Handout photo from Quezon City government. 

MANILA — The Quezon City government will be offering transition healthcare services for the trans community, Mayor Joy Belmonte said Monday.

In a post on X, Belmonte said the city's Trans* Health QC program  will be offering free hormone counseling, assessment, at management for trans people.

"Trans community, QC is your ally! Kaya naman, buong suporta si Mayor Joy Belmonte sa paglulunsad ng Trans* Health QC kung saan mas mailalapit sa mga trans brother and sister natin ang access to health services tulad ng free hormone counseling, assessment, at management," Belmonte said in a thread.

The Quezon City government has partnered with TLF Share, Trans* Health Philippines, USAID, at Philippine Professional Association for Transgender Health.    

"Do-it-yourself" or DIY hormone therapy, including contraceptive pills that contain estrogen, has been a longstanding concern among the transgender community, especially for trans women, according to Jaya Leonardo Jaud, the vice chairperson for Mindanao of LakanBini Advocates Pilipinas, Inc., a nationwide organization that represents the trans community in the Philippines. 

As DIY hormone therapy persists, trans people are exposed to health risks

Bernadette Neri, who teaches gender studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman, said transgender people undergo transitioning — such as psychological, sociological, legal, and physical — to affirm the gender they identify with, as their sex assigned at birth does not match with their gender identity or expression.

Physical transitioning includes sex affirmation surgery and/or GAHT. Under GAHT, trans women are prescribed estrogen and anti-androgen, while trans men use testosterone therapy.