CAVITE, Philippines – In her political rally held in Carmona on Tuesday, April 30, reelectionist senator Grace Poe appealed to Cavite voters to choose more women senators.

More than half of the attendees were women.

“Alam niyo po kailangan natin ng mga babae pa sa Senado. Iilan lang po kami. Anim lang po kaming babae sa Senado. ‘Yung isa ay nakulong pa,” Poe said.

(We need to have more women in the Senate. We are only few. Only 6 of us in the Senate are female. The other one even got jailed.)

When the comment elicited laughter among the crowd, Poe said, “Hindi nakakatawa ‘yon.” (That’s not funny.)

But Poe noted that women legislators help push for policies that may “help families and give more jobs.”

Apart from Poe, the women senators in the 17th Congress are Senators Nancy Binay, Loren Legarda, Risa Hontiveros, Cynthia Villar, and jailed Senator Leila de Lima.

De Lima has been in prison for more than two years, over drug charges, which, she said, were fabricated by the government. (READ: De Lima in jail: ‘I never imagined Duterte would be this vindictive’)

During the media interview on Tuesday, Poe reiterated her appeal for more women senators, as she shared the top spot among Senate bets with Villar in the latest preelection survey by Pulse Asia.

“Marami rin naman tayong nais isulong na makakatulong rin sa ating mga pamilya, ating mga pangangailangan sa trabaho, pagdating na rin sa pag-alaga ng pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan,” Poe told reporters.

(We want to push for more policies that will help our families, our needs at work, and taking care of our fellow Filipinos.)

Based on the survey, there are 5 women senatorial bets who have a statistical chance of winning: Villar, Poe, Pia Cayetano, Nancy Binay, and Imee Marcos. – Rappler.com