The Filipina in government
Published Oct 28, 2018 12:05 am
THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
By DR. JUN YNARES
Dr. Jun Ynares
In last week’s column, we shared our advice to aspiring young public servants who have filed their certificates of candidacy in the 2019 Elections.
We encouraged them to base their campaign on their own strengths and not on their rivals’ weaknesses, nor on plain luck. We explained to them that pinning their hopes on a win on the basis of their opponents’ weakness is in itself a weak strategy. Today’s voters decide on who to vote on the basis of a candidates’ strength, not on his opponents’ weakness.
We also noted in last week’s column that some political personalities have used the issue of age and gender against their nemeses. We cited the examples of Manila City Mayor Erap Estrada, Rizal Governor Nini Ynares, and the late former United States President Ronald Reagan.
Last Sunday’s piece got a lot of responses from our readers. Most of them supported our view. One particular response came from a reader from Makati. He wrote us a letter explaining that Filipino voters have never discriminated against women who run for public office. History tells us, he said, that Filipino voters have always held in high regard the managerial and leadership acumen of the Filipina.
Here are some excerpts from that letter from our reader, Roseller Morota of Barangay San Antonio, Makati City. He wrote:
“The Filipina played important leadership roles in various chapters of our history. Princess Uduja, Gabriela Silang, Gregoria de Jesus, Trinidad Tecson, Teresa Magbanua, Melchora Aquino – these women were as brave, if not more daring, than their male counterpart in the revolutionary movement.
“The Filipina has also distinguished herself in elective posts.
Just a couple of years after women were given the right to vote in 1937, the nation already elected the first Filipina to ever occupy a seat in Congress: Agusan province’s Elisa Ochoa. And eight years after that, Filipinos elected the first Filipina senator: Pangasinan’s Geronima Pecson.
“Senator Pecson placed third in that 1947 senatorial race, just some 20,000 votes behind the first placer – the legendary Senator Lorenzo Tañada. She was also the only woman to run for a senate seat that year. She bested 17 other male senatorial aspirants from four political parties in that election contest.
“Since then, the nation had elected 21 other Filipinas to the Senate, most if not all them, distinguishing themselves in the male-dominated legislature.
“The likes of Senators Eva Estrada-Kalaw (the first Filipina senator to be reelected), Helena Benitez, and Miriam Defenso Santiago were known to shine in important debates on the Senate floor regarding pieces of legislation and issues which mattered a lot to the country.
We have had two Filipina presidents, both playing crucial roles in important moments in Philippine history. One was instrumental in the return of the country to a working democracy; the other led the country at a time of decisive reforms that transformed the economic fundamentals.
“There is no question that the Filipina can manage the affairs of the nation as excellently as she manages her household.”
Mr. Morota brought up a great point. The fact is the Filipina’s feat in terms of empowerment is recognized worldwide.
Based on available data, in 2013, the Philippines was ranked fifth in the Global Gender Gap Index Report put together by the World Economic Forum. That report underscored that the male-female inequality in the country is among the lowest in the world. It also showed that the Filipino shone bright in the arena of political empowerment.
The Filipina has also distinguished herself in local government. Today, there are about 19 Filipinas occupying the posts of provincial governors. A good number are mayors, vice mayors, and councilmen in their respective local governments. We do not have the exact count.
We believe that the number of women in elective positions in the country will continue to increase.
This is partly because more and more Filipinas are determined to prove themselves in arenas once dominated by men.
This is also because we have come to recognize one very important fact: that leadership excellence is gender-neutral.
*For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to #4 Horse Shoe Drive, Beverly Hills Subdivision, Bgy. Beverly Hills, Antipolo City, Rizal.
Dr. Jun Ynares
In last week’s column, we shared our advice to aspiring young public servants who have filed their certificates of candidacy in the 2019 Elections.
We encouraged them to base their campaign on their own strengths and not on their rivals’ weaknesses, nor on plain luck. We explained to them that pinning their hopes on a win on the basis of their opponents’ weakness is in itself a weak strategy. Today’s voters decide on who to vote on the basis of a candidates’ strength, not on his opponents’ weakness.
We also noted in last week’s column that some political personalities have used the issue of age and gender against their nemeses. We cited the examples of Manila City Mayor Erap Estrada, Rizal Governor Nini Ynares, and the late former United States President Ronald Reagan.
Last Sunday’s piece got a lot of responses from our readers. Most of them supported our view. One particular response came from a reader from Makati. He wrote us a letter explaining that Filipino voters have never discriminated against women who run for public office. History tells us, he said, that Filipino voters have always held in high regard the managerial and leadership acumen of the Filipina.
Here are some excerpts from that letter from our reader, Roseller Morota of Barangay San Antonio, Makati City. He wrote:
“The Filipina played important leadership roles in various chapters of our history. Princess Uduja, Gabriela Silang, Gregoria de Jesus, Trinidad Tecson, Teresa Magbanua, Melchora Aquino – these women were as brave, if not more daring, than their male counterpart in the revolutionary movement.
“The Filipina has also distinguished herself in elective posts.
Just a couple of years after women were given the right to vote in 1937, the nation already elected the first Filipina to ever occupy a seat in Congress: Agusan province’s Elisa Ochoa. And eight years after that, Filipinos elected the first Filipina senator: Pangasinan’s Geronima Pecson.
“Senator Pecson placed third in that 1947 senatorial race, just some 20,000 votes behind the first placer – the legendary Senator Lorenzo Tañada. She was also the only woman to run for a senate seat that year. She bested 17 other male senatorial aspirants from four political parties in that election contest.
“Since then, the nation had elected 21 other Filipinas to the Senate, most if not all them, distinguishing themselves in the male-dominated legislature.
“The likes of Senators Eva Estrada-Kalaw (the first Filipina senator to be reelected), Helena Benitez, and Miriam Defenso Santiago were known to shine in important debates on the Senate floor regarding pieces of legislation and issues which mattered a lot to the country.
We have had two Filipina presidents, both playing crucial roles in important moments in Philippine history. One was instrumental in the return of the country to a working democracy; the other led the country at a time of decisive reforms that transformed the economic fundamentals.
“There is no question that the Filipina can manage the affairs of the nation as excellently as she manages her household.”
Mr. Morota brought up a great point. The fact is the Filipina’s feat in terms of empowerment is recognized worldwide.
Based on available data, in 2013, the Philippines was ranked fifth in the Global Gender Gap Index Report put together by the World Economic Forum. That report underscored that the male-female inequality in the country is among the lowest in the world. It also showed that the Filipino shone bright in the arena of political empowerment.
The Filipina has also distinguished herself in local government. Today, there are about 19 Filipinas occupying the posts of provincial governors. A good number are mayors, vice mayors, and councilmen in their respective local governments. We do not have the exact count.
We believe that the number of women in elective positions in the country will continue to increase.
This is partly because more and more Filipinas are determined to prove themselves in arenas once dominated by men.
This is also because we have come to recognize one very important fact: that leadership excellence is gender-neutral.
*For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to #4 Horse Shoe Drive, Beverly Hills Subdivision, Bgy. Beverly Hills, Antipolo City, Rizal.