FINDING ANSWERS
Now being National Women’s Month, I’d like to highlight key legislation that greatly benefits Filipino women — laws of which I had the privilege of being the principal sponsor or author during the two terms I served as senator.
Among the many laws I championed, I’m especially proud of having been the principal sponsor of RA 6949, which officially declared March 8 of every year as National Women’s Day. I also take pride in having authored RA 6972 to provide immense support for working mothers by establishing day care centers in every barangay.
Enacted on April 10, 1990, RA 6949 institutionalized National Women’s Day as a working special holiday, aligning it with International Women’s Day to honor the invaluable contributions of women in all sectors of society.
Here’s what I told my fellow senators in my sponsorship speech: “In approving this measure, we are symbolically affirming for our nation and the nations of the world that we honor and respect our women. Our women nurture our children. They are the keepers and transmitters of our valued traditions and culture. They are the heart of our homes. We need them as builders of our nation. We need them as partners in development. We love them for the beauty, love and care they bring to all of us.”
I would have wanted it to be a non-working holiday as wished by the late Senator Santanina Rasul, the law’s principal author, who also had wanted to specifically declare the day as an “official holiday for women,” but then it became obvious that majority of my colleagues wanted it a working holiday, and a holiday for all – to also include men.
The late Senator Ernesto Herrera, during deliberations on the Senate floor, was concerned about the adverse impact of a non-working holiday. “I have no quarrel with the intention… we have to honor our women, and we have to recognize their sacrifices. But I am just concerned whether by depriving the daily-paid women workers of their income, especially if that is their only source of income, would be the right way to honor our women workers,” he explained.
In response, I said: “The advantages, although they may not be quantified in terms of peso value, far outweigh the money value that is lost, and the advantage that can be derived out of this proposal is that, this country will be able to further elevate the status of our women in society by making everybody aware of the hardships, difficulties, the role that our women play in the home, in the community, and in society as a whole.”
The profound influence of women, especially mothers, certainly shapes families, communities, and entire nations through their crucial role in nurturing the young into becoming responsible citizens and productive members of societies. Indeed, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world,” a poem written by William Ross Wallace and published in 1865, clearly affirms this truth.
But it’s a painful reality that many women who have to balance work and family responsibilities can be trapped in a difficult and stressful situation, with no relief in sight in a society where the mother or the “ate” are often expected to prioritize family duties.
For these beleaguered women, completing formal education and getting gainfully employed can be quite impossible if they cannot even leave the house because of very young children needing care, day in and day out, or all throughout their waking hours.
For harried women trapped in such an oppressive situation, deprived of equal rights and opportunities unlike men not burdened by childcare duties, RA 6972 that I authored can be a great blessing.
Known as the “Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act,” RA 6972 is basically “An Act Establishing a Day Care Center in Every Barangay, Instituting Therein a Total Development and Protection of Children Program, Appropriating Funds Therefore, and for Other Purposes.”
To fully appreciate how the day care program benefits working women, one has to read Section 3(c) of RA 6972.
It provides: “Care for children of working mothers during the day and, where feasible, care for children up to six years of age when mothers are working at night: provided, that the day care center need not take care of children in a particular place but shall develop network of homes where women may take care of the children up to six years of age of working mothers during work hours, with adequate supervision from the supervising social welfare officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development: provided, further, that, where young children are left to the care of paid domestic, an elderly relative or older children without adequate and competent adult supervision, the supervising social welfare officer shall provide such training and adult supervision until the children's care meets adequate standards whereby the children under their care will develop normally as healthy, happy and loved children, even in the absence of their mothers during working hours.”
To help ensure working mothers need not worry about their child in the care of others, the program also includes, under Sec. 3 (d): “Materials and network of surrogate mothers-teachers who will provide intellectual and mental stimulation to the children, as well as supervised wholesome recreation, with a balanced program of supervised play, mental stimulation activities, and group activities with peers.” (finding.lina@yahoo.com)