Press Release
April 12, 2009

LOREN BATS FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION TO ELIMINATE WOMEN DISCRIMINATION

Senator Loren Legarda yesterday batted for a collective effort to further strengthen the country's fight against all forms of discrimination against Filipino women.

"While it is true that we have achieved and done much to empower our fellow women, much still needs to be done in the area of women empowerment," Loren declared in a speech at the Misamis Oriental provincial capitol in Cagayan de Oro City on the topic of Gender Advocacy on Women in Government Service.

Loren cited the comments and recommendations made by the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women as necessary in achieving the goal of narrowing the gender gap.

While noting that the Philippines is a signatory to the 1981 Convention to the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Loren said

"There are still a lot of avenues to be covered and there is still much that needs to be done in carrying out the noble thrusts of this Convention."

The five comments and recommendations the United Nations Committee made, according to Loren, were:

  • The Philippines lacks domestic laws that define the scope of "discrimination and that it also has not achieved much progress in enacting comprehensive legal framework for gender equality;

  • The national machinery for the advancement of women, whish is the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), still lacks the necessary institutional authority, decision-making powers, financial and human resources for effective promotion of equality;

  • As trade liberalization has somehow created adverse effects on the living and working conditions of Filipino women, especially in rural areas, it has essentially caused high unemployment rate among women;

  • There is also a need to accelerate women's equal participation in political and public life and ensure their representation, particularly Muslim women;

  • Women in the rural areas, especially Muslim women in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao continue to lack access to adequate health services, education, clean water and sanitation services; and

  • Prevalence of violence against women despite the establishment of family courts in major cities all over the country.

"I have chosen to highlight some of the UN Committee's observations and recommendations not so much as to leave quite a heavy burden on our shoulders, but more so to impress upon all of us the need for our collective effort to pursue this noble cause," she explained.

Nontheless, Loren lauded the efforts of the organizers to ensure the success of the celebration of the International Women's Month.

All throughout the world, various efforts have been initiated to convey our collective appreciation for the progress and advancements that women have achieved so far in the areas of gender equality, women empowerment and the elimination of discrimination against women, Loren said.

"Here in the Philippines, Filipino women take pride in the fact that members of our society, in general, are united and supportive of any measure or program that carries out the constitutional mandate to recognize the crucial role of women in nation-building.

"A quick look at our history," Loren said, "affirms that Filipino women have accomplished much in our society."

"We were the first women in Asia to earn the right of suffrage and the first in Asia to have a woman president," she said, adding that the Filipino women voters account for half of the country's total voting population and have consistently outnumbered men in terms of voter turnout in past elections.

Loren also cited the Philippines' achievement in advocacies as reflected in the fact that the country continues to rank high, 6th among 115 countries, in the World Economic Forum's ranking on countries that try to narrow the gender gap.

The Philippines is the only Asian Country in the top ten countries, together with progressive countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, Ireland and Spain where equality between men and women in critical areas of consideration have been considerably achieved, she declared.

These areas are economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment and health and survival.

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