"We were denied" in front of a rainbow flag

Manila 

The Philippine government promptly rejected the first same-sex marriage licenses applied by two couples in the conservative Catholic nation.

 Maria Arlyn Ibanez and her partner Joanne Reena Gregorio joined Pastor Crescencio Agbayani and his partner Marlon Pelipe in trooping to a civil registry office in Manila, hoping to raise awareness about gay rights.

 "We expected it would be denied but we tried it anyway.... We thought maybe there would be a miracle and it would be approved," Ibanez, a 33-year-old call centre worker, said.

 After the government agency turned them down, Ibanez and Agbayani, who runs an informal church for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, brandished a sign saying, "We were denied" in front of a rainbow flag.

 Officials at the agency told reporters it was the first time a same sex couple had applied for a marriage licence.

 Government officials have previously said no same-sex unions will be recognised unless a law is passed for the purpose, adding that it would likely be blocked by legislators allied with the Catholic church.

 The Philippines - where 80 per cent of a population of 100 million is Catholic - is the only country where divorce is not legal, largely due to church influence. Abortion is also illegal.

 Gay rights lawyer Clara Rita Padilla said the marriage license applications reflected the need to legalise same-sex unions in the Philippines.

 "The right to marry is guaranteed by our constitutional rights to equality, equal protection of the law, privacy, and religion," she said in a statement.

 Ibanez said yesterday’s rejection will not stop her and her partner from taking part in a "wedding" ceremony slated later this month at Agbayani's church.

 The union would not be legally recognized, but would show her commitment to her partner, she said.