The case of the transgender woman who recently made headlines for being a victim of discrimination at a mall in Quezon City turned out to be not the only such incident this month.
Twitter user @hermanalabada, who identified as a member of the LGBT community, shared how she was barred from entering a club in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig for her clothing. The establishment, however, allowed other women to enter.
She also attached photos of what she and her companion, also a transwoman, wore that night.
“Hello ‘ya girl was denied entry by two male bouncers from Early Night last night because of an apparent ‘dress code’ yet when asked why they couldn’t even give me a straight answer ,” she said on August 11.
HELO ya gurl was denied entry by 2 MALE bouncers from Early Night last night bc of an apparent "dress code" yet when asked why they couldn't even give me a straight answer lol just say you're transphobic and go🙄 pic.twitter.com/AjMw8x7hcr
— justine (@hermanalabada) August 11, 2019
She questioned why the bouncers of Early Night club let inside other women who wore more revealing outfits than her.
“I even offered to wear my jacket buttoned up yet it[‘s] like they didn’t even wanna acknowledge me,” the user said.
The post soon gathered criticisms against the club and prompted others with similar experiences to open up.
Twitter user @kylegopez recalled that one of the bouncers also barred him and his friend from the club when they dressed up as drag queens.
“The bouncer literally yelled ‘bawal’ when I tried entering and when I asked why he looked away and ignored me,” he said.
OMG THIS HAPPENED TO US TOO WHILE WE WERE IN DRAG @yanalabado_ @_rafaReach117 !!!!! THE BOUNCER LITERALLY YELLED “BAWAL” WHEN I TRIED ENTERING AND WHEN I ASKED WHY HE LOOKED AWAY AND IGNORED ME 😡😡😡 https://t.co/9aiElm2p6i
— jughead (@kylegopez) August 11, 2019
Following the slew of criticisms, Early Night issued a public apology on its Facebook page.
“We would like to firmly state that there is no such rule that our front security allegedly invoked. We have reached out to the concerned guest and began an investigation to fully resolve the issue,” it said.
“Apart from extending our apologies, we are also taking this incident as a chance to re-train all our staff so they may reflect the true values and culture of this company. Rest assured that positive changes will be swiftly made,” it added.
Posted by Early Night? on Sunday, August 11, 2019
Recently, transwoman Gretchen Diez likewise took to social media to make people aware of how members of the cleaning crew of Farmer’s Mall had her arrested and detained at the Quezon City police station just because of the restroom she chose to use.
When it blew up, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte denounced the mall management for it and reminded them of the standing Gender Fair Ordinance of the city.
These events also triggered renewed calls online to pass the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) bill, which had been stuck in the plenary for some time, into law.
Conservative senators such as Senate President Tito Sotto and Manny Pacquiao have rejected this proposed measure from the beginning.
