More women participation in governance?

More women participation in governance?

FOR WOMEN PARTICIPATION. Lawmakers and women’s rights advocate discussed the merits of the bill seeking to increase women participation in governance. Photo by Gwen dela Cruz/Rappler

 

MANILA, Philippines – Would increasing women participation in politics improve Philippine governance?

Some lawmakers and women’s rights advocates believe it would.

In line with Women’s Month, lawmakers and women’s rights advocate organized a Legislator’s forum last March 27 at the Sulo Riviera Hotel, addressing a bill that aims to promote women participation in governance.

The bill is known as House Bill 3877, or the “Women Participation and Representation in Political Parties Act of 2013.” It seeks to promote women participation and equal representation in the government by granting incentives to political parties that give priority to women candidates.

Women’s voice

According to Sylvia Claudio, Director of the UP Center for Women’s Studies, women would make better political leaders because they engage more fully in consensus building and tend to introduce more legislation.

Citing US Pew Research Data, Claudio said that increasing the number of women in governance is one of the most effective strategies to remove the stereotypes of women being delegated to the sidelines in government.

However, Claudio cautioned that a female politician is not always going to be a game changer in a dominantly male political system. Women are “socialized differently,” according to Claudio, and are therefore, “more likely to bring different leadership values.”

“It [does] not matter if you are intrinsically male, but we have to recognize that there are many ways by which we are socialized, and unfortunately, the political system […] allows certain behaviors that are more likely to be sieged by men, to flourish, and therefore, they become trapos,” Claudio said.

Dr. Socorro Reyes, Regional Governance Adviser of the Center for Legislative Development added that there are international conventions and treaties that give importance to women participation in the field of politics, such as the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the 2012 General Assembly Resolution.

Not enough

AKBAYAN representatives Barry Gutierrez and Walden Bello, who support the bill, say its not only the quantity of women in politics but also the quality of women participation that should be encouraged.

In the Supreme Court, 3 out of 15 sitting justices are women. In the 16th Congress, 78 out of 288 representatives are women while 6 out of 24 senators are women. According to Gutierrez, this shows that women participation in the political sector is still very minimal.

Mixed reactions

Some of the local government units gave their support for the passing of HB 3877. The Lady Municipal Mayors Association of the Philippines, for instance, believe that there are certain characteristics needed for governance that women have and that are distinct from men.

“Given the opportunity, women can employ these inherent qualities to work with men as partners in nation building,” said San Luis Mayor Anabelle Tangson.

On the other hand, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) gave recommendations to further improve the bill. Instead of referring to 30% as the ratio for ‘equitable representation’ of women, PCW suggested that it be called a “gender quota” for it to become gender-neutral so as to avoid ‘biases and discrimination.’

PCW proposed that further study should be done regarding the incentives and how it is given to political parties. They called for a limit in the amount of incentives and the consideration of other non-cash incentives such as free airtime in government-owned broadcast stations for women candidate advertisements.

Also, the bill should ensure that women are given equal chances of representation in all positions. Finally, for PCW, COMELEC should be tasked to implement the bill once it is passed while PCW will assist them in policy making.

Claudio also suggested that the bill be rephrased in order to include transgendered women, or “trans-women”, adding that they are “natural persons with good stature.”

Meanwhile, Nanay Clarita Eneria, president of the Kapit-Kamay association Inc., expressed her satisfaction with the proposed bill. Having originally lived along the train tracks of Malabon, Eneria mentioned how difficult it was to run for barangay councilor in Pandi, Bulacan, especially since she came from a different province. She cited the lack of financial support as one of the factors that made campaigning in local elections difficult.

“I have no political machinery. We were unwelcome before because I used to live alongside train tracks. I just dared to run,” Eneria said in Filiipino.

Points for improvement

While there were those who supported the passing of the bill, there were also some who were doubtful of it.

Beatrice Sanga, Secretary of the Committee on Women and Gender Equality, said that she does not feel any gender disparity in the House of Representatives.

