Pride PH Festival Lights Up UP Diliman
It started like a heartbeat, steady, hopeful, gathering strength in the early morning haze over the University of the Philippines Diliman. By midday, the iconic campus was ablaze with color, laughter, and the collective power of more than a quarter of a million people. On June 28, 2025, the Lov3Laban: Pride PH Festival transformed UP Diliman into the radiant, loud, and loving heart of the Filipino LGBT+ movement, turning the academic grounds into a safe space where everyone, bakla, trans, bi, lesbian, gay, queer, pan, ace, allies, and more, could simply be.
Philstar
Marching for Joy, Fighting for Freedom
From the sunlit steps of Palma Hall to the shaded canopy of Sunken Garden, festivalgoers streamed in waves, many wrapped in Pride flags or shimmering in glitter and sequins. It was a sight unlike any other, groups of chosen families smiling for photos, drag queens high-heeling it down Academic Oval, couples holding hands without fear. As the Quezon City government, Pride PH Coalition, and the university opened their arms wide, they reminded everyone that this massive gathering wasn’t just a party; it was a clarion call for equal rights, for love in all its forms, and for spaces where everyone could breathe easy.
Safety, Solidarity, and Safer Spaces
Organizers put community care front and center this year. As the Lov3Laban festival spread across multiple ‘Pride Villages,’ security teams, mental health advocates, and responsive volunteers worked side by side, ensuring that even amid the revelry, safety was never an afterthought. “We’ve learned, adjusted, and grown,” said National Convener Vince Liban. “This year is about safer, bolder, bigger Pride, empowering every story and every voice.” The partnership with UP Diliman echoed a powerful tradition, after all, this campus is the birthplace of UP Babaylan, the country’s first and oldest LGBTQIA+ student org, and a long-time beacon of queer resilience in the academe.
Calls for Change Still Ring
Yet, behind every parade float and music stage, festival leaders underscored the unfinished fight for genuine equality. Bannered signs urging for the SOGIE Equality Bill, the longest-running bill in Philippine Congress, fluttered alongside posters celebrating beauty and joy. “Now more than ever, we need louder voices and bolder acts of resistance. Pride is both protest and party,” declared National Convener Angel Romero, reminding thousands that liberation isn’t just colorful, it’s crucial.
Nylon Manila
Stories From the Rainbow
All day, strangers became friends. In one Pride Village, I met Jamie, a trans man from Laguna, who said, “Here, my pronouns aren’t questioned, they’re honored.” I found lovers, like Pia and May, kissing beneath a tree, and heard Maya, a nonbinary student, quietly confess, “Coming here feels like home.” As night fell, the UP skies blazed with eco-friendly fireworks and the soft glow of a thousand phone lights, everyone singing “Ako ay bakla, walang takot, walang hiya!” in rousing unison.
Pride, Louder, Brighter, Unstoppable
What a wild, wonderful mix this festival wove: both sanctuary and stage, both protest and pulso ng puso. As the music faded, hope lingered, a reminder that as long as inequality exists, the rainbow will always find the courage to shine even brighter.
