Hindi man natupad ni Ian Christopher “Ianne” Gamboa ang kanyang hangarin na maging kauna-unahang open transgender woman na topnotcher sa bar exam, mayroon pa rin siyang napatunayan.
Si Ianne, 25, angkauna-unahang trans woman na naging valedictorian sa Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) noong mag-graduate siya taong 2018.
Bukod pa rito, magna cum laude rin siya sa kursong Bachelor of Arts in English sa PUP.
Isa siya sa mga pasado sa 2023 bar exams matapos ilabas ang results nitong Martes, December 5, 2023.
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Bahagi ng kanyang FB post, “I may have [been] short in achieving my goal as the first openly transgender woman Philippine Bar topnotcher, but that is a challenge to the younger generation of transgender women.”
Sa kanyang post, ang unang pinasalamatan ni Ianne ay ang kanyang mga magulang. Tanggap kasi siya ng pamilya, lalo na ng kanyang ama na isang alagad ng batas.
Sabi pa ni Ianne sa PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), “In fact, my father is very supportive. He is the first person who told me that I should pursue the study of law.”
Matapos ang kanyang undergraduate studies, nag-aral ng law si Ianne sa Jose Rizal University.
Katulad ng kanyang ama, hangad din ni Ianne na maglingkod sa publiko.
Mensahe ni Ianne sa PEP, “I want to work in the government. Hopefully, in the Office of the Solicitor General where I’m currently working right now as a Legal Assistant or in the Judiciary.”
Ianne Gamboa delivering her valedictory speech when she graduated from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 2018.
May mensahe rin ang ama ni Ianne na si Senior Police Officer Paul Gamboa sa mga magulang na may anak na miyembro ng LGBTQIA community.
“Kung mayroon din po silang anak na tulad ng anak ko, tanggapin po nila at ipagmalaki din,” sabi ng pulis sa interview ng ABS-CBN noong 2018.
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IANNE HAD TO PROVE HERSELF
Katulad ng karamihan ng kuwento ng members ng LGBTQIA community, hindi naging madali ang daan para kay Ianne.
Sa kanyang sariling salita, kailangan niyang doblehin ang efforts to prove her worth as a trans woman.
Ibinahagi niya ang mga hamong pinagdaanan bilang estudyante sa The Rainbow Forum interview noong 2019.
Sabi niya, “When I was in second year, my Sociology professor told me that trans women are not women.
“Sabi pa niya noon kahit gaano kadaming surgeries ang mag-undergo ang isang trans woman, hindi siya magiging woman."
“When I heard that at the beginning of that semester, I respected his opinion, his views because I know I cannot force him to believe my belief that I am a woman.
“What I did was I gave my best in his subject. And at the end of the semester, I got a flat one grade.
“I changed his views by not forcing him to believe, but by showing him that trans women are women.”
Dugtong niya, “The highlight of my journey is that I worked thrice or multiple times harder than the heterosexual people.
“That is the hard truth of being a transgender person because you have to work thrice or multiple times than the normal heterosexual people.”