Come Out Of The Closet

                                    

                                          
"Ris, it's not that easy." Leni said while Risa was staring at her. 
"What do you mean, Leni? It would be better for us to come clean already, it's been almost three years since we started dating." Risa complained.
Risa wanted to come out to the public that Leni and her were a couple, not for shame but to avoid being harassed.
"Leni makinig ka please. It would be better na malaman na ng lahat and especially President Duterte." Risa said.
"Risa. I don't want any conflict. Gusto ko mamuhay at mahalin ka ng tahimik. Baka yan pa ang ikasisira nating dalawa."
"Please! It's for the good of both of us." 
"Ana Theresia Hontiveros! Pag ginawa mo yan, hihiwalayan kita!" 
Risa was stunned. She felt numb. She turned to face Leni. 
"Leni. Pangga, please let us love each other openly. I know the harassment will stop if he knew that we were together. Please, Lens." Risa pleaded.
Leni hesitated for a while but she thought about it and saw how happier they would be and how free they would love each other.
"Fine. Just please, kahit anong galit ang nararamdaman mo tungo kay President Pervert, please don't say anything nasty about him sa speech mo. I don't want you to get hurt." Leni said in agreement.
"I promise, Ga. I love you."
This was it, both of them were finally going ti be free, they were going to love each other free. All they have to do now is to prepare for whatever the people has to say whether it was support or bashing, they didn't care. All they knew was that they wanted the people to know.
***
Today was the day, Risa was nervous. She was all alone in the bathroom when someone came in. It was Pia Cayetano, sister of Alan Peter Cayetano, one of Leni's competition in the 2016 Vice Presidential Elections. Risa and Pia were also friends but not as close as Loren.
"Oh! Sen. Risa. I didn't know you were here." Pia said.
"Hi, Sen. Pia. Nagre-rehearse lang ako nung speech mej kabado nga eh." Risa replied.
"Don't worry. You got this. Especially tama naman ang pinaglalaban mo. Good luck!" with that, Pia left and Risa was all alone again. 
Leni was already in the session hall and the program should start in ten minutes, but Risa was nowhere to be found. She began to worry. As she was about to stand up from her seat, she saw Risa walking in and their eyes met and both of them smiled. 
Not long after, Risa was called to deliver her speech. 
"Mr. President my dear colleagues, it has been 50 years since the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. From the first brick thrown at the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, the LGBTIQA movement has come a long, long way.
Let me update you on recent developments:
In 2018, the World Health Organization reclassified 'gender incongruence' under "conditions related to sexual health" making transgenderism no longer a mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorder.
Discriminatory bills in the US that restrict access to facilities for transgender students were withdrawn in South Dakota and were not put into vote in Texas.
In India, in a landmark Supreme Court decision, section 377 of their penal code which outlawed same-sex conduct was held unconstitutional.
Their neighbor, Nepal, now has a trans-inclusive civil service when their Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that individuals should have their gender legally recognized based on "self-feeling". Nepalese should not have to limit themselves to "female" or "male" anymore.