A total of 129 current and former officials and staff of the Philippines Commission on Women (PCW) on Tuesday, March 8, declared their support for Vice President Leni Robredo's presidential bid.
Citing a report from the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Report, the group said the Philippines has been slipping in global indices that measure gender equality, citing the decline in political and labor force participation of women.
From a previous ranking of eighth, the country now slipped to 16th and 2019 and 2020, and then to 17th place in 2021.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a substantial number of women in vulnerable sectors to lose their jobs. Time spent on unpaid care work increase significantly due to sickness in the family, particularly among the elderly, and also to increased demands of children studying at home," the group said.
"Those who remained employed were challenged to balance all these roles while remaining productive at their jobs. Meanwhile, domestic violence and sexual abuse likely increased as lockdowns and quarantines forced victims to stay home with their abusers, and police and government services became less accessible," they added.
Extraordinary leader
The former and current PCW officials said the Philippines needs an inclusive leader, as well as someone who supports grassroots-based leadership, has exceptional history of judicious management of government resources and exemplifies political maturity.
"In her previous calling as an alternative lawyer providing free legal assistance for indigents, Leni Robredo saw firsthand the relationship between power imbalance and Violence Against Women and their Children. When she became a legislator, she passed laws and created livelihood opportunities to empower women by making them less dependent on others," they stressed.
"We believe that Leni Robredo is the only candidate who has the expertise, capability, and integrity to do all these. Therefore, we, the former and officials and employees of the Philippine Commission on Women and other advocates of gender and equality and women empowerment, support the candidacy of Vice President Robredo as President of the Republic of the Philippines."
Robredo, they added, recognizes the need for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Law; expansion of access to affordable and comprehensive women's healthcare; and improvement of gender-responsiveness in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction management, among others.