Fighting for Mothers

“Helping mothers is really my advocacy. As a mom, I know the difficult and multiple roles we have to play. I want to fight for Filipino moms.” This was from Camille, my daughter. I have heard her talk about this when meeting with her campaign team and they were discussing messaging and her platforms. 

I have always seen Camille as my baby girl. Even when she got married and had her own kids — my beautiful apos — I never stopped regarding her as my baby girl. But when I hear her talk about social and political issues — in this particular instance, about fighting for mothers — I realize how she has become a dedicated public servant, passionate about issues she cares about.

When I was in the Senate, I also fought for women’s rights. I remember filing several bills aimed at uplifting the welfare of Filipino women. One was Senate Bill 613 or the Women's Medical and Hospitalization Benefits Act, which sought the provision of free medical and hospitalization benefits to indigent Filipino women. The other was Senate Bill 620, which proposed providing literacy program for all expectant mothers in all public and private hospitals, clinics, health centers and other similar establishments offering maternity services. Another bill that I remember filing was a proposal to grant women the equal opportunity to be appointed in government-owned and –controlled corporations, or GOCCs, and in other sectors.

But there is a huge difference when there