Actor-turned-entrepreneur Marvin Agustin made the rounds on social media after Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Habijan tagged the brand Dimsum Factory PH of discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community as would-be employees.
On Wednesday, February 10, Habijan called out Agustin and even included Manila Mayor Isko Moreno on her Twitter account–she pointed that the brand, the actor and the Mayor are endorsing is banning LGBTQIA+ applicants. She posted a screenshot of a conversation that explicitly said: LGBT are not allowed to apply.
“Dear @marvinagustin and @iskomorenodomagoso , It has come to our attention that the dimsum brand you endorse seem to be LGBTQIA-phobic. In this SMS, it is blatantly stated that “LGBT are not allowed to apply”,” she wrote.
The beauty queen added saying that the said text message showed discrimination to people regarding their age and with having tattoos.
She said that the message is just one of the many reasons why the SOGIE equality bill should be passed.
More so, it discriminates people with tattoos and people in their mid 30s too.
Dimsum Factory, if this is how you do your hiring, you have no right to do your business. Workplaces that discriminate people do not deserve to operate.
— Miss Mela Habijan (@missmelahabijan) February 10, 2021
MESSAGES LIKE THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE STAND FOR ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL / SOGIE EQUALITY BILL! PASS IT NOW!
— Miss Mela Habijan (@missmelahabijan) February 10, 2021
“Dimsum Factory, if this is how you do your hiring, you have no right to do your business. Workplaces that discriminate against the people do not deserve to operate,” she said.
“MESSAGES LIKE THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE STAND FOR ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL / SOGIE EQUALITY BILL! PASS IT NOW!” she added.
Marvin Agustin himself caught wind of Habijan’s concerns and replied with: “Hi Miss Mela! Thank you for tagging me. I just spoke with the owner of Dimsum Factory and he told me that they would never send a poorly worded and obviously wrong message like this.
“And they (told) tell me this isn’t even an address they have. They are preparing a statement regarding this matter.”
UPDATE: Our dear @marvin_agustin has replied to our post. He has reached out to Dimsum Factory and has clarified the issue with them. The company denies the allegations and is set to release a statement. pic.twitter.com/CssZwElssd
— Miss Mela Habijan (@missmelahabijan) February 10, 2021
Habijan said that Agustin’s reply came as a relief to her, but noted that the issue about passing the SOGIE equality bill still lies.
“While this is a relief, the conversation must be strengthened. SOGIE EQUALITY BILL MUST BE PASSED NOW. WE, LGBTQIA+, PEOPLE FACE DISCRIMINATION EVERY SINGLE DAY. We are denied of our right to live and livelihood, just because we are LGBTQIA+,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, Dimsum Factory PH has already issued their official statement regarding the discrimination issue. The company denied that the message from the said screenshot was from their people and clarified that their company’s goal is to “develop and promote inclusive growth for all.”
Here is our official statement regarding the Job Posting Banning LGBT
Please be informed that the circulating job…
Posted by Dimsum Factory PH on Wednesday, February 10, 2021
“It is not within our company’s core values to discriminate and cultivate divisiveness in our society,” the company wrote.
