The 27th Foreign Correspondent Report

Sexual Minorities and Disasters in the Philippines: Where Are They?
Ms. Arisa JUNIO (Philippines)
The Philippines, being one of the world’s disaster-stricken countries, is experiencing
complex impacts from climate change and disasters. With its geographical situation andphysical characteristics, the exposure of the country to disasters and natural/man-madehazards is very prominent (DRRNetPhils, n.d). Disasters, whether it be natural or man-made,poses a huge hindrance in the development of a country, particularly in achieving theSustainable Development Goals. Measures are needed to help adapt and lessen theirvulnerability to impacts of disasters and climate change.
On November 8, 2013, the Philippines experienced the strongest typhoon (tropicalcyclone) ever recorded. Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, created full extent
of casualties and damages as flood waters escalated quickly (ABS-CNB News 2013). According
to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of the Philippines, thedeath toll reached 6,300, the number of missing people remains at 1,061, and 28,689 people
were injured in Tacloban City alone (GMA News 2014). It took only a few hours to obliterate
the Eastern Visayas region and the cities affected within the region, and this led to reshapethoughts about disasters and how it challenges the world’s preparedness capacity (NDRRMC
2014: 11).
“In a world perceived as increasingly vulnerable to disasters due to climate change,
managing disasters and risks has become a dominant response of governments andhumanitarian aid industry over the world (Alburo-Canete 2014: 34)”. Prominent policy
discourses on disaster risk reduction in the Philippines primarily target vulnerable groupswhich are solely composed of women, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. It
has been using a gender lens in reducing vulnerabilities and increasing capacities forresiliency after the disaster strikes.
Despite the special focus on gender, programs and services offered in the disasterrehabilitation and recovery efforts in the Philippine setting are bound by the man-womanbinary. This idea reinforces an essentialist view on femininity and masculinity that portrays
men and women as one, homogenous group where all members have the same capacities andvulnerabilities in times of natural hazard. It must be taken into consideration thatintersecting and diverse power relations exist in these groups of people who have diverseneeds.
Furthermore, this framing invisibilizes social groups who are outside the gender binary
in disasters. Existing disaster policies and practices foster ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ (Rich1980) where sexual minorities are stigmatized and discriminated due to their sexual
orientation and gender identity (Browne & Nash 2013; Gaillard et al. 2016). In particular,
sexual minorities are disregarded socially, economically, and institutionally in dealing withvulnerability and resiliency in increasing capacities. Existing DRR policies embody
heteronormative norms and values in both the everyday life and during disasters, making
people outside the man-woman framing more vulnerable when faced with natural hazards(Gaillard et al 2016). They do not have access to cultural, social, economic, and politicalstructures, which worsens their vulnerability.
Sexual minorities, specifically the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
community were treated differently during the recovery phase of Typhoon Haiyan in Leyte.
Leyte is known to have conservative and repressive treatment towards sexual and genderminorities in the area, where growing up as an ‘LGBT’ person would cause great anxiety about
the intense gossip cultures and they are restrained to be themselves without constraints andThe 27th Foreign Correspondent Reporthint of judgment towards their sexuality (Ong et al., 2015). Middle income LGBTs sociallybenefited where their own sexuality was promoted and they were accepted by their own
communities due to the foreign aid workers’ presence on the ground. On the contrary, lower
income sexual minorities do not have the same social acceptance treatment towards them as
many of them have remained focused on earning a living (Ong et al 2015).
My fear is that having this kind of man/woman framing in disaster response would
increase the vulnerability of LGBTs who are also in dire need of social services and support
from all groups and institutions offering help to victims of disasters. Since policies are pushingfor an ‘inclusive’ principle, it should consider the diverse needs and various peoples residing
within the country and make sure that people will be safe from all forms of discrimination.

Figure 1: Typhoon Haiyan Route in the Philippine area of responsibility. Source: Metromedia Philippines(2013)

The 27th Foreign Correspondent Report

Figure 2: Arturo Golong, a gay man living in Tacloban, Leyte, who shared his story to Oxfam in the Philippines regarding thediscrimination experienced by sexual minorities during and after Typhoon Haiyan. Source: Oxfam in the Philippines.
(https://philippines.oxfam.org/life-gay-man-resettlement-site)

Sources:
ABS-CBN News (2013) 'World's most Powerful Typhoon Lands in PH' ABS-CBN News.
Alburo-Canete, K. (2014). ‘Bodies at Risk: “Managing” Sexuality and Reproduction in theAftermath of Disaster in the Philippines’ in Gender, Technology and Development, 18(1),pp. 33-51. SAGE Publications.
DRRNetPhils. (n.d.). Primer on the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of2010. Retrieved on April 12, 2015 fromhttps://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alnap.org%2Fpool%2Ffiles%2Fdrrmactprimer.pdf&ei=YS0vVejjCee7mQX7p4DgAQ&usg=AFQjCNHmDKm65PJToYD8sQZx7Ra
w1-I6Ag&sig2=uK9vcxG1qqgVTqgCR064eg&bvm=bv.91071109,d.dGY
Gaillard, J.C., Sanz, K., Balgos, B., Dalisay, S., Gorman-Murray, A., Smith, F., and Toelupe, V.
(2016). ‘Beyond men and women: a critical perspective on gender and disaster’ in Disasters.
Overseas Development Institute.
GMA News (2014) 'NDRRMC: Yolanda Death Toll Hits 6,300 Mark nearly 6 Months After Typhoon'.
NDRRMC (2011) 'National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Framework (NDRRMF)'.
Ong, J., Flores, J., and Combinido, P. (2015). ‘Obliged to be Grateful: How local communities
experienced humanitarian actors in the Haiyan response’.