The University of the Philippines Philippines
Gabriel Paolo
“Heart” Diño, who won as UP Diliman student council chair, is hopeful.
“In electing a
president, we should go beyond the sexuality, but rather focus on his or her
credibility, ability, character and commitment to serve the nation,” Diño told Yahoo!
Southeast Asia in an interview.
“At the end of
the day, whatever your brand of leadership or activism is, I think it is
irrelevant with our sexuality,” she added.
As a transgender,
Diño identifies herself and prefers to be addressed as a female although she
was born male.
The newly-elected
student leader stressed that she is unique from the other candidates not
because of her sexuality but because of her brand of leadership which is
“founded on the values of equality and inclusion.”
“I will make sure
that in every issue and decisions that needs to be addressed, every perspective
and every side will be heard because that is the true essence of student
politics – democracy and non-exclusivity,” Diño said.
She revealed that
serving the students through the council has been her way of thanking UP for
embracing who she is.
Diño graduated
with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics last year and is now a first year MS
Applied Math major.
“As a teenager, I
endured stigma and discrimination from my classmates and peers because of my
gender. And when I entered college, it is in UP where I got the opportunity to
be accepted and grow,” she said in a statement from her political party UP
ALYANSA.
Though she is
aware that there is still some who doubt her capabilities, Diño said she is
able to build her character and strengthen her faith through her critics.
“I know I cannot
please everybody. All I have to do is to prove to them that I am worthy of the
position and that I will do everything to be the best UP student council
chairperson,” she said.
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