MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday said Filipinos must be “free, open-minded, and free from discrimination” as he expressed support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer and other gender (LGBT+) community in the Philippines as the sector celebrates “Pride Month.”

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“Sa bagong Pilipinas ang Pilipino ay malaya, at sa bagong Pilipinas ang Pilipino ay malawak ang isipan at malaya sa diskriminasyon o pagkutya. ‘Yan ang mensaheng patuloy nating pag-iigtingin,” the President said in his YouTube vlog.

“Ang kanilang hindi matatawarang kontribyusyon sa iba’t ibang larangan at pakikipagsabayan sa kanino man ang mga responsible at walang kapaguran na tagapag taguyod ng kanilang pamilya at tahanan,” he said.

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Marcos Jr. added that the government and society must support the LGBTQ+ sector as they too contribute to nation building.

“Mahalaga na patuloy ang pagsuporta, pagrespeto at pagkilala sa kanilang mahalagang ginagampanan na bahagi sa ating lipunan,” he said.

“Palakpakan natin sila at ipagmalaki dahil sa kanilang pagsasabuhay ng husay at galing ng ating mga Pilipino,” he said.

“Pride Month” is celebrated around the world every June in honor of a series of gay liberation protests in the United States in 1969.

While Marcos Jr. is in support of the community, several pro-LGBT+ legislation, such as the SOGIE bill, has yet to be passed in Congress.