The province of Capiz, in the eastern part of Panay Island, held a Pride event on 22 April, as part of its annual festival, Capiztahan, which happened from 14 April to 1 May this year. Ki-ày: The Capiz Pride March was organized by the provincial government of Capiz together with several LGBTQI+ groups. It is considered as the first Pride event to be supported by the local government. Before this, however, the LGBTQ+ community of the province mounted the Capiz Pride March and Festival on 1 December 2019 in observance of World AIDS Day, which some consider as the first Pride march in the Western Visayan province.

The 22 April affair was highlighted by Duag Balangaw: A Parade of Rainbow, which started on Immaculate Heart of Mary Avenue and ended at the Pueblo de Panay Technopark in Lawa-an, Roxas City.

Last year, Roxas City passed an anti-gender discrimination ordinance providing protection for the LGBTQ+ community.

LGBTQ+ groups from 13 municipalities and the capital, Roxas City, participated in the parade with their own colorful floats and street-dancing contingents in vibrant costumes. Contingents from Sapian, Panay and President Roxas were judged as having the best performances.

That night, drag queens took the stage for “Drag On!” considered by many as the first drag show in the province. Headlining the event at the Pueblo de Panay Technopark was Maxie Andreison, who is the first Filipino drag queen to compete in the second season of the television series Queen of the Universe. She was joined by drag performers from Roxas Drag Royale, WVSU Drag Community and Bacolod Drag Queens, including Keana Nenita Evangua, Precious Kendra, Mhamoo Queen of all Mercy, Simplicity Glow, Holy Bang, St. Arie Blaire, Viper, Naptune Verosika, Blache E’Nana, ABCDEF Beatrice, Kelly Spirit and Jaundi Lierre. Actor Kit Thompson served as special guest performer.

The drag show was followed by an after party with DJ Mike Lavet of Cove and Nectar Manila, Marxx and Nico Bialen.

Capiz’s Pride event was a celebration of diversity and promotion of inclusivity and equality. The provincial government promised support to the province’s LGBTQ+ community.

Last year, Roxas City passed an anti-gender discrimination ordinance providing protection for the LGBTQ+ community. In October 2022, Capiz State University developed a technical working group to ensure that uniform policies respect human rights, particularly the right to self-expression of LGBTQ+ students, the first state university to do so. However, a provincial anti-discrimination ordinance is yet to be passed.