Women’s Political Participation in the Philippines Conversations, reflections and recommendations Written by Aida F. Santos-Maranan, Nancy Endrinal Parreño and Alinaya Fabros With thanks to the following organisations for their insights and contributions: Abanse! Pinay Akbayan Women’s Committee Bangsamoro Women Solidarity Forum Buklod Center Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) Cordillera Women’s Resource & Research Center (CWRRC) EBGAN Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) Innabuyog-Gabriela (Baguio) Gender Resource Network (GRN) Kasama-Pilipina Laban ng Masa Women Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK) PILIPINA Reproductive Rights Resource Group-Phils. SALIGAN SARILAYA TEBTEBBA UNIFEM – CEDAW SEAP WINGS-Bohol WomanHealth-Philippines Photos: Kat Palasi Contents 1. Introduction 2. Reviewing the Past: Legacy of Women’s Struggles 3. The Marcos Years 4. The Post-Marcos Era 5. Women’s Struggles for Autonomy 6. Mapping identities and initiatives: where are the women? 7. Women Define Women’s Movements 8. What is the Women’s Movement(s)? 9. Bridging attempts 10. Public and Private Spaces: Women Do the Balancing Act 11. The “reluctant” feminists 12. Other factors affecting divisions 13. Electoral Politics and Women 14. Scanning the landscape of electoral politics 15. On women’s electoral agenda 16. On the women’s vote 17. On gender quota 18. Socialist feminism: the road to women’s empowerment? 19. Women’s political participation in international human rights and national laws 20. Women and Budget Advocacy 21. Where Do We Go From Here? The Challenges and Next Steps 22. What Needs to Be Done? 23. Women in Electoral Politics and Legislature: The Abanense! Pinay Case Study 1 24. Establishing a Gender Quota: The Akbayan Women’s Committee Case Study 25. References 26. Annex 1: List of Research Participants / Resource Persons 27. Annex 2: List of Philippine Laws in Support of Women’s and Their Children’s Welfare and Rights 3 Foreword One World Action is delighted to introduce Women’s Political Participation in the Philippines – Conversations, reflections and recommendations. This comprehensive and inspiring report provides a history of the successes and challenges the women’s movements have faced in the Philippines. From the struggle to obtain the right to vote, to the resistance during the Marcos years, this report documents the rise of feminist movements through to the current debates around quotas and gender budgets. One World Action has been working in the Philippines since 1989, and is currently working with the Institute for Popular Democracy and the Institute of Politics and Governance to promote participatory democracy and gender equality. This report is a powerful contribution to One World Action’s groundbreaking campaign “More Women More Power”, which is calling for women to be equally represented in all parliaments and elected bodies. More Women More Power is also calling for more political will and action to tackle the barriers that women face in politics – violence, discrimination and a lack of resources. It is a deep privilege for One World Action to be working with its Filipino partners to advocate for an equal and gender-just world. Graham Bennett Director One World Action This report was made possible with the support of the UK Department for International Development through One World Action’s Partnership Programme Agreement. 4 1 Introduction ‘Encounters of discourse’ is the term Feminist Agenda used to desribe this project which is the culmination of many conversations with Women leaders who were interviewed as part of women leaders across the Philippines. This this project made the following suggestions for is part of an ongoing process – a stepping Filipino women activists and the movements: stone towards a more united set of actions towards transformational politics within and Organize: go back to the basics of outside social movements.1 This paper does consciousness-raising, building and not present a comprehensive analysis of the consolidating a mass base, and developing status and direction of women in politics new leaders and second liners and governance in the Philippines. Rather, Recognize and harness contributions of it is a collection of reflections and insights all formations and sectors in the struggle from women leaders about the key issues for women’s empowerment: the guiding and challenges of engendering politics and principle should be inclusion rather than governance. We hope that it will contribute exclusion, without losing sight that women to the ongoing process of reflection amongst themselves must be empowered to women leaders. Particularly women involved undertake their own liberation with social movements that are not solely focused on women, and on the strategies Draft a comprehensive women’s agenda: and directions of their feminist agenda within sharpen analysis to reflect the complexity of these social movements. the globalized realities within local spaces This project aimed to strengthen women’s Lobby for the integration of a women’s participation in politics and governance agenda in electoral politics: constituency by facilitating a processes of collective building. Creation of a women’s vote reflection, assessment, agenda building and is important, but help candidates and a reorientation of strategies for women’s elected officials draft and/or implement empowerment. It facilitated a series of gender-responsive programs semi-structured group discussions and Develop knowledge and skills to engage individual interviews with women leaders electoral politics and the bureaucracy: across the Philippines. With women and being clear of the agenda is not enough. women’s groups in Metro Manila, Nueva Women must know the ropes of the Ecija, Olongapo City, Aurora, Abra, Baguio arena they are getting into, whether as City, Cebu, Bohol, Davao, Zamboanga and candidates, politicians, or advocates Cotabato. Conversations focused on the working outside the system. Building a gains made by the women’s movement, the political machinery is necessary challenges the movement now faces and future recommendations. These have been Demand accountability: especially cited summarised in the following Feminist Agenda: was the creation of a budget watch in general or specific to the allocation and use of the GAD budget 1 Aida F. Santos-Maranan and Nancy Endrinal Parreño wrote the main Critical collaboration and sustained report, with Alinaya Fabros of IPD contributing to various sections. engagement with various stakeholders: Ma. Dolores Alicias and Tessa Agravante of IPD gave inputs to the report. Ma. Teresa O. Parel copy edited the report. The WEDPRO this includes the State and its agencies, research team is composed of Edna de la Cruz, Eva Callueng, Pauline religious and private institutions S. Hortelano, Lolita Santos and Rhodora May Sumaray, who assisted in data gathering and the documentation of the Conversations. We would like to especially mention Prof. Edna Co of the University of Document women’s experiences, the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University, who contributed her expertise in politics and governance to the crucial reflection sessions. contributions and lessons in the struggle This report is shaped by the contributions of all the participants in the for women’s empowerment conversations, and the authors are greatly indebted to them. 5 2 Reviewing the Past: Legacy of Women’s Struggles There has been increased interest in women’s within social movements but also, more movements in recent years. However, the importantly, in society at large. However, singularity of the women’s movement – as alongside such recognition is a need for a it was conceptualized in the 1970s and as critical reflection on, for example, the kinds of a result of women’s engagements in the political projects that can be agreed on. anti-Marcos years – has been redefined here, as women’s movements, rather than Given the divergent views and voices a unifed women’s movement, so moving emerging from the women’s movement(s), away from traditional monolithic conceptions this paper hopes to contribute to the and practice among those active in groups, reinvigoration of the movement(s) by organizations and institutions that promote facilitating a process of collective reflection. women’s empowerment. This, hopefully, can contribute to the This renewed attention to women’s organizing (a) identification of the divisions within the can be linked to a growing realization of its women’s movement(s) and how such unique location within social movements, divisions can be addressed; and in particular the critical and potent role it (b) identification of possible mechanisms for can play in political and social projects, a post-martial law theoretical discourse in revitalizing social movements, and in on women’s empowerment that can deepening democracy in society at large. This meaningfully push forward women’s project revealed at least two related reasons agenda in politics and gender-responsive behind such a role. governance. First, the women’s movement(s) forwards Feminist scholarship in the country has an encompassing conception of political contributed much to the documentation of engagement that spans “the personal and women’s evolving role in society and their the political,” which confronts the question contributions to nation building. In the pre- of power in both the reproductive and the colonial period, babaylans (indigenous Filipino productive spheres, underscoring the need religious leader, who functions as