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Gay Pinoy couple holds out hope SC would OK same-sex marriage

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) - Jason Masaganda and his partner &quot;Lester&quot; on Saturday said they &quot;remain hopeful&quot; the Supreme Court would allow marriage equality.The couple was rejected at the Civil Registry Office in Marikina City when they applied for a marriage license on Thursday.&quot;We had no illusion that the civil registry officer would grant us our application and despite our earnest wishes to be accepted and recognized like all self-respecting and loving couples, we were denied on the grounds of our sexual orientation and gender identity,” Masaganda said in a statement.The Supreme Court has set oral arguments on June 19 on a petition that seeks to allow same-sex marriage in the Philippines.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/06/18/sc-sets-oral-arguments-on-same-sex-marriage">SC sets oral arguments on same-sex marriage</a></li></ul>The high court decided on the matter during its en banc session Tuesday, 3 years after the petition was filed in May 2015 by Jesus Nicardo M. Falcis III, who described himself in the pleading as &quot;an open and self-identified homosexual.”In his petition, Falcis urged the high court to declare as unconstitutional Articles 1 and 2, which &quot;define and limit marriage as between man and woman,&quot; of Executive Order (EO) No. 209, also known as The Family Code of the Philippines. <div>(Editor&#x27;s note: The initial version of this story unintentionally disclosed the full name of Jason Masaganda&#x27;s partner. Our apologies.) </div>

MANILA (UPDATED) - Jason Masaganda and his partner "Lester" on Saturday said they "remain hopeful" the Supreme Court would allow marriage equality.

MANILA (UPDATED) - Jason Masaganda and his partner "Lester" on Saturday said they "remain hopeful" the Supreme Court would allow marriage equality.