Gays barred from Labor Day rallies

Gays barred from Labor Day rallies

MANILA (AFP): Leftist groups said that they would not include homosexual groups in this year's Labor Day rallies in the southern Philippines, the official Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported here yesterday.

The PNA quoted Val Mante, spokesman of the Bayan (Nation), the main leftist coalition in the southern island of Mindanao, as saying that several militant groups protested the inclusion of homosexual groups in the 1994 Labor Day rallies.

He said that some people were offended by the skimpy costumes worn by the homosexuals and that they believed their inclusion diverted public attention from labor issues.

Leftist groups traditionally hold massive street rallies during Labor Day in the Philippines.