Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, June 7, joined the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) community in celebrating Pride Month, but also recognized the need to “intensify our efforts” to achieve equal protection and rights for the members of the community.

“That is why today and beyond this month-long celebration, we are called to intensify our efforts,” she said in a statement.

The goal, the vice president stressed, is to build a society that does not discriminate and persecute anyone, and instead embraces and welcomes each other no matter the gender and status in life.

“Kung saan niyayakap ang LGBTQIA+ bilang kapwa tao (Where the LGBTQIA+ is being embraced as a fellow human being) who have the same rights and dignity, and that deserve the same love, respect and acceptance as everyone else,” she said.

June is the LGBTQIA+ pride month, which is celebrated across the world.

Robredo recognized the role of the community in providing “a shelter to the oppressed, a voice to the marginalized, and a family to the isolated.”

But she also emphasized the challenges—lack of employment opportunities, lack of access to health care services, and violence and discrimination in public and virtual spaces—that continue to hound the community.

Robredo said much work needs to be done “to truly establish an atmosphere of acceptance and genuine equality for all.”

“May we continue to deepen the ties that bind us as a nation and strengthen our collective resolve to build a fairer, humane, truly equitable society,” she said.