The head of gay rights group Ang Ladlad has expressed optimism that they will soon be accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as a party-list group so that they will have a chance to campaign in the 2010 national and local elections.

In press briefing, Danton R. Remoto said that their group has recently met with Comelec officials led by Chairman Jose T. Melo and told him that once they prove to the poll body that they have a national membership, he sees no reason for them not to be accredited as a party-list group.

The poll body, it was recalled, disqualified the group in 2007 after it failed to provide evidence that they have nationwide membership.

“Right now we have a total of 22,000 members and affiliates. We also have 10 chapters in various regions of the country. I think that’s already enough to qualify us as a party-list group,” Remoto told reporters during the Fernandina news forum at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.

“Chairman Melo told me na ma-prove lang namin na may nationwide membership kami walang magiging problema. Based on his statement, I’m confident that we will soon be accredited by the poll body,” he added.

Remoto, who is also a communications officer for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said that once approved, their platform of government will revolve on pushing for the Anti-Discrimination Bill to give lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) equal rights and opportunities in employment as well as in schools, restaurants, hotels, entertainment centers and government offices.

“We want equal protection especially on the workplaces and schools. Usually kasi dito nakaka-encounter ang aming mga kasamahan ng diskriminasyon, e,” Remoto explained.