A gay lawyer from the Philippines said on Thursday he would pursue a career in politics to push for LGBT+ rights after losing a legal battle to introduce same-sex marriage in the mainly Roman Catholic country. Jesus Falcis in 2015 petitioned the country’s top court to rule as unconstitutional a law stating marriage can only happen between a man and a woman. But the Supreme Court this week dismissed his petition on technical grounds because he himself had not attempted to marry. The court did, however, recognize the “ongoing struggle for equality” among LGBT+ people. Falcis, who also hosts a political radio show, said he had no immediate plans to pursue further legal action against the government and instead would run as a candidate in local council elections to push for LGBT+ rights. “[Losing the case] is a temporary setback,” the 33-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that the discrimination he faced growing up gay drove him to file the petition.