Members of the Gabriela party hold a vigil in Quezon City. Photo from Gabriela
MANILA, Philippines — The Gabriela Women’s Party renewed its call to end violence against women as they lit candles for slain Kuwait-based overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara and Davao businesswoman Yvonette Chua Plaza during a vigil in Quezon City on Friday.
Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas underscored the plight of women migrant workers across the world who are burdened by violence and subjugation.
“Dapat bantayan at tiyakin na mabibigyan ng gobyerno ng tulong ang pamilya ni Jullebee upang matiyak na makamit nila ang hustisya [The government should monitor and ensure that Jullebee’s family receives the assistance they need to achieve justice],” she said.
Ranara, a 35-year-old household service worker, was allegedly killed by the 17-year-old son of her employer. Kuwait media had also cited an autopsy report which showed that she was pregnant and that she was raped.
“The brutal rape and murder of Jullebee Ranara was brought by the cheap labor policy and labor export program that this government still continues to implement,” Brosas said.
“It is high time that we junk these policies and work on providing more jobs in the country so that Filipinos can still work here instead of going abroad and away from their families.”
READ: Remains of slain OFW in Kuwait repatriated Friday
The women’s party also demanded justice for Chua, who was brazenly murdered, tagging as mastermind Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante, former head of the Presidential Security Group during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Nine others, including at least six Army soldiers who were Durante’s subordinates in the 1001st Infantry Brigade (IB) and three others, were also purportedly involved in the killing of Chua.
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“Women continue to be vulnerable in a country that does little to hold persons of authority accountable for violence and abuse. Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante is just one of the many public officials who use and abuse their power to abuse women and children,” Brosas said.
She then called on the government to arrest Durante and the other soldiers tagged in the killing to “bring justice to Plaza instead of enabling it.”
Earlier, the three-member Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives, which Brosas is a part of, filed a resolution seeking an investigation into the government’s efforts in protecting and ensuring the welfare of OFWs in Kuwait.
They had likewise sought for the House committee on women and gender equality to probe into Plaza’s brazen murder and “to recommend measures to strengthen existing laws to protect women and provide justice for victims of men in uniform.”
“The case of Plaza adds up to the numerous cases of violence against women perpetrated by men in uniform. It also proves that the culture of violence continues to thrive inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Public officials, especially men in uniform, use their power to inflict violence against women, continue to enjoy freedom, while there is no justice being given to their victims,” the lawmakers said.
In 2021, the United Nations Women revealed that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, two in three women in 13 nations said they or a woman they know experienced violence. Only one in 10 victims would seek help.
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