Political parties urged to field more female candidates in 2016 polls

President Aquino's youngest sister, Kris, salutes women members of the Philippine National Police, together with Quezon City Police Director Supt. Joel Pagdilao, during the 2015 National Women's Month Celebration at Camp Karingal in Quezon City recently. Aquino was the keynote speaker in the event. March is recognized as Women's Month and is observed in the different parts of the world as well. In San Diego , there are numerous organizations that acknowledges and honors the contributions of women who are achievers in their various fields of endeavors in Science, Technology, Business/Entrepreneurship and more (MNS photo)

MANILA -- Political parties should field more female candidates in next year’s elections to help increase the voice of women in governance and policymaking in the country. This was the call of Senator Pia Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate committee on women, gender and family relations, who noted that on the average, only one in five elected local executives is a female.
     “At the local level, women’s representation is even lower. They occupy 22 percent of gubernatorial posts, 18 percent of vice gubernatorial posts, 18 percent of provincial board seats, 21 percent of mayoralty posts, 20 percent of city councils, and 20 percent of municipal councils,” Cayetano said in a press statement issued Friday. Even at the national level, the senator said women are underrepresented. “Despite all the gains that women have achieved in society, they continue to be grossly underrepresented in the realm of politics.        There are only six women out of 24 members in the Senate, or 25 percent, and 79 out of 289 members in the House of Representatives, or 27 percent,” she said. Aside from Cayetano, other female members in the current Senate are Nancy Binay, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Loren Legarda, Grace Poe, and Cynthia Villar. She said the gender imbalance reflects why many of the laws in the country are biased against women, or why women's issues and concerns relating to family are often neglected. Cayetano said political parties can play a crucial role to bridge the gender gap in Philippine politics by giving females a better chance of getting elected to public positions. “It is high time that we increase the representation of women in political parties. Moreover, political parties must espouse women’s issues as part of their party platform. This could help raise awareness and lay the foundations for developing a genuine ‘women’s vote’ in the country,” she said.                   Cayteno made the call ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8 and the filing of certificates of candidacies this October for the 2016 national and local polls. She said the country already had two female presidents and quite a number of female senators which shows that Filipino voters recognize that women are as capable and qualified to run the affairs of the State and craft laws. “But how can we increase women’s representation when only a few of us are actually given the opportunity to run for political office? When you look at slates of political parties during elections, sometimes you’ll see one or maybe two women among their candidates. I don't believe it is intentional to limit women's participation, but the fact is, political parties tend to be content with token representation. This has to change,” said Cayetano.
     She said that based on Commission on Elections figures, of the 44,326 candidates who ran for various national and local elective posts in the 2013 elections, excluding party-list, only 7,925 or 18 percent were women. “We have a vast pool of talented women in various fields, such as education, health care, science and technology, finance, environmental management, law and engineering - to name a few. Women bring a different perspective and approach to governance and can offer alternative solutions to the socio-economic problems we face. Giving women this opportunity is really is one way of expanding the choices for the electorate and advancing reforms in our electoral and political system,” she said. (MNS)