Women empowerment groups: Poe is our only hope

MANILA, Philippines – Different women’s groups and women leaders promised their full support for presidential candidate Grace Poe’s Gobyernong may Puso – a platform, which they said, aims to enhance and empower Filipinas in the next 6 years.

In an intimate summit of women leaders on Friday night, April 29, former senators Santanina Tilah Rasul and Leticia Ramos-Shahani, together with representatives from Indigenous People (IP)-Bai Indigenous Women Network, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Samahan ng Maralitang Kababaihang Nagkakisa, and Grabriela Partylist expressed their support for Poe’s presidential bid. 

“My long experience as a public servant tells me that Sen Grace Poe will be good for our country. In fact, she is the only hope that our country needs,” said Rasul, who also served as one of the first woman senators under Corazon Aquino’s administration.

“Grace Poe is the embodiment of the ideal modern Filipina: intelligent, honest and effective, which is truly presidential. Her governance program tackles head-on our country’s present and lingering problems and concerns. She is an out-of-the-box [problem] solver which is what we need today,” Rasul added.

In the last presidential debate set in Pangasinan, Poe discussed her plans to stop contractualization and highlight the presence of women in the workforce contributing to the country’s income. This is the reason why KMU and SAMAKANA pledged to back Poe’s candidacy. 

Nitz Gonzaga, a leader from KMU, highlighted the candidate’s vow to implement the law abolishing job contractualization (ENDO – end of contract or 555).

“Galit na galit kami sa mga malalaking malls. Bakit ayaw pa nilang ipagpatuloy ang employment, na maging sila (workers) regular? Ibig sabihin talaga ang capital, gusto nila tubo. Walang puso,” Gonzaga said. 

(We are very angry at all the owners of the big malls in the country. Why can’t they implement regularization among the workers, instead? It only means that they are only after capital and profits. No heart.) 

Women and children protection

For them, Grace Poe is not just a champion of labor rights in the country. Aside from the fight against contractualization, the protection of women and children is another common advocacy that Gabriela Partylist and Poe shared. 

“We are going to vote for Grace Poe not because she is a woman, but because she has the most concrete platforms in reengineering the labor rights of the people, most especially for the women knowing that we have a lot of laws (in the Philippines) supporting women worker’s rights but the government always falls short in implementation. We believe that when Poe becomes the president, she will reinforce and restructure the execution of the Labor Code and end 555,” said Gonzaga.

In her statement, Gabriela’s partylist second nominee Arlene Brosas emphasized that during Poe’s stint as chairwoman of Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), audiovisual production standards protected women and children. This is one of the major reasons for their support.

As a child’s right advocate, Brosas said their aim to solve poverty and joblessness among women is plotted in Poe’s platforms. It’s about time, she said, “that we win the girl power.”

It was Poe who also asked presidential bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte during the 3rd presidential debate about the welfare of women in case he wins as president. This comes after a series of issues surrounding Duterte and his treatment of women during his campaign, including his rape remark and his flirtation with women supporters. 

IPs

The group of Indigenous People-Bai, the biggest alliance of IPs in the country, said their hope for the preservation of their cultural identity and protection of their rights as indigenous peoples will likely happen under the government of Poe.

Dumagat leader Kakay Tolentino said they find the supplemental coordination of their rights as indigenous groups in the candidate’s platform for peace.

“Ang tingin namin malulutas ang kahirapan at kagutuman kung ang isang gobyerno na kumakalinga sa hanay naming mga katutubo ay irerespeto at igagalang ang pangangailangan at pagpapaunlad namin bilang mga katutubo katulad ng pamamahala at pagtatanggol ng lupang ninuno at sariling pagpapasya,” said Tolentino who is also the national coordinator of the group.

(We think poverty and hunger among us (indigenous peoples) will be solved by a government that cares for us and respects our needs and cares for our progress as an indigenous community. This includes areas related to governance and protection of our forefathers’ land, as well as independent decision-making.)

Tolentino recalled that during the Aquino administration, there were 90 IPs who were victims of violence by those who wanted to steal their property and possessions. However, she said that there was no investigation ever conducted to give them justice.

The group said they believe in Poe’s Gobyernong may Puso (Government with Heart) and that they want a president who will continue providing them their rights, identity and land. 

The Philippines has a lot of laws promoting the rights of women, laborers, and indigenous peoples. The challenge for the 2016 elections, however, is to be able to elect leaders who will effectively implement these policies.  – Rappler.com