Freethought is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other methods such as logic, reason, and empirical observation.
The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is the permanent organizational assembly of the Catholic bishops of the Philippines exercising together certain pastoral offices for the Christian faithful of their territory through apostolic plans, programs and projects suited to the circumstances of time and place in accordance with law for the promotion of the greater good offered by the Catholic Church to all people.
Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago was a Filipino scholar, academic, lawyer, judge, author, and stateswoman who served in all three branches of the Philippine government: judicial, executive, and legislative. Defensor Santiago was named one of The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World in 1997 by The Australian. She was known for being a long-serving Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, an elected judge of the International Criminal Court, and the sole female recipient of the Philippines' highest national honor, the Quezon Service Cross.
Humanists International is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, it is an umbrella organisation made up of more than 160 secular humanist, atheist, rationalist, agnostic, skeptic, freethought and Ethical Culture organisations from over 80 countries.
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a U.S. nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal and to fight the influence of religion in government.
William J. "Bill" McIlroy was a British secularist and atheist activist, writer and editor.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in the Philippines face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT people, with numerous anti-discrimination legislations, bills and laws that are struggling to be passed on a national level to protect LGBT rights nationwide, with some parts of the country only existing on a local government level. LGBT individuals in the Philippines are often faced with disadvantages and difficulties in acquiring equal rights within the country. They also have a higher rate of suicide and suicide ideation compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Philippines have a distinctive culture in society, and also have limited legal rights. Gays and lesbians are more tolerated than accepted in Filipino society. Despite recent events that have promoted the rights, general acceptance, and empowerment of the Filipino LGBT community, discrimination remains. Homosexuals in the Philippines are known as "bakla", though there are other terms to describe them. According to the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey, 11 percent of sexually active Filipinos between the ages of 15 and 24 have had sex with someone of the same sex. According to Filipino poet and critic Lilia Quindoza Santiago, Filipino culture may have a more flexible concept of gender. Kasarian is defined in less binary terms than the English word; kasarian means "kind, species, or genus".
Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros-Baraquel is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist serving as a Senator since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representative for Akbayan from 2004 to 2010.
Michael Lim Tan is a Filipino medical anthropologist, veterinarian, and writer who is currently a professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Tan served as the chancellor of UP Diliman from 2014 to 2020.
Apostacon, before 2013 known as Midwest Humanist Conference, Midwest Humanist and Freethought Conference and Midwest Freethought Conference, is an annual event about atheism, freethought, humanism, secularism and skepticism in the (Midwestern) United States. The conference, which embraces the parody religion of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, is aimed at "atheists, humanists, agnostics, skeptics, apostates, freethinkers, rationalists and pastafarians."
María Cristina Mapa Monzón-Palma, popularly known as Tina Monzón-Palma, is a Filipina broadcast journalist and anchorwoman. She is best known as a late night news presenter in various Philippine television news programs in different television networks. She became GMA Network's first female news presenter and pioneered its Public Affairs department during her term as GMA News executive. She later transferred to ABC 5 to head its operations. When she left the company after five years, she led ABS-CBN's public service campaign against child abuse under the network's Bantay Bata social welfare program. Eventually, she became the anchor of ABS-CBN's late-night news program The World Tonight where she replaced Loren Legarda.
The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, also known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, and officially designated as Republic Act No. 10354, is a Philippine law that provided universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care in the Philippines.
The Philippine Atheism, Agnosticism, and Secularism Inc. (PATAS) is a nonprofit organization for the public understanding of atheism and agnosticism in the Philippines. It serves to educate society, and eliminate myths and misconceptions about atheism and agnosticism. It speaks against discrimination of the non-religious, and for equal opportunities as Filipino citizens. PATAS encourages harmonious information exchange among its atheist and agnostic members, and encourages its members to come out and speak for their lack of religious beliefs. The society was founded in February 2011 by Jose Juan Paraiso, who served as the first chairperson and president, respectively.
Raymond Abracosa, better known as Abra, is a Filipino rapper, hip hop recording artist and occasional actor. He gained mainstream popularity with his song "Gayuma". When the video reached more than 26 million views on YouTube, it was hailed as the highest number generated by any local artist. Before that, he is a well-known battle emcee in the FlipTop Battle League.
Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach-Jauncey, formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipina model, actress and beauty queen who is known for winning Miss Universe 2015.
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is a government-owned and controlled corporation of the Philippines under direct supervision of the Office of the President of the Philippines. It is mandated to do fund raising and provide funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character. The raised collections goes to the President's Presidential Social Fund to improve the country's social welfare.
Nicola Paula Cayco Curato, also known as "Nicole Curato", is a Filipina sociologist best known for her academic work on deliberative democracy, and her media work providing academic commentary on politics in the Philippines.
Anthony R. T. Golez Jr. is a Filipino politician and the current representative of Malasakit at Bayanihan Foundation party-list group in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. He previously served as the representative for the Lone District of Bacolod City in 2010. Prior to that, he was the Presidential Spokesperson at the Office of the President in 2009. He was also the senior deputy press secretary at the Office of the President in 2008, senior deputy presidential spokesperson and undersecretary at the Office of the President in 2007, and the government spokesperson for disaster management at the National Disaster Coordinating Council in 2005 in which his work led him to being named him as one of "The Outstanding Men of the Philippines" in 2007.
