Group wants Arroyo sued over crimes vs women, children

MANILA, Philippines—As the wold celebrates the 18th International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Friday, newly formed women’s and children’s rights group MARIPOSA calls on President Benigno Aquino to also look into former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s offenses against women and children.

At MARIPOSA’s launch Friday afternoon at the St. Scholastica’s College in Manila, the group urged Aquino to also file charges of human rights abuses and violation against women and children against Arroyo instead of focusing only on the electoral sabotage charges.

“President Aquino must not just sue Arroyo over issue of the election sabotage. There are many important issues that need to be faced by [Arroyo], especially issues of life and human rights violations and abuses,” said Veronica Beranquit, officer-in-charge of the Institute for the Leadership and Advancement of Women Inc., one of the major convenors of MARIPOSA.

But Beranquit said the condition of women and children has remained the same under the Aquino administration.

Citing data from Center for Women Resources, she said that violence against women increased by 12,072, or 75 percent from 2009 to 2010, which means that for every 43 minutes one woman is suffering abuse in the country.

In 2009, the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center recorded 1,072 cases of rape, 19 of which involved incestuous rape. The following year, the center recorded 3,500 victims of rape, 144 were incest victims.