QueerCon: QC gov't, advocates hold expo of LGBT-owned businesses
More than 40 businesses owned by members of the LGBTQ+ community were brought together last weekend in a mall in Quezon City for the debut run of QueerCon: LGBTQIA+ Business Expo 2025.
Organized by the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) and the Quezon City Government, QueerCon ran from June 20 to 21 in Trinoma's Activity Center and was billed as the biggest expo of its kind in the country.
'This is a pioneering initiative that puts the spotlight on queer-owned businesses,' said the Chamber's chair Ronn Astillas in an interview with GMA Integrated News.
'Ang gusto nating ipakita o mensahe sa ating kababayan ay kami mismo sa lipunan ay katulong n'yo o katuwang ninyo sa pag-unlad sa ekonomiya,' he said.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte led the opening of QueerCon, which featured food and drinks and a myriad of items like colognes, clothing, handcrafted bags, accessories, wooden trinkets, stickers, and artworks.
'[There's] so many exciting products na hindi matatagpuan sa kahit saan pang bazaar,' Belmonte said at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Service-oriented enterprises were also featured, such as a travel agency, a printing business, and an online tax filing and payment platform.
'Empowerment' through enterprise
According to Astillas, every purchase at the expo was also 'a vote for equity and visibility.'
''Pag ikaw ay sumusuporta sa isang negosyo na pagmamay-ari ng LGBT, it will go a long, long way, sapagkat binibigyan mo kami ng oportunidad upang mas maging stable at sustainable ang aming livelihood. And at the same time, kami rin mismo nagbibigay ng employment sa aming mga empleyado, sa aming mga kapuwa,' he said.
Astillas hopes that there will be more initiatives that support queer-owned enterprises in the future.
'Kaya mahalagang mahalaga na ang pagtulong sa negosyo, tulad ng ginagawa ng QueerCon, ay magawa natin sa buong bansa dahil ang epekto nito ay hindi lamang para sa komunidad, kundi para sa lahat ng tao na nakapiligid sa aming komunidad ng LGBT+ community,' he said.
For other events this Pride Month, there's QCinema's Rainbow QC Pride Film Festival happening from June 25 to 27 in Cubao, Quezon City.
Meanwhile, this year's Pride March and Festival, dubbed LOVELABAN 2025, will be held on June 28 in the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City.
—CDC, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
8 hours ago
- GMA Network
DOST: Sustaining P20/kilo rice depends on inflation, efficiency
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said that sustaining the P20-per-kilo rice program would depend on inflation and efficiency of production. During the 47th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) on Wednesday, DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said that maintaining the P20 pricing until 2030 was impossible, but it was possible to carry the equivalent value of the price and reduce the cost of rice. 'We have to look at that in a long-term perspective and P20 have to be accounted also with inflation over time. Our objective is to reduce the cost of production similar to that will be competitive with other countries. If we can carry the equivalent of P20 by 2030 or 2035, it is possible to reduce the cost, but it will depend on how much also we will become more productive and efficient in our rice production. 'Yun ang challenge sa akin,' he said. Solidum added that he believed that the Philippines had the technology to make it happen, but that the market must also be considered. 'You have to look at the whole value chain, make it efficient. There is also something to do with how do we cluster, that's why in the current rice program ng department of agriculture there are several studies… You have to look at the whole value chain, different strategies improving the whole value chain,' he said. 'We have to have our discipline approaches mainstream and scale up. From my experience, just like what they have said, if you look at science, if you look at technology, we have the best probably in Southeast Asia, even in rice, in many areas, [but] there is a different challenge to us. It can be more difficult but I think it's manageable. We're focused,' he added. Solidum also said that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was not aiming for 100% sufficiency in rice, and that the Philippines will still have to import rice. '[The President] mentioned several times [that] they're only aiming for 95%. We know also that whether we like it or not, we have to import rice. There are rice that we have to buy from outside because we cannot produce it here,' he said. 'Besides that, we have to start exporting rice in the future to make it profitable for our farmers. Then the President knows that as far as I know. In the future, we have to export rice also, as we import rice that are cheaper and also maybe to meet your lower price,' he added. Ultimately, Solidum said that the country and DOST's objective was to make farmer income more profitable. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
12 hours ago
- GMA Network
Philippines OKs importation of 424,000 MT refined sugar
In its Sugar Order No. 08, series of 2024-2025, the SRA allowed the entry of a total of 424,000 MT of imported refined sugar, which should arrive in the country starting July 15, 2025, until not later than November 30, 2025. The Philippine government, through the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), has approved the importation of nearly half a million metric tons (MT) of refined sugar later this year. In its Sugar Order No. 08, series of 2024-2025, the SRA allowed the entry of a total of 424,000 MT of imported refined sugar, which should arrive in the country starting July 15, 2025, until not later than November 30, 2025. The agency said the sugar import program was meant "to ensure that the country [would] continue to have sufficient actual supply of sugar for domestic consumption and buffer stock.' The importers who will be allowed to bring in the required refined sugar volume are licensed international sugar traders in "good standing," those who have joined the government's past sugar importation calls, and those who participated in the export of raw sugar to the US to fulfill the Philippines' tariff rate quota. The agency added that the imported refined sugar under the latest order should be classified as 'reserve' to be subjected to 'future disposition or reclassification, as the SRA deems necessary.' "Imported sugar classified under this SO shall only be stored in an SRA-registered warehouse or directly to the consumer's warehouse as indicated in the importer's application," the SRA order said. "However, the declared consumer's warehouses must be pre-inspected to avoid co-mingling of imported sugar stocks and domestic sugar stocks," it added. The SRA had earlier reported that sugar production for crop year 2024 to 2025, as of June 8, 2025, stood at 2.015 million MT, up 4.7% from 1.92 million MT in crop year 2023 to 2024. –NB, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
18 hours ago
- GMA Network
Bill seeking to amend Bank Secrecy Law filed in House
Leyte First District Representative Martin Romualdez and Tingog Party-list Representatives Andrew Julian Romualdez and Jude Acidre have filed a bill seeking to amend the Bank Secrecy Law. Under the proposed bill, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will be allowed to examine bank deposits under strict conditions where there is reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity. 'In its current form, the law is being used to shield illegal acts such as money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption. That needs to change,' Romualdez said. Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero has also filed a bill mandating government officials and employees to execute and submit a written permission to examine, inquire, or look into all their deposits and investments, thereby waiving the Bank Secrecy Law. —KG, GMA Integrated News
