Various groups, allies, and activists advancing LGBTQ+ rights gathered at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on June 26 to mark the annual Stonewall Philippines Gay Pride.

The protesters emphasized the militant tradition of Pride while condemning the worsening conditions of the people amid rising prices, expanding militarization, and continuing foreign intervention. They also called for stronger protections for the LGBTQ+ community and the immediate passage of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill.

Some of the organizers of the 1994 Stonewall Manila, regarded as the first Pride March in the Philippines and Asia, shared messages of solidarity with the protest. They called on Filipino LGBTQ+ to reject a Pride movement that is commercialized and corporatized.

“We must not be satisfied with a corporation-approved version of freedom where visibility is mere commodity,” they said.

After the Liwasang Bonifacio program, the groups marched toward the US Embassy but police blocked them along Kalaw Avenue. They condemned the continuing US influence and military presence in the Philippines in matters of economy, culture, and politics under agreements such as EDCA, VFA, and its push for establishing a Pax Silica hub.

Other actions

While the fourth year of Love Laban Pride PH was being held on June 27 at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, environmental defenders and youth students protested at the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) opposing the collusion of Love Laban Pride PH with Aboitiz Power and the National Youth Commission.

The Eastern Visayas Pride Alliance concurrently led a protest in Tacloban City at Libertad Freedom Park, where progressive groups, LGBTQ+ community members, and drag performers from different parts of the region gathered. The protest was part of a three-day series of Pride activities organized by the alliance.

With the theme “LGBTQIA+ and people’s suffering: scrap the VAT and imperialist war,” participants called for the abolition of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products and basic goods, and condemned the presence of military forces in San Jose, Tacloban City during the Balikatan exercises.

The stretch of Lopez Avenue from Carabao Park to Los Baños Junction at UP Los Baños, Laguna was colored with rainbow hues for the UPLB Pride March 2026. Participants marched carrying calls for gender equality and resistance against the feudal-patriarchal hegemony of the US-Marcos regime. They also demanded justice for LGBTQ+ victims of killings under state fascism.

A broad formation of LGBTQ+ and the people of Southern Tagalog marched on June 28 at Plaza Mabini, Batangas City to celebrate International LGBT Pride Day. The program highlighted asserting LGBTQ+ rights and condemning exploitation and violence that persist in the country.

The peasant organization Teatro Kabataan Mula sa Nayon and drag artists from UPLB Babaylan—Minervaugh, Veruchka Red, and Proxxxyma C—performed in the protest.

LGBTQ+ members and allies marched together on June 27 in Baguio City for a protest. With the theme “For freedom of rights and gender, RAMPA, AWRA!” they highlighted the issues of the sector and of the entire nation.