For all the media attention “aggrieved” transgender person Gretchen Custodio Diez is getting, it seems nobody is giving embattled janitress Chayra Ganal fair coverage. According to the more popular account of what happened at the Farmers Plaza mall in Cubao, Quezon City last Wednesday, the 14th August, Diez, a transgender who identifies as female, was “forcibly” led out of a female public toilet by Ganal. Diez captured the incident on video before she was arrested and taken away by the police.
Not surprisingly, Diez’s side attracted disproportionate media coverage and social media traction. This is thanks to the enormous clout and traditional media connections brought to bear by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ) community into the “issue”. One will have otherwise expected that the plight of Ganal, a contractual employee of an agency providing services to Farmers Plaza mall, would attract the support of labour rights “activists” like Anakbayan and the League of Filipino Students (LFS) both of which had, in recent months, been actively campaigning against worker contractualisation.
It is worth exploring whether Ganal, aside from being the sort of case “labour activists” jump upon to further their advocacy, was also unfairly made a fall guy by Farmers Plaza management to wash themselves clean of any perception that they are less than the “LGBTQ-friendly” space they pitch themselves as. Quite convenient, of course, that Farmers Plaza enjoy the kind of plausible deniability that is, in actual fact, the whole point of keeping employees at an arm’s length using the very contractual agreements communist fronts like Anakbayan and the LFS rail about selectively.
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Indeed, the question is, who is the real victim here? Media and the “woke” crowd have, since this circus erupted, put up Diez as their latest adornment in their Altar of Victimhood and, in the process, demonised Ganal. Step back for a moment and take stock of what is really going on here. Diez has, watching her back, the awesome might of the Gay Lobby, the vast resources of Big Corporate Media, and a loud sponsor in Congress in the form of Rep. Geraldine Roman, who is deified by the “woke” crowd simply for being “the first transgender lawmaker” in Philippine history.
Roman, for her part is basking in this glory and milking the circus for all the media mileage it is worth, launching into a shrill barrage to fully exploit her very likely fleeting 15 minutes on her new-found soapbox.
WATCH: Rep Geraldine Roman chastises janitress for barring trans woman Gretchen Custodio Diez from entering the women's bathroom.
"Let's go back to Farmer's Market. You stop me from using the bathroom." | via @ramboreports pic.twitter.com/xWcXp91XIQ
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) August 13, 2019
What does Chayra Ganal have going for her?
Not much. She is, as it happens, an object of persecution perpetrated by powerful people and groups — a victim by the ironic definition of the very people who persecute her today.
Congressperson Roman, for her part, likely needs a remedial class on what it means to be a member of Philippine Congress. Perhaps she owes her electoral victory to the powerful Gay Lobby but, as a sitting Member of Congress, she should consider the idea that there is more to the Philippines than the Gay Community. As such she really shouldn’t be “chastising” Ganal just because the cameras are rolling. Ganal is also a Filipino citizen after all and, ultimately, it is up to no less than a Philippine court to decide whether she had done anything unlawful.
For all the lip service the Gay Community had paid to equality and inclusiveness, it is quite rich seeing Roman, a powerful chieftain of their tribe behaving in such a tribal manner.
What happened to balanced, level-headed discourse? That sort of intelligent public debate has likely long been a casualty of the shrill “woke” chatter that dominates today’s political conversation and drowns out sensible notions — like fair coverage of the other side of the “issue”.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
I am honestly wondering why they are saying the “action” of not letting a transgender/gay into the female toilet is “discrimination” (or lesbian/transgender) TBH.
If he wasn’t let into the male toilet facilities or was bullied/mocked/ridiculed, then that would be discrimination I think.
I also found it odd that some posts on twitter say it is “awkward” to take selfies inside the male CR where it is not the “norm”. But, I actually find it odd that people think it is actually proper to take mirror selfies in the public restroom at all. It is not your own personal space, why is it now the “norm”?
I may be nitpicking, but I don’t really find an issue to be in a public restroom and there is a transgender or gay man there while I use it. I mean, if they will really go as far as “peek” (boso), then I think it would stand to reason the person who peeked behaved improperly inside the public restroom. So they will still behave without “greying” the boundaries unless they want to be complained to the authorities and be labelled as a “predator” or something to the equivalent.
I don’t really think the issue is about equality, but more after special treatment/consideration.
Male restrooms have cubicles as well unless the women lawmakers have forgotten? So they are completely able to use it.
These transgender people are confused of their sexualities. We , who are straight, are also confused, why these people want special treatment for themselves.
If you change your sexual tool; that is : You were a former “She”, and is now a “He”. And you go and piss in a Men’s Restroom….of course, the straight males will surely be at odds with you…
And, if you are a former “He”, and become a “She”….you go to piss in a Woman’s Restroom. Would the woman pissing next to you feel comfortable ?
Why not let all transgenders piss in the bushes…or in the sides of the streets. This will solve the problem. It will also fertilize the plants and the grasses …It is really a crazy world !
“Why not let all transgenders piss in the bushes…or in the sides of the streets.”
Well they should also try to take a piss or poo to Boracay Beach if they want to & of course, their penalty for pissing or crapping on that world class beach is extremely light (between Php 100-300 or around USD 3-5 only) unlike in Singapore: https://www.philstar.com/nation/2019/08/18/1944430/diaper-buried-boracay-beachfront-recovered-denr-says
Whose voice weighs more? This goes to show how a difference in educational level gets a bias on one side.
Hey of you want a unisexual rest room, maybe you should go to PNR Espana station where there are no partitions inside that comfort/rest room & all of the sexes either straight or homos are free to go there. No need to debate that. 😀
mr gretchen wants an evidence na sya daw ay nadi discriminate pag pinapapunta sya sa male restroom, so he used ate janitess in his fb live, to gain sympathy,the real victim here is ate janitress, he harassed the janitress through cyber bullying in his fb live, that politician gay should also apologize to the janitress and her co worker! Siniko nya pala yung 7 months pregnant na kasama ni ate janitress
what congressman bading did to ate janitress is impeachable, he is a public official and he should be neutral, but instead of hearing both sides, pumanig sya sa kapwa nya bakla, he even threatened ate janitress and use his political power to harass the poor woman.
https://www.facebook.com/pressoneph/videos/419646718646641?s=1792389084&v=e&sfns=mo
I agree with your point with the congresswoman. If I’m gonna discriminate. The mayor is from Liberal Party, Farmers Plaza is located in Araneta Center owned by Mar Roxas’ Family is from Liberal Party and that congresswoman is previously with Liberal Party.
The sexual orientation confusion doesn’t have to involve everybody. Once the boundaries are blurred, how far are they willing to go?
I have seen the video and from the first statement from the Janitres, its obvious that she does not know about the ordinance in QC regarding Anti-Discrimation for LBGTQ+. All she has to do is tell her or google the ordinance and show her and I think the situation will not escalate further. I won’t say that either side are right but at that point Diez already have the power.