“From the top, well, of course, except for the Speakers, Sec Gen (Secretary General), Deputy Sec Gens (Secretary Generals), Directors, even Committee Sectors like Debbie (Garcia) and I, most of us are women,” Sanga said. “The committee secretaries – we’re the souls of the lawmaking process. We call the shots.”

Proponents and those critical agree that more more discussions with other political parties and other concerned agencies are needed to improve the bill. However, with the right amount of support, House Bill 3877 might just be the law that will give women the equality they deserve. – Rappler.com

Akbayan slams China over latest Ayungin incident

Akbayan Partylist members in an earlier anti-China protest last year.

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Akbayan Party-list today stormed the Chinese Consular Office in Makati to express its indignation over China’s latest act of harassment of a Philippine civilian vessel at the West Philippine Sea.

The ship, according to reports, was on a mission to deliver fresh supplies to personnel stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre situated at the Ayungin Shoal.

Led by Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez, the protestors brought “giant tape measures” saying China does not know how to properly measure its territorial boundaries as it was clearly illegally encroaching on Philippine territory.

“We express outrage over China’s latest attempt to prevent our Coast Guard from resupplying our personnel stationed at the Ayungin Shoal. China has no business conducting illegal sea patrols and border checkpoints within our own territory. It’s continuous use of fear and intimidation within our rightfully-owned territories is a serious attack on our nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said China needs to undergo a refresher course on how to properly measure its territorial boundaries.

“How China measures and determines its territory is mind-boggling. The Ayungin Shoal is 105 nautical miles from the Philippines. The area is well within the 200 nautical miles of a Philippine exclusive economic zone which allows the Philippines to navigate and make productive use of the resources around the shoal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Gutierrez said.

Akbayan also voiced its full support to the 4,000 page ‘memorial’ filed by the Aquino government before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLoS), in support of its arbitration case concerning its sea dispute with China.

“We welcome and continue to reaffirm our support to the continuing efforts of the government to secure our country’s territorial claim against China. The memorial is our most powerful weapon in fortifying our territorial claims against China,” Gutierrez said.

The memorial contains all the legal bases and justifications of the Philippines’ territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“This is a step towards the right direction that will solidify our territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea. It will remove all doubts against the legitimacy of our claims and fully secure our sovereignty in the area,” Gutierrez said.

However, Gutierrez lambasted China for saying that the Philippines’ arbitration case before the United Nations “seriously damaged bilateral relations” between the two countries.

“If bilateral relations means China can use force, threat and coercion to enforce its will upon us, then by all means, the case we filed before the arbitral tribunal is an attempt to inflict severe damage to this abusive relationship,” Gutierrez asserted.

“China must learn to respect its neighbors’ sovereignty. Our case before ITLoS is a lesson on how to treat others fair and just,” Gutierrez said.

For his part, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello called on the Aquino government to use the memorial to consolidate and mobilize the populace to defend Philippine sovereignty.

“Instead of defaulting to detrimental pacts with foreign countries such as the pursuance of basing agreements with the United States, the Aquino government must rely on the strength and symbolism of the memorial to rally the people to defend our country’s sovereignty,” Bello said.

“The Aquino government must use the memorial it filed before the ITLoS to maximize the full potential of militant and forceful citizen diplomacy to secure our territorial integrity. The memorial is more forceful than the Chinese government’s bullying in the region. It is more powerful than the United States’ armada of naval ships,” Bello said.

Bello also emphasized that the development Kalayaan Island Group is the “key to permanent possession of Kalayaan”.

“We must accelerate the development of Pag-asa Island, the strategic center of the Kalayaan Island group of seven reefs and two islands that belong to us.  The development of modern harbor facilities is long overdue,” Bello said.

“Malacañang has to move on the economic development plans  for Kalayaan, particularly in Pag-asa Island. The Chinese, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese have apparently undertaken in the same in parts of the Spratly archipelago they occupy.  We must realise Kalayaan’s strong potential for being a fishing station and tourist spot. Not only will this provide livelihood support  to the 300 -people- strong population, it will likewise boost our claims to the territory,” Bello concluded.###