Ela*, a second year tourism major, did not expect how her first day in class would turn out. It was during a class orientation when she introduced herself that she uses she/they as pronouns, but her professor proceeded to criticize the use of they/them pronouns and even questioned its necessity. 

He even went as far as saying, “Ano ba yang they/them na yan, ang dami namang kailangan.” 

But because Ela is aware of Memorandum No. OVCAA MTTP 21-029, she sent a copy to her professor which he acknowledged. But this ultimately made Ela wonder about the potency of such a policy within the university. 

Released in March 2021, the memorandum states that Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) students’ lived names and preferred pronouns should be honored. This is in line with the 2017 UP Anti-Sexual Harassment (ASH) Code which asserts every individual’s dignity and “guarantees the full respect for human rights of all members of the UP community.”

Students have the option to indicate their preferred pronouns and lived names in the Computerized Registration System. These details, then, are shown in the faculty’s class list.

The inclusion of the TGNC memorandum in the ASH Code, however, is still pending, according to Gio Potes of the Diliman Gender Office (DGO) in an interview with the Collegian. 

"Wala pa tayong mapanghahawakan sa university policies [sa pag-penalize ng offenders]. Ang inaasahan natin ay yung inclusion ng [TGNC memorandum] sa ASH Code. Sa Diliman pa lang siya nagagawa so under review pa siya ng buong [UP] System," Potes said. 

As the ASH Code is a systemwide document, amendments also undergo systemwide consultations and review processes. Ultimately, it is the UP Board of Regents that will approve of proposed changes to the code.

Codes are systemwide and official policies that are legally binding to the entire university community. Meanwhile, according to UP's handbook on protocol, memorandums are "purely informational in nature.” The TGNC memorandum is under such a status.

A similar misgendering incident in 2022 led to the crafting of the memorandum when a professor persistently deadnamed a transgender student. Despite the faculty member being corrected and called out multiple times, he still insisted on ignoring the student's discomfort. 

Since then, six more incidents of deadnaming and misgendering were reported to the DGO. These cases, however, remain either unresolved or were negotiated with the professor’s respective colleges or departments regarding dealing with the issue. 

"Ang mga insidenteng ito ay hudyat na hindi pa rin talaga fully inclusive at sensitive ang UP community," said Latrell Felix, chairperson of the UPD University Student Council.  

Taking her experience in mind, Ela did not want the same to happen to other members of the UP community. As the part of a gender and development organization, she crafted some demands that were presented during the UP Diliman chancellor selection and UP president selection.

One of the demands included was to review the existing TGNC Guidelines and propose necessary improvements, adding that UP officials should "actively support and participate [in the] ongoing review and revision of the systemwide ASH Code and implementation of SOGIESC-based anti-discrimination policy in the UP system."

Potes, meanwhile, noted that revisions to the ASH Code are still underway as the different constituent universities are still in the process of conducting consultations regarding proposed amendments. 

In Quezon City, however, where UP Diliman is, the Gender-Fair Ordinance is already in place. This prohibits the discrimination of people based on their SOGIESC. But on the national level, the SOGIE Equality Bill remains hanging at the Senate Committee on Rules, chaired by Sen. Joel Villanueva.  

While a nationwide law to achieve a community without discrimination based on SOGIESC is not yet established, the TGNC guidelines, at the very least, is still a step forward to providing a safe and inclusive space for TGNC students. 

"Ang pag-affirm ng pronouns at lived names ay nakaka push forward ng welfare ng mga kasama natin kaya mahalaga ito," said Felix. "Kung kaya, dapat mabuwag na natin ang atrasadong pananaw at kultura." ●

*Not her real name.