Brad Pitt Supports Gay Marriage

Brad Pitt

I am just elated to read this news:

Hollywood Superstar Brad Pitt, donated $100,000 dollars to support gay marriage in California. Mr. Pitt made the donation to fight Proposition 8, an initiative on California’s November ballot that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision to legalize same sex marriage.

In a very inspiring statement, Mr. Pitt declared, “no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn’t harm another and because discrimination has no place in America"

Sir RM (Gay Pagsanjan Part 2)

Pagsanjan, photography by Lex Bonife

One of the people I have met in Pagsanjan is a friendly gay man in his late 30’s, let’s call him Sir RM, as the boatmen address him as “sir”. Sir RM comes from Manila but visits his weekend house in Pagsanjan often.

His nicely built house has a nice veranda by the river where you can see all the bancas across the river.

In his weekend house, lives one of his boyfriends, a native in Pagsanjan. His boyfriend’s wife and 12 year old son also stay in this house. The wife doesn’t mind if the owner of the house is also the lover of her husband. And the kid is just happy to have a very generous uncle visiting them every weekend.

Even with his peaceful family setup, Sir RM still plays around with the other boatmen of Pagsanjan. In fact, he and some of his gay friends from Manila rents out a nice, yellow house right across his own vacation house. And this yellow house serves as their “headquarters” for their sexual adventures with many local boys.

The HIV Closet

Back in the Closet is an online journey of Pinoypoz, a twentysomething young professional in Ortigas who is currently battling HIV infection. When I interviewed him, he claimed that he got his HIV from a former boyfriend who is younger than he is. And he has also been in sexual contact with my good friend who is also HIV positive.

This blog is an honest account of the journeys of an HIV positive gay man living in Manila. Just like a closet, in here pinoypoz orderly keeps his memories, his dreams and all his uncertainties.

HIV is everywhere in our country. Be Safe. Get Tested.

Visit http://backinthecloset.blogspot.com/

Gay Pagsanjan (part 1)

Pagsanjan Falls in Laguna (photo by Lex Bonife)


In the 80’s, Pagsanjan was declared by international gay publications as the “gay paradise, a haven for homosexuals”. CNN describes it as “a popular location for men seeking homosexual prostitutes”. And Time magazine (1993) reported it to be the favorite destination for sex tourists seeking children.

But after about thirty years, the scene has dramatically changed. According to one local observer, number of foreign tourists has dropped dramatically when crackdown on pedophilia and human trafficking has been executed by the government.

Pagsanjan is still a beautiful place to visit. The lush forest, the calm waters and the strong cascading waterfalls are all a treat to a tired urban dweller like me. It is a quick escape and a nice weekend drive from Manila.

But aside from the nature’s beauty, Pagsanjan has more stories to tell especially for someone like me, always craving for the “queer perspective” in every society.

In this unique town, many of the boatmen, I learned had male foreigner lovers who built their houses and sent their children to school. The foreigners may not be visiting Pagsanjan as often as they would, but many of them continued to support their beloved boat men. And the wives are just happy for the generosity of their husband’s lovers.

One of the “star” boat men, now owns a small store in of the quick stops by the river. On that particular day, he tends to his store in his tiny red shorts, colored hair and muscular traces of a beautiful man from his early years. According to one of my sources, he now helps other boat men get “bookings” from some visitors.

Before we rode our banca, I noticed a peculiar looking guy with his toupee assisting us. He was swishy in his manner and was obviously gay. My source confirmed to me that this guy used to be a good looking stripper in his glory days.

The sex tourists have obviously created an interesting history among the people in Pagsanjan. In my next blog posts, I shall recount the stories of several gay men I have talked to and how they enjoy their sex lives in these days of this beautiful town.

Indie Films at the U-Belt

Several Filipino digital films will be shown at Isettan Recto in Manila from September 17 til October, 2008.

Among the films to be shown are indie film hits "Duda/ Doubt", "Bathhouse", "Endo" and the critically acclaimed "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros/ The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" and "Endo"

This is a welcome initiative from Grupong Sinehan to bring independent films closer to university students of Manila

Proud Hunk: Greg

Greg is a 27 year old hottie from Anneheim, California who visits Manila every now and then. He probably is one of the hottest guys I have ever chatted with at guys4men.com so I decided to ask his permission to be featured as one "proud hunk" in my blog.

He used to be a part of the US Air Force and he keeps himself fit by playing basketball and lifting weights at the gym.

In bed, as he claims (I need to emphasize this as my boyfriend could kill me), he likes to take things slow as he gives "cuddles, butterfly kisses and sweet afterplays".

Being a sensitive and a level headed guy, Greg has a clear aversion towards "men who are narcisstic with bigger dicks than brains". His ideal partner is smart and articulate and "not too goodlooking" (hurray! from the "not good looking guys" like me! I knew it, being imperfect is definitely attractive). And here's the final category -- Greg wants his partner to be someone with a sweet spot for the animals and the environment (ladies from Miss Earth, anyone?)

It was just very recently that he came out to his mother. She was dumbfounded and shocked as he expected her to be. But the good thing is, their relationship is now much better than before.

Currently, Greg is in Manila and is still single but looking, yet never in a hurry.

Room 213

Maricar dela Fuente, Allen Dizon and Gwen Garci

Viva Entertainment's latest digital offering is "Room 213" directed by Keith Sicat. This story is about a tenuous relationship between an architect (Allen Dizon) and his photographer wife ( Gwen Garci). They’ve been married for 10 years and have lost any emotional connection with each other. Since both want to save the marriage they start to take extreme measures in the hopes to rekindle their passion.

The filmmaker Sicat creates a stylized narrative with erotic elements dealing with the problem of how does a couple keep the spark within their relationship. According to this first time full length feature director "Allen and Gwen are amazing. They gave such understated, nuanced, and emotionally intense performances that are pitch perfect to the material. Allen knows that ‘less is more’. He relied mostly on his eyes and body language to convey what was going on internally with his character. Quite simply, his work is beautiful. "

He also adds that "Gwen was constantly surprising us in the way she would improvise during a scene. She would let the moment dictate her emotional state resulting in a remarkable, honest performance. This is a very different Gwen Garci that people are used to!"

Regular showing of "Room 213" in Metro Manila is on September 24.