Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Last week, I was scrolling through the news online when an article caught my attention — the Social Weather Stations' survey on the roles of men and women in the family. The survey said 83 percent of Filipinos agreed that a man’s role is to earn money, while a woman’s is to care for the home and the family.

The numbers struck me, not because they were surprising, but because they quietly reflected a reality many Filipino families have long lived with. Behind the simple description of “caring for the home” is a huge amount of work that often goes unnoticed.

In many Filipino households, the day begins with a woman already awake, preparing breakfast before the sun rises. She makes sure that the children are ready for school. She multi-tasks. She cooks while keeping an eye on the laundry, washes the dishes, sweeps the floor, or calls her parents or in-laws to make sure everything is well. Later in the day, she sits with the children to help with homework. She then prepares dinner while talking to and cheering up a child who is having a difficult day. Yet when the day ends, this labor often remains unseen, absorbed quietly into the rhythm of family life. Tomorrow will be the same.

Economists call this unpaid care work.

I believe that care work supports the entire economy, even if it does not appear in payroll records or financial reports. It is essential to everyday life, yet it rarely appears in the economic statistics that shape public discussions.

In 2021, a nationwide study called the National Household Care Survey revealed that Filipino women spend about 13 hours per day on care work, compared to eight hours for men. It is a gap that quietly shapes who has time to pursue paid work, personal development, or even rest. This unequal distribution of unpaid care work creates barriers to women's economic participation.

For years, working at the Department of Budget and Management, I often reminded people that budgets reflect values. What we choose to fund and how we allocate public resources reveal what we consider important as a nation.

This is why the Philippines institutionalized gender-responsive budgeting, requiring government agencies to allocate at least five percent of their budgets to Gender and Development (GAD) programs.

I often say that our goal should not simply be compliance, but to ensure that public programs acknowledge the real experiences of women and men. Empowerment, after all, also means recognizing the realities that shape women’s daily lives.

And unpaid care work is one of those realities.

At the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, I underscored how the Philippines is working to expand opportunities for women, whether through social protection programs, financial inclusion, or support for women-led enterprises.

Meanwhile, during my speech at the YWCA Founder’s Federation of the Philippines, Inc.'s 2025 International Women's Assembly, where I was honored for my contributions to empowering women and bridging the gender gap in the workforce, I shared that economic empowerment is not just about financial independence; it is about giving women the resources, opportunities, and support systems to fully participate in shaping the future of our nation. Support systems include policies, services, and social attitudes that recognize the value of care. I believe that a thriving economy is one where women are not just included but are empowered to lead, innovate, and excel.

Today, the Philippine Commission on Women and civil society groups are pushing for us to rethink how care work is shared and valued.

At the plenary session entitled “Understanding the Care Economy: A Pathway to Peace, Security, and Gender Equality,” during the Philippine Conference on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) on Oct. 29, 2025, a call to action centered on recognizing that care work is real labor, reducing the burden through government support, and redistributing unpaid care work at home, while ensuring fair treatment for paid care workers. This initiative is seen as a crucial step to strengthen social cohesion, resilience, and inclusive peace, especially in conflict-affected areas such as the Bangsamoro.

The idea may sound technical, but it is rooted in something very simple: Equity.

The phrase “housewife” has often been used casually, sometimes dismissively. Yet behind that label is a person managing countless responsibilities such as organizing a household, nurturing relationships, and sustaining family life. She performs work that sustains the most fundamental unit of our society—the family.

Beyond budget, as we celebrate the strength and leadership of Filipino women this National Women’s Month, perhaps it is also time to rethink how we talk about unpaid care work.

As Citizen Mina, I believe that when we begin to recognize unpaid care work, not only in words but also in policies and priorities, we move a little closer to building the inclusive, equitable, and sustainable society we aspire to become.