LGBT writer Jude Bacalso made an official statement after she allegedly forced a waiter who called him sir to stand for two hours in front of him.
In his statement, Jude insisted that he usually only educated the people who ‘misgendered’ her.
According to him, his actions towards the waiter were only his form of educating someone about LGBT and pronouns.
He also denied that he asked the waiter to stand for two hours.
“Because I am close to the owners of the restaurant, I informed them directly instead of taking it thoughtlessly to the court of public opinion. The error was made even more jarring to me since one of the owners is a beautiful transwoman, whose own transition I have witnessed through the years,” she said.
“Did the staff stand there for hours? Yes, we were waiting to resolve it with the owners. Did I demand that he stand there as punishment? No. The supervisor was there when I discussed with the erring staff that perhaps a gender sensitivity seminar would benefit them. The supervisor acknowledged that this incident was a wake-up call to them and that they would welcome that opportunity,” he added.
He also reminded the people that Cebu City has anti-discrimination ordinances in the country.
“What transpired between me and the staff was also a matter to be settled between us, and we were,” she stated.
A concerned citizen shared the incident on social media, saying that he witnessed Jude let the waiter stand in front of him for two hours.
“I asked this guy Jude if he was the owner or customer. The guy Jude sarcastically said “Go ask him (referring to the server) what happened. Then I asked the server what happened, and he answered “Natawag ko siyang sir.” netizen John Colderon said.
As of writing, the said restaurant has yet to give their official statement on the issue.