By Billy Begas
House Deputy Minority Leader and Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña vowed to continue the fight against discrimination as he marked his 30th year of participating in the Pride March.
During Saturday’s 2026 LoveLaban Pride March in UP Diliman, Cendaña reflected on what keeps his advocacies strong and intact despite anti-gender forces trying to undermine his community’s struggles both online and offline.
“When we drown out the noise, we hear the voices that truly matter. Nakita natin kung paano nag-celebrate ang community community sa pag-file natin ng Sharmaine Bill. We saw their joy of finally being seen. And this is the same joy that carried us this far in the fight — for more than 30 years,” Cendaña said.
The Sharmaine Bill (House Bill No. 9929), inspired by a viral online joke about an orange wanting to be named “Sharmaine,” seeks to make legal gender recognition more accessible for transgender, intersex, and non-binary Filipinos.
“This is the same joy that couples and solo parents had when we first filed the Right to Care Bill last Congress. The same joy that our intersex siblings had when we filed the Cagandahan Bill. The same joy our community feels every time we move closer to passing the SOGIE Equality Bill,” the solon added.
Cendaña said Pride is both a celebration of how far the movement has come and a reminder of the work that remains.
“Hangga’t may Pilipinong hindi pa ganap na malaya dahil sa kanilang kasarian o sekswalidad, hindi titigil ang ating laban. Pride has always been a protest, but it is also hope in action. We will keep marching until equality becomes the law of the land,” he added.
Cendaña first joined the Pride March in Malate in 1996.
