From left to right: Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mika Suansing, Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro, and Taguig City 2nd district Rep. Pammy Zamora (PPAB) 

House Deputy Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V gave his female colleagues flowers on Monday, March 3, as he praised them for playing the "lead role" in the 19th Congress. 

Ortega made this remark on the occasion of Women's Month this March.

"Nakita natin sa 19th Congress na actually hindi nga spotlight lang eh, naging highlight po ang kababaihan sa 19th Congress (We saw in the 19th Congress that they didn't just take the spotlight, the women here were indeed the highlight of the 19th Congress)," he said in a press conference.

Ortega specifically mentioned his colleagues Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro, Bataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list Rep. Migs Nograles-Almario, Taguig City 2nd district Rep. Pammy Zamora, and Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mika Suansing for their laudable representation of women in the chamber since 2022.

"Kumbaga sila nga yung sikat na sikat during the 19th Congress eh. Mas malayong masaabi ko na talagang sila yung bida sa 19th Congress. Not only with the majority but also with the minority," the La Union solon said.

(In other words, they were the most popular during the 19th Congress. By far they played the leading role in the 19th Congress.)

"Kung titignan mo yung, not only wth the way they interpellate, the way they handle the media, yung mga soundbites nila, and the number of minutes that they have been in the spotlight, talagang binigyan nila ng kaukulang boses yung kababaihan," added Ortega.

(If you look at it, they have really given women a proper voice wth the way they interpellate, the way they handle the media, the soundbites that they gave, and the number of minutes that they have been in the spotlight.)

Pro-women measures

Speaking of furthering the welfare of Filipino women, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has highlighted the need for Congress to put in place measures that would provide equal protection for “no-work, no-pay” female workers in the informal economy.

Yamsuan also said new legislation needs to be enacted to ensure adequate legal representation for women who are victims of abuse but lack the means to defend themselves in court. 

“The government has made great strides in empowering women as nation builders and key contributors to our country’s development. But much work still needs to be done for marginalized women who lack protection and representation in the economic and legal fronts,” Yamsuan said. 

The rookie solon has proposed the grant of maternity cash benefits to them equivalent to 22 times the prevailing minimum wage rate in the region where they live. 

According to him, female informal workers are those who are not covered by Social Security System (SSS) benefits. They include freelancers, home-based workers, those working under the ‘no-work, no-pay’ arrangement, and other unrecognized or unregulated employment activities.

He had earlier filed House Bill (HB) 10070, which aimed to provide such benefits to female workers in the informal economy. This basic social protection should be made available to working mothers as they nurture themselves back to health and care for their newborn babies and families, Yamsuan said.  

He is also a co-author of House Bill (HB) 4706, which authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ), in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), to analyze and disseminate information regarding the admissibility and quality of testimony of witnesses with expertise relating to battered women. 

“With this proposed measure, we hope to curtail the rise in the number of women who are victims of physical violence and psychological and emotional abuse  by their partners,” said Yamsuan, a member of the House Committee on Justice.