Two more trans women killed. Are queer lives truly safe in the Philippines?

Trans women Ali Macalintal (L) and Gian Molina (R) were reported to have been killed in the Philippines on Monday, June 23, 2025. Photos from Ali Macalintal/Gian Molina/Facebook.

With Pride Month coming to a close, two trans women were reported to have been killed in the Philippines on Monday, June 23, 2025.

Ali Macalintal, a former Karapatan SOCSKSARGEN chapter deputy secretary general and radio broadcaster, was killed by an unknown suspect inside an acupuncture clinic in General Santos City.

Her death was condemned by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Bahaghari. Macalintal worked with Moro and Lumad communities as part of Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya and planned to organize Bahaghari in Mindanao.

“She was never afraid to speak truth to power and expose uncomfortable truths. The brutal killing of Ali is emblematic of the situation of media workers and the state of press freedom in the Philippines…. We lost a powerful voice in advancing LGBTQ+ rights in the country,” said Bahaghari chairperson Reyna Valmores Salinas. 

Meanwhile, CSU Crystal — a LGBTQ+ organization based in Cagayan State University — reported that Gian Molina was found lifeless in the Cagayan River near Barangay San Isidro, Iguig, Cagayan. 

“To everyone who knew her — may we honor her memory not only with grief, but with a renewed call for safety, respect, and dignity for all trans lives,” CSU Crystal wrote in their post. 

As two more trans Filipinos are killed, what does this show about the safety of LGBTQ+ people in the Philippines?

What we know about violence vs. LGBTQ+ people in PH

Transgender Europe and Central Asia’s Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) recorded 350 murders against transgender and gender diverse people worldwide between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024 — the highest number reported in its history.

In the Philippines, TMM recorded at least 50 trans people murdered since 2010. However, this number is expected to be higher.

“A particular challenge is when families of LGBTIQ victims deny the SOGIESC of their family member even when it was a known fact that the victim is a member of the LGBTIQ community,” ASEAN SOGIE Caucus board chair and Stop the Discrimination Coalition co-coordinator Ging Cristobal told Mamser.net. 

She also observed that government agencies such as the Philippine National Police or Philippine Statistics Authority do not have any “comprehensive and disaggregated data collection” on deaths in the LGBTQ+ community.

Meanwhile, a 2023 Outright International report showed that 18% of older LGBTQ+ Filipinos do not feel physically and emotionally safe in their daily lives. Respondents also said sources of the abuse in their lives came from their family, intimate partner, workplace, and community.

When the survey for the report was conducted in 2022, 48% of respondents also feared losing their homes during that time. Among the reasons listed was that their living space could be sold by a family member.

For children, the 2016 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children report commissioned by Council for the Welfare of Children and UNICEF showed that almost 80% of LGBTQ+ respondents experienced physical and psychological violence. More than a third also said that they were sexually violated. 

‘Silence is violence’

For LGBTQ+ advocates, the killings of Ali and Gian show how unsafe it is to live openly as a trans or queer person in the country, especially in the provinces.

Vashti, the executive director of the Society of Trans Women of the Philippines (STRAP), notes that trans groups keep a record of killings in the country through LakanBini Advocates Pilipinas. 

“It reminds us of how dispensable our lives can be by just moving to one city to another…. Hate crimes, trans killings are indicators of how Philippine society still operates in a very dangerous cis-heteropatriarchy, where violence and discrimination is normalized,” she said.

“Violence like this happens far too often, but it rarely makes the news. Outside urban areas, many LGBTQIA+ people live in fear because there is little protection, and the culture of impunity is strong. The sad reality is, being LGBTQIA+ in the provinces can cost you your life,” said Toni Gee Fernandez, president of Mindanao-based LGBTQ+ group Mujer-LGBT Organization.

She added that the lack of a national system to document hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people “says a lot, it tells us that our deaths aren’t even being counted.” 

“How can we push for policies if the government doesn’t even acknowledge that this violence exists? This silence is violence, too. It’s a form of erasure.”

Advocates emphasize the need for local governments with existing anti-discrimination ordinances (ADO) to “step up” their implementation to document hate crimes and support for LGBTQ+ groups, especially outside Metro Manila. 

“We need to invest in our communities such as community educational discussions, local Pride marches and advocacy pageants to further conscientizing, visibility and representation,” Vashti said.

Cristobal, meanwhile, urged to post hate crimes on social media and refer these cases to the Commission on Human Rights. 

According to LGBTQ+ group Babaylanes’ ADO database, 11 provinces, 48 cities, 24 municipalities, and 4 barangays in the Philippines have adopted ordinances to protect individuals against discrimination.