

7. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2018/04/23/lgbt-group-warns-of-more-sex-workers-after-boracay-closure/

8. https://www.elsevier.com/connect/in-photos-celebrating-LGBTQ-pride-at-elsevier