Against a backdrop of music, rainbow flags, and advocacy placards, around 300,000 attendees gathered at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman on June 27 for #LoveLab4n Pride PH Festival 2026, marking the country’s largest Pride celebration and the culmination of Pride Month activities.
The festival was organized by Pride PH in partnership with the Quezon City Government and was hosted at UP Diliman for the second consecutive year. The festival brought together members of the LGBTQIA+ community, student organizations, civil society groups, government agencies, and allies for a day that blended celebration with advocacy. Throughout the campus, participants visited advocacy booths, community exhibits, health and wellness stations, and partner organizations before joining the annual Pride March.
The march began shortly after 1 p.m., with thousands of participants filling the University Avenue carrying rainbow flags, banners, and placards calling for equality and protection against discrimination. Colorful floats, marching bands, drag artists, students, families, and community organizations participated in the procession, turning the UP Diliman campus into a vibrant display of solidarity and visibility.
Beyond the march, attendees participated in various festival activities, including the Pride Expo and QueerCon, which featured discussions, community engagement, educational exhibits, and partner organizations offering services and resources.
In her speech, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte described Pride as both a celebration and a protest, “The highlight is our march. [...] The march is a protest, we are protesting the status quo, and we are protesting the current state wherein marami pa ring discrimination, stigma and violence. The march is our sign na kailangan ipaglaban ang pagkakapantay-pantay.” She stressed that the fight for equal rights remains unfinished despite growing public support for LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
The Pride celebration also drew the participation of several well-known personalities who expressed their support for the LGBTQIA+ community. Among those who joined the celebration were OPM artists Cup of Joe, MRLD, and Ryannah J, alongside Filipino actress Awra Briguela, and many more.
While the march primarily advocated for LGBTQIA+ rights and equality, participants also raised awareness about existing social and political issues. Various groups carried banners and placards that called for an end of land-grabbing, opposing red-tagging, defending Bicol, and denouncing U.S. imperialism.
The celebration also highlighted contrasting expressions of faith. Along the stretch between UP Diliman and UP Town Center, Christian groups preached messages urging attendees to “be transformed,” while inside the campus, other Christian-based organizations welcomed participants with words of acceptance, emphasizing that faith and queerness can coexist.
Evolution of acceptance
In an interview with The Benildean, Carmela, an alias used by an AB Philosophy student from the University of Santo Tomas, shared her sentiments as a first-time attendee of the festival.
She expressed her longing with a queer friend who shared the same dream of expressing themselves freely and wanting to celebrate their identity in a safe space. “I think it’s already time to come out of that shadow that we've been sort of hiding [behind] our identities,” she stated.
Carmela also voiced her gratitude towards the various forms of queer media that gave them the courage to embrace their sexuality. She described an evolution of queer visibility within online spaces through content creators and mainstream shows.
Moreover, Carmela urged society to stop villainizing the LGBTQIA+ community. She hopes that people, particularly those with a traditional mindset, avoid framing queer individuals as a bad influence or harm to society when they are simply “trying to push for change and equality for all.”
Echoing similar calls for acceptance and legal protection, 73-year-old LGBTQIA+ rights and Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) Bill advocate Jose Gonzales, an alias, shared his personal journey as a gay man in an interview with The Benildean.
He described the celebration as having the courage to stand up without shame for one’s identity. Recalling his experience, he shared that he had known who he was since childhood, “I was not out before for so long. I knew I was gay since I was a boy. I did not go out because of shame.”
While he considers coming out as “the best decision [he] ever made,” Gonzales noted that not everyone has the same freedom to do so, sharing that he still cannot fully disclose his identity in some aspects of his life because he has a family.
He also recounted the painful reality of strained family relationships, sharing that his brother had even warned him not to attend his funeral because of his sexuality.
With these experiences, Gonzales emphasized the urgency of passing the SOGIE Equality Bill, stressing that its protections extend beyond the LGBTQIA+ community. “The LGBTQ [are] discriminated [against], persecuted, and this will take care of them and protect them,” he stated, expressing hope that the measure would finally become law.
Vibrant performances and a surge of energy filled the air as Pride Night kicked off from 5 p.m. onwards. The evening’s program, which spanned until midnight, featured a diverse range of entertainment including performances by rising PPOP groups, local artists, and drag performers.
The annual celebration serves as a tribute to the enduring spirit of Pride, illustrating that the month of June is not merely a reflection of the community’s rich and colorful history. It stands as a living, breathing movement, and a continuous struggle to dismantle systemic barriers and secure a future of equality and unwavering inclusion for all.
Each cheer and every performance honors both how far the community has come and a defiant call to action for the journey that still lies ahead.
