Photo Courtesy of Ka Leody De Guzman Facebook Page
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential candidate and labor leader Leody de Guzman said he will fill half his Cabinet with women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community.
“Kalahati ng Gabinete ay pupunuin ng mga kababaihan at ng LGBTQI community, yun ang aming proposal. Magandang aksyon yun para simulan yung pagde-develop ng pagkakaisa nung ating mga mamamayan,” De Guzman said during Thursday’s Pandesal Forum.
(Half of my Cabinet will be filled with women and members of the LGBTQI community, that’s our proposal to start developing unity among our citizens.)
“Hindi pwedeng iwanan o i-discriminate yung mga kababaihan at yung ating LGBTQI community at para bang ang mga lalaki lamang ang siyang may kakayahan na gumampan ng mga trabahong ito,” he added.
(We can’t leave behind or discriminate against women and members of the LGBTQI community, as if it’s only men who have the ability to fill the position.)
He said the move will boost the commitment of his tandem with vice presidential candidate Walden Bello to ensure that women have enough representation and voice in the government.
“Maipakita yung pantay na karapatan. Na yung ating mga kababaihan ay may kapasidad, may kakayahan na maging bahagi ng ating pamahalaan para sa isang matino, mapagmalaya, at mapagmahal na lipunan, mapagkalinga na lipunan,” De Guzman said.
(We should show equal rights. That women have the capacity and ability to be a part of the government, for a sensible, liberating, loving and caring society.)
“Talikuran na natin itong lumang paniniwala na pinapalaganap sa atin ‘mahina ang babae,’ kalimutan na natin yun at maging partner natin, katuwang ang kababaihan at ang LGBTQI community sa pagbangon ng ating ekonomiya,” he added.
(Let’s turn our backs on the old belief that ‘women are weak,’ let’s forget about that and let’s make them our partners to revive our economy.)
‘Severely underrepresented’
Women are “severely underrepresented” in the formal branches of government, Senator Risa Hontiveros said, citing data from the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).
“Habang mas mataas yung antas ng pamahalaan, mas maliit yung percentage ng women representation considering na kalahati kami or a little over 50 percent kami nga populasyon ng Pilipinas,” said the senator, who also chairs the Senate women committee.
(As the level of government becomes higher, the lower the percentage of women representation considering that we comprise a little over of the Philippine population.)
In the Senate, of the 24 senators, only seven are women, she pointed out.
“Yung isa ay prineso pa, si Sen. Leila [de Lima],” Hontiveros, who participated in the forum online, noted.
(Senator Leila de Lima is even detained.)
While the Senate had women as a Senate president pro tempore and as a Senate majority leader, it has yet to have a female senator as Senate president, Hontiveros added.
“Ang PCW data sa national legislature ay at best, 25 percent lang ang kababaihan. As we go down sa mas basic units of government hanggang sa barangay medyo mas tumataas, minsan umaabot sa 30 or 35 percent. But at best hanggang ganoon lang,” Hontiveros went on.
(PCW data indicate that in the national legislature, at best, 25 percent are women. As we go down to the basic units of government up to the barangays, that number increases and reaches 30 to 35 percent. But that’s already at best.)
“A little over one-third, so severely underrepresented doon pa lang sa formal branches of government and levels of government. Interesting tignan kung sa judiciary ganun din ba. Kasi sa executive din, underrepresented kaming mga kababaihan,” she added.
(That’s a little over one-third, so we are really severely underrepresented in the formal branches of government and levels of government alone. It’s interesting to look into the judiciary. In the executive branch as well, we are underrepresented.)
For her part, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said only 80 women serve in the House of Representatives, which has around 300 members.
“Mapapansin niyo po yun kasi sa mga committee hearings, isa or di kaya wala, halos wala ang makakaattend na babae. Ganun po yung representation na meron tayo,” Brosas said.
(That’s why you will notice in committee hearings, there’s only one or sometimes there are no women in these hearings. That’s the type of representation we have.)
“Bagama’t over the years…nadadagdagan naman pero apparently, hindi naman din sapat kahit na dagdagan…Kailangan din talaga magkaroon ng mas marami na boses ng kababaihan doon,” she added.
(While over the years, the number of women in the chamber has been increasing, it’s not enough…there needs to be more women voices there.)
She added that while there are women in politics, a number of them have advocacies that are not geared towards boosting women’s rights.