Pia Cayetano urges parties to field more women candidates in 2016

MANILA, Philippines - With only six women out of 24 senators, Sen. Pia Cayetano stressed on Friday that political parties should field more women candidates in next year’s elections to help increase the voice of women in governance and policymaking in the country.

Cayetano, chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Gender and Family Relations, made the call ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8 and the filing of certificates of candidacies this October for the 2016 national and local polls.  

“Despite all the gains that women have achieved in society, they continue to be grossly underrepresented in the realm of politics. There are only six women out of 24 members in the Senate, or 25 percent, and 79 out of 289 members in the House of Representatives, or 27 percent,” she said. 

Cayetano said political parties can play a crucial role to bridge the gender gap in Philippine politics by giving women a better chance of getting elected to public positions.

“It is high time that we increase the representation of women in political parties. Moreover, political parties must espouse women’s issues as part of their party platform. This could help raise awareness and lay the foundations for developing a genuine ‘women’s vote’ in the country," she said in a statement.

“We already had two women presidents and quite a number of women senators. This shows that Filipino voters recognize that women are as capable and qualified to run the affairs of the State and craft laws," she added. "But how can we increase women’s representation when only a few of us are actually given the opportunity to run for political office?” 

At the local level, Cayetano noted that women’s representation is even lower. They occupy 22 percent of gubernatorial posts, 18 percent of vice-gubernatorial posts, 18 percent of provincial board seats, 21 percent of mayoralty posts, 20 percent of city councils and 20 percent of municipal councils. 

On the average, only one in five elected local executives is a woman, she added. 

Citing records from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Cayetano noted that of the 44,326 candidates who ran for various national and local elective posts in the 2013 elections, excluding party-list groups, only 7,925 or 18 percent were women. 

“Women make up half of our population and yet occupy just one-fifth of government elective positions," the senator said.

"This gender imbalance reflects why many of our laws are biased against women, or why women's issues and concerns relating to family are often neglected,” Cayetano added.

Cayetano is one of the authors of several pro-women legislation such as the Reproductive Health Act, Magna Carta of Women, and Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act. 

Both the United Nations (UN) and Inter-Parliamentary Union consider 30 percent as a ‘significant benchmark’ for women’s participation. 

She noted that in many industrialized and progressive countries, more women visibly occupy positions in government, including seats in parliament and local policymaking bodies. She also cited studies by the UN, which correlate democratic and transparent governance with bigger women representation in government.  

She urged political leaders to change what she sees as a token representation on the number if women tapped by political parties during elections.

"I don't believe it is intentional to limit women's participation, but the fact is, political parties tend to be content with token representation. This has to change," Cayetano said.

“Giving women this opportunity is really is one way of expanding the choices for the electorate and advancing reforms in our electoral and political system,” she added.