“Hindi na sila mag-iisa.”
These fateful words marked the beginning of The Golden Journey—Ru Paul’s Drag Race Philippines
Season 1 Superstar Precious Paula Nicole’s groundbreaking initiative to secure a permanent home and
sustainable livelihood for The Golden Gays. The show called The Golden Journey Part 1: The Return of
the Kembak is the first in a series of fundraisers aimed at turning this initiative into a reality.
Last March 10 at Rapture Café Club in Cubao, Precious Paula Nicole performed together with fellow Drag
Race Philippines queens Eva Le Queen, Turing, Brigiding, The Golden Gays queens, and other supportive
local drag queens such as Gorgeous Dawn, Jolly, Ally Nicole, Solenn and Felicia, and the Rapture Café
Bar resident queens to formally introduce the initiative to her fans and supporters of the LGBTQIA+
community.
The Golden Gays, established as The Home for the Golden Gays, is a non-profit organization established
in 2002 with the goal of providing a safe space and a permanent shelter to senior members, the Lolas, of
the LGBTQIA+ community. Sadly, the Lolas have fallen on hard times, having been displaced from their
home in 2012. To start anew, the Lolas have established themselves as The Home for Indigent Gay Men,
Inc. in 2021. However, their plight remains as they are still struggling to find a permanent home for their 17
members.
The Golden Lolas represented by current president Mama Mon, Lola Amparo, Lola Rico, and Lola Cherry
Pie all wowed the crowd with their top-tier performances despite all being beyond 60 years of age. Drag
queen fans and supporters of the LGTBQIA+ community were able to experience the dazzling aura and
stage presence of the Lolas, dubbed the OG Queens by the country’s top drag queens.
“Naawa at natuwa ako sa kanila. Kahit matatanda na ang mga Lola at wala silang stable na tahanan at
hanapbuhay lagi pa rin silang nakangiti. They inspired me to do better in my craft and to take better care of
my family and my chosen family,” Precious Paula Nicole shared as she recalled meeting the Golden Lolas
more than 12 years ago.
The Drag Race PH Superstar’s plan involves three pillars: 1) securing a permanent home; 2) crafting a
sustainable livelihood program; and 3) ensuring that the NGO is able to sustain itself with a working board
of directors. “Hindi pwedeng huminto sa donation lang. Kailangan mabigyan natin ang mga lolas ng
dignidad na makatayo gamit ang sarili nilang kakayahan,” she explained.
JCI Makati through its MPower Program partnered with Precious Paula Nicole to help make the drag
queen’s advocacy a reality. JCI MPower, which stands for JCI Makati Powering Up Diversity and Inclusion,
is an inclusive program aimed at promoting diversity and gender equality in line with the United Nations’
Sustainablility Goals. This program helps educate towards eradication of prejudices, discriminations, and
violence. Its activities include but are not limited to training, speaking engagements, community action
programs and social media campaigns to empower and to work for equal rights and respect for all genders.
“JCI will continue to partner with Precious Paula Nicole on this project. Hindi tayo titigil hanggang tayo ay
makapag ribbon cutting para sa mga lolas,” JCI Makati President Ken Okuya declared to the crowd.
The night ended with Rapture Café Bar owner Ronnel Turla formally bestowing upon the Golden Lolas a
permanent residency at the club. “Here you will have a safe place to perform and to earn to your heart’s
content,” he said.
The Drag Prace Philippines Season 1 winner emphasized her commitment to see this initiative through to
the end and invited the everyone to join her in the journey. “Samahan niyo ako sa Golden Journey na ito.
Rumampa tayo lahat ng sama-sama para sa kanila at siyempre, para rin sa komunidad ng LGBTQIA.
Makakaasa kayo na di ako titigil hangga’t hindi natin ito natutupad,” she said.
The supportive crowd was able to raise P130,000 net proceeds for the Golden Lolas. Also in the crowd was ever supportive Direk Ice Seguerra who directed some of the queens for TV and on separate shows.
For more information on this initiative and on how to contribute to providing a permanent home and sustainable livelihood for The Golden Gays, email Liane Reyes at [email protected].
Photos by Nicole and Kenneth Cledera. With additional photos by Mars Callo.