Written by Regina Gonzalez
October 31, 2021
On paper, the Philippines is one of the top Asian countries in closing the gender divide (World Economic Forum, 2021), although reality is much more complex. Throughout his presidency, current President Rodrigo Duterte has made numerous misogynistic remarks about women more generally, as well about women holding positions of power (see herefor only some of them). Earlier this year, he discouraged his own daughter from running for the 2022 presidency as “[the presidency] is not for a woman”, despite the fact that the Philippines has had two previous female presidents (Cunningham, 2021). However, current Vice President Leni Robredo’s recent announcement of running in the upcoming presidential elections, and journalist Maria Ressa becoming the first Filipino Nobel Peace Prize laureate emphasize the persistence of Filipina empowerment in the fight for democracy.
Running for the 2022 presidency include a famous boxer, a former dictator’s son, and the current vice president, the latter seen as the sole unifying opposition candidate. It is important to note that the vice president in the Philippines is elected independently of the president, allowing Duterte and Robredo to be in office at the same time despite being from opposing parties. As such, Robredo has been critical of the Duterte administration, specifically its war on drugs and pandemic response. In late 2019, Duterte appointed Robredo as the head of his anti-narcotics campaign. However, she was fired three weeks later after she “promised reform” amid police allegedly committing crimes against humanity “in killing thousands of drug suspects” (Al Jazeera, 2019). Moreover, Robredo labeled Duterte’s pandemic response “weak”, and called for greater efforts to address the health crisis, rather than impose continuous lockdowns without an assessment period (Kabiling, 2020). In fact, despite a small budget, Robredo has already initiated various COVID-19 programs, including providing care packages for frontline workers, and increasing access to telemedicine consultations (Gita-Carlos, 2021). This is expected to continue should she be elected.
Robredo’s campaign color is pink, which is not only feminine, but also a color of protest, thereby contradicting Duterte’s belief of women being incapable of holding positions of power. In particular, she centers her campaign on being a “bigger protest against the incompetence, corruption, and culture of violence” that have been exacerbated under the current government (Cepeda, 2021). Although only time will tell if the Philippines will have its third female president in the upcoming year, there is great hope that Robredo can supersede the elitist, corrupt, and selfish politics that have plagued the country for so long.
Another important female figure is Ressa, a prominent journalist recognized for her fight for press freedom. Her independent news site, Rappler, has heavily criticized the Duterte government by exposing government corruption and covering their brutal war on drugs. This has led to over 10 legal cases being filed against Rappler, and Ressa being arrested multiple times. Further, she had posted bail on tax fraud charges in late 2018, and was accused of cyber-libel – defined under Philippine law as a “public and malicious imputation of a crime… committed through a computer system or any other similar means…” (Nicolas and De Vega, 2020) – in February 2019 (BBC, 2019). Therefore, Ressa receiving the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize (alongside Dmitry Muratov) “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression” was an empowering moment (Nobel Peace Prize, 2021). Not only was she the first person from the Philippines to become a laureate, but she is also a woman strongly targeted by Duterte. The fact that she has been internationally recognized for her efforts to fight for a more democratic Philippines – the very thing the Duterte administration is clamping down on her for – is extremely noteworthy. Despite the high risk, Ressa clearly shows that relentlessly fighting for one’s values bears fruit.
Both Robredo and Ressa exemplify that, despite the misogynistic values exuded by the President, women can still successfully have a voice in Philippine democracy. While they experience greater challenges in doing so, perhaps it makes their efforts even more worthwhile as they become icons for Filipinas in the fight for democracy.
Sources:
Al Jazeera. (2019, November 24). Duterte fires vice president from anti-drug post after offer. Rodrigo Duterte News | Al Jazeera.
BBC. (2019, March 29). Maria Ressa: Philippine journalist is arrested again. BBC News.
Cepeda, M. (2021, October 22). Robredo Plays the Long Game for 2022. Rappler.
Cunningham, E. (2021, January 15). Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte says women are not fit to be president. The Washington Post.
Gita-Carlos, R. A. (2021, July 28). Palace appreciates Robredo initiatives to fight covid-19. Philippine News Agency.
Kabiling, G. (2020, September 22). Duterte slams Robredo for criticizing Gov't response to pandemic. Manila Bulletin.
Liotta, E. (2019, May 29). Ranking the worst sexist comments president Duterte has made about women. VICE.
Nicolas and De Vega Law Offices. (2020, October 11). When is a person liable for the crime of cyber libel? - law firm in Metro Manila, Philippines: Corporate, family, IP Law, and Litigation Lawyers. Law Firm in Metro Manila, Philippines | Corporate, Family, IP law, and Litigation Lawyers.
Comments