|
NEWS RELEASE
08 March 2010
REFERENCE:
Emmi de Jesus, GABRIELA Vice Chairperson and Gabriela Women’s Party Second
Nominee (0917-3221203)
Public Information Department (Teta thru 0917-4661522)
On March 8 International Women's Day
Thousands of women march the streets nationwide,
demanding jobs, social services and end to Arroyo's rule
Thousands of Filipino women took the day off today, not to rest, but to
storm Mendiola to condemn the widespread poverty and political repression
under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's government, in the militant tradition of
commemorating the International Working Women's Day
Dubbed as the National Women's Day Of(f) Protest, the mobilization was
participated by women workers, peasants, urban poor, professionals,
religious, youth and students. Led by the militant women's group GABRIELA,
they were also joined by Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Sen. Pia
Cayetano, Gabriela Women's Party Representatives Liza Maza and Luzviminda
Ilagan, and other personalities.
“The unity that women showed today should convey the message to Arroyo
that unlike her claim, the future of Filipino women and their families is
bleaker now than it was when she assumed power in 2001, and it could only
start to get bright through a democratic change—change that starts by
foiling any attempts that would allow Arroyo to perpetuate itself in power
beyond June 30,” said Emmi de Jesus, GABRIELA vice chairperson and
Gabriela Women's Partylist second nominee.
According to GABRIELA, with the widespread poverty, culture of impunity
and her exercise of tyranny, Arroyo's reign in power resulted to massive
violence against women. Until today, the 26 women who were among the 43
health workers illegally arrested remain in detention. There is still no
justice for the Ampatuan massacre, 15 of the victims were women. Hence, on
the observance of Women's Day today, the group burned an effigy of Arroyo
that symbolized her government's legacy of electoral fraud, corruption,
plunder, political repression, extrajudicial killings, and selling out of
the nation's sovereignty.
“Earlier this month Arroyo defended her economic records, citing figures
to claim that her government has improved the lives of the people. But in
reality, the said “accomplishments” were never felt by the people. Worse,
her administration's barefaced corruption has made the impoverished women
and their families more vulnerable during times of calamities such as the
current drought season and last year's storms Ondoy and Pepeng. And when
women stand up to defend their rights, they are met with repression. There
are already hundreds of women victims of enforced disappearances and
extrajudicial killings under Arroyo’s de facto martial rule law” said De
Jesus.
“As we observe the centenary of the International Working Women's Day, we
remember women in history that valiantly defended women's rights and our
nation's sovereignty. But today, we also register our strongest contempt
to a woman president whose puppetry to foreign powers like the United
States and their policy of privatization, liberalization and deregulation
has pushed Filipino women to unprecedented crisis—that even the most basic
needs like rice, sugar, utilities and fuel have become almost impossible
for them to avail,” added De Jesus.
For her part, Gabriela Women's Partylist Rep. Luviminda Ilagan underscores
how the upcoming national election can be an opportunity for women to
advance their political participation and put forward their democratic
agenda.
“Women want change. We want food on the table, jobs, social services, good
governance and freedom from violence. We want information and access to
reproductive health care. Our success in winning seats for two consecutive
terms in the Lower House through Gabriela Women's Party, the lone
partylist that represents women, show that we have the power to install
leaders that will truly represent our democratic aspirations. This
upcoming election, women also hold the power to deny the anti-women and
anti-pople Arroyo and her allies to extend their stay in power,” said
Ilagan.
The calls in GABRIELA's protest action in Mendiola were echoed in other
parts of the country as well as internationally. GABRIEL chapters also led
thousands of women in rallies in the province of Davao , Baguio , Negros,
Panay, General Santos, and in many parts of Southern Tagalog and Western
Mindanao regions. GABRIELA chapters in Hongkong and the United States also
held similar actions. ###
Public Information Department
GABRIELA National Office
(+632) 3712302
|
 |
 |
PRESS STATEMENT
Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center (CWEARC)
#16 Loro St., Dizon Subdivision, Baguio City, Philippines
Tel: (63)(74)442- 5347
Email: cwearc09@gmail. com
Reference: Vernie Yocogan-Diano
Executive Director
On the occasion of the 100 years of March 8 as International Working
Women’s Day, CWEARC (Cordillera Women’s Action Research Center) a suppport
institution for indigenous women’s organizations in the Cordillera region
hails the indigenous women and toiling women in the region and all over
the world in living up the history of March 8 as a day of action for
toiling women to improve on their status in society and advance the rights
of women in all fields.
On the festive week of Panagbenga (Baguio Flower Festival), CWEARC
supported indigenous women’s organizations’ s advocacy on food,
traditional knowledge and rights through a booth acquired from the
secretariat of the Session Road in Bloom. From March 1 to 7, CWEARC and
Innabuyog’s booth at the Session Road in Bloom displayed and sold women’s
products composed of handicrafts and food items. The added value is
putting on display images and actions of indigenous women’s organizations
on their defense of food resources and traditional knowledge. As a
build-up for the 100th years of March 8, the history was also printed and
shared to the public including publications of CWEARC on indigenous women
in the Cordillera. This makes the booth unique from all other booths which
were purely market.
“Through this festive event that we are also able to share to the public
the Women’s Agenda on Good Governance to get public input. The Women’s
Agenda will be further substantiated in a Cordillera Women’s Summit that
we will hold on March 8”, presented by Vernie Yocogan-Diano, executive
director of CWEARC.
The Women’s Summit will be held at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Baguio
City Hall at 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM which is expected to gather over a hundred
women delegates from different provinces of the Cordillera and from Baguio
City.
The women’s agenda embodies the aspiration of Cordillera women and our
vision of good governance. These are food security and environment
sustainability, regular jobs and economic opportunity for women,
sufficient social services for women, protection of women from all forms
of violence including the respect of rights of the lesbian, gays, bi-suexual
and trans-gendered and justice for victims of human rights violations
especially women victims.
“The Women’s Agenda will serve as our frame of critieria in choosing
candidates and political parties who will be wooing the votes of women in
the upcoming May, 10 elections”, pointed out by Diano.
A solidarity march will follow after the Summit to bring the Women’s
Agenda on Good Governance to the wider public and celebrate the 100 years
of struggles for women’s empowerment. ###
-
Innabuyog (alliance of indigenous women's organizations in the Cordillera,
Philippines)
#16 Loro St., Dizon Subdivision
Baguio City 2600, Philippines
innabuyog@gmail. com
--
GABRIELA National Alliance of Women in the Philipppines
Address: 35 Scout Delgado Street Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City 1103
Philippines
Telefax: (632) 3744423, (632) 3712302 |
|
News Release
06 March 2010
Reference: Sheila Ferrer, third nominee of Gabriela Women's Party and
Vice-Chairperson of GABRIELA
Contact No.: 09266446402
GABRIELA, AMIHAN slam Arroyo's inaction towards
El Niño
Women farmers and urban poor women joined forces today as they braved the
heat and marched to Mendiola to condemn Arroyo government's lack of action
in addressing the severe effects of El Niño.
“The so-called P1.7 billion calamity fund released by the government
failed to reach the people especially the poor peasant. Given the
president's infamous corruption record we fear that our farmers and the
rest of the marginalized sectors who truly need the said calamity fund
would never benefit from,” expressed Sheila Ferrer, third nominee of
Gabriela Women’s Party and chairperson of GABRIELA NCR.
Ka Lita Mariano, spokesperson of AMIHAN National Federation of Peasant
Women, lamented that farmers all over the country are now losing their
crops due to extreme drought and non-irrigation of rice fields.
Mariano asked, “Where is the 1.7 billion-peso emergency fund? The
government's promise of irrigation, fertilizers and seeds are all lies. At
such an early stage the state has failed to protect the people from the
effect of El Nino.”
Mariano added that women are stakeholders on the issue of El Nino given
that 70% of the labor force in the rice and corn agricultural production
in the Philippines are women.
“El Niño will further cause massive hunger. In 2009 alone, Social Weather
Survey data shows that 26.4 million Filipino households suffer from
hunger. Given the role of the women in the family as the ones who ensure
that there is food on the table daily, this crisis burdens them the most.
The Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration is neither prepared nor equipped to
protect the people from the effects of natural disasters as we have seen
in the case of Ondoy and Pepeng last year,” Ferrer stressed. And again,
during disasters the burden of looking after the condition of the entire
family falls on the woman. Amidst rubbles, the woman has to be the tower
of strength, forced to set aside her own predicaments.
AMIHAN also slammed the government's proposed solution of importation of
rice to buffer the impact of drought on rice production. The organization
said the government should now focus on providing the farmers immediate
relief as acquisition of motorized water-pumps, pipes and tubes, tractors,
hand tractors, farm tools and carabaos; fertilizers and seeds.
In the commemoration of the centennial of the International Women’s Day,
thousands of peasant women will join the women's militant march to
Mendiola to assert their specific demand for immediate emergency measures
that will genuinely address the impact of El Niño on Filipino farmers and
the rest of the nation. #
Public Information Department
GABRIELA National Office
(+632) 3712302
|
 |
 |
Baliktanaw at Pagsulong:
Ang Hamon sa Kilusang Kababaihan sa
Pagpapatalsik sa Reynang Ketong!
Malugod at taas-kamaong nakikiisa ang mga
artista ng bayan at manggagawang pangkultura ng Concerned Artists of the
Philippines (CAP) sa pagbubunyi ng Marso 8 bilang pandaigdigang araw ng
kabaihan at tanda ng naging sama-samang pagkilos ng mga kababaihang
anakpawis sa Copenhagen, Denmark isang daang taon na ang nakararaan!
Isandaang taon ng paglaban sa di-pantay na pagtingin. Isandaang taon ng
paggiit ng karapatan. Isandaang taon ng pagsupil sa karahasan. Ito ang
mayamang kasaysayan ng kilusang kababaihan sa buong mundo. Sa Pilipinas,
malaki ang naging gampanin ng mga kababaihan mula sa pagpapalaya ng bayan
mula sa kolonyal na dayuhan hanggang sa patuloy na pagsupil sa karahasan
at paggiit ng mga karapatang maglalatag ng pundasyon para sa mas maalwas
na buhay para mamayang Pilipino.
Sa daloy ng kasaysayan ng kilusang kababaihan, lagi at lagi na kaakibat ng
militanteng aksyon ang pakikilahok ng mga babaeng artista ng bayan at
manggagawang pangkultura sa paggawa ng mga obrang matalas sa pagsusuri ng
di-pantay na pagtingin at pagtrato sa kababaihan sa isang macho-pyudal na
sistema sa isang banda, at mga obrang nagtatampok kalakasan at kagalingan
ng mga kababaihan, sa kabilang banda. Ang mga obrang nagmula sa mga kamay
ng mga babaeng artista ng bayan, ng mga Gregoria De Jesus at Lorena Barros,
ay hindi lamang patalim na nakatulong sa pagputol ng panlipunang
pagsasamantala, kung hindi balon ding pinaghuhugutan ng lakas ng mga
kabarong nagpapatuloy ng kanilang adhikain, sa laragan man ng
mapagpalayang kilusan o ng sining.
Sa kasalukuyan, nahaharap tayo sa isa sa pinaka-mahirap na pasubok sa
ating kilusang kababaihan. Isang babaeng sukdulan ang pagkagahaman sa
kapangyarihan ang pangunahing dahilan ng lalo pang pagdausdos ng
kalunus-lunos na kalagayan ng ating bansa. Ayon sa mga pananaliksik. 24% o
26 milyong Pilipino ang nakakaranas ng kagutuman habang 30 milyon naman
ang masasabing wala o kulang ng trabaho. Dumarami na rin ang antas ng mga
mamamayang hindi na nakakapag-aral at hindi nabibigyan ng sapat na
antensyon sa kalusugan. Sa pagdanas ng duhaging kalagayan ng bansa, ang
mga babae ay nakakaranas ng doble-tripleng paghihirap. Mahigit sa kalahati
ng 8 milyong naitalang migranteng Pilipino ay babae. Nawalay sa pamilya at
karaniwan pang nakakaranas ng karahasan sa ibang bansa. Habang paakyat ng
paakyat ang numero ng mga babaeng nagiging biktima ng karahasan.
Itinatayang isang babae kada oras ang nagiging biktima ng karahasan. Ang
Rehimeng Arroyo ang epitomiya ng nauukok na haligi ng isang balasubas na
sistema. Siya ang ketong na nangangamoy na sa baho ngunit ayaw pa ring
bumaba sa puwesto.
Kaya’t panahon na upang magbuklod-buklod muli tayong mga kababaihan kasama
ang mamamayang Pilipino. Kunin ang aral ng ating mayamang kasaysayan sa
pagkilos at paggigiit ng karapatan. Hugutin ang lakas mula sa mga
karanasan at obra ng ating mga bayani at artista ng bayan. Upang palisin
ang pagre-Reyna ng pinaka-garapal at halang ang bitukang babae sa
kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Wakasan ang rehimeng Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, at
maging lalong mapagbantay tayo sa panunumbalik niya at ng kaniyang mga
alipores sa mga darating na panahon.
KABABAIHAN MAGKAISA, LABANAN ANG KAHIRAPAN AT KARAHASAN!
MAMAYANG PILIPINO MAGKAISA! PATALSIKIN SI GLORIA!
Pahayag ng Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) para sa
Pandaigdigang Araw ng Kababaihan
Marso 8, 2010
|
