MANILA, Philippines – “Ang kahit na sinong babae who will want to help in uniting all the opposition, sa akin po, welcome. But remember, hindi ‘to kaya ni Leni lang. Kailangan po ni Leni, lahat kami.”

(Any woman who will want to help in uniting all the opposition is welcome. But remember, Leni cannot do it alone. Leni needs all of us.)

These were the words of social critic and artist Mae Paner, more popularly known as Juana Change, when asked on behalf of the #BabaeAko movement what they thought of Vice President Leni Robredo’s decision to be the opposition leader. This happened on Friday, July 13, during a press briefing organized by the women’s movement #BabaeAko ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA). 

Robredo announced her bid to lead the opposition movement against President Rodrigo Duterte 3 days ago. (READ: Robredo declares she will lead, unite opposition vs Duterte)

Paner was one of the initiators of the #BabaeAko movement, which was initially launched as a social media campaign last May as a response to Duterte’s statement that the next Ombudsman cannot be a woman. (READ: #BabaeAko campaign: Filipino women fight back against Duterte’s misogyny)

The campaign has since grown into a protest movement. It has also been included in TIME’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet. Journalist and activist Inday Espina-Varona added that although the #BabaeAko movement is not involved in electoral and partisan politics, they will not block anybody who wants to become a leader of the opposition.

“It depends on [one’s] capacity to unite the opposition, and as a gesture, maybe the Vice President would like to march with #BabaeAko sa SONA, if she wants to,” said Varona.

The #BabaeAko movement dubbed their protest on the day of the SONA as “Anti-Misogynist Activists sa SONA”, or #AMaSONA. They will be joining the United People’s SONA protest on July 23. (READ: SONA 2018 security head advises Duterte not to face protesters again)

Paner foresees that it will be the largest gathering of those in opposition of the Duterte administration. “Gusto ko lang pong idiin ay kung papaanong ang effort naming mga kontra kay Duterte, ngayon unti-unti na kaming nagkakaisa,” she said.

[I would like to stress that the efforts of those who are against Duterte are coming together little by little.]

Moreover, Varona said that women’s sectors will be “putting up” and holding Duterte accountable for the abuses and human rights violations he has committed. They will also be campaigning against the charter change to a federal constitution, the first draft of which was submitted by the Consultative Committee this week. (READ: Highlights of Consultative Committee’s draft constitution)

“Cha-Cha is his wet dream…and so that’s the main thrust. But all our other women’s sectors will also be putting up, naniningil kami marami…naniningil ‘yung peasant women who have suffered killings, rights workers, lahat ng mga klaseng abuso, sinasama-sama ‘yan,” said Varona.

She also mentioned the plights of those who have fallen victim to the drug war, female church workers, and female workers, such as those who were laid off by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and on strike from NutriAsia.

“These are all women’s organizations. We give everybody the freedom to back anybody they [want], but we don’t want to be involved in partisan politics,” she said. – Rappler.com 

 Loreben Tuquero is a Communication major in Ateneo de Manila University. She is a Rappler intern.