1 of 2 men injured in UK homophobic attack a Filipino: Locsin

MANILA – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said one of the two men attacked at Birmingham’s gay village is a Filipino.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Locsin ordered the Philippine Embassy in London to extend assistance to both victims.

“I expect our London Embassy to take them in and care for them. Make sure it happens. Right away. I want to see a photo of these victims inside our Embassy,” he said.

Husbands Rob, a Canadian, and Patrick, a Filipino, were left covered in blood after they were brutally hit and cut with glass bottles outside the Missing Bar in Birmingham on Sunday.

Local reports said the victims left the bar when they saw four men in an SUV and asked them in jest if it was their birthday.

“They did not like that and went into all sort of foul language, including homophobic slurs directed at us,” a BBC article quoted Rob as saying.

One of them snatched a phone from Patrick who tried to film the incident and knocked him unconscious. Trying to help, one of their female friends attempted to retrieve the phone but was dragged along with the car “halfway down the street.”

Rob reportedly chased after them and was later joined by Patrick but when they stopped at a red light, the assailants got out of the vehicle and attacked them with bottles.

The two had been treated in a hospital for lacerations and cuts.

In a statement, the Philippine Embassy in London said its Assistance-to-Nationals team is “closely coordinating” the incident with local officials in Birmingham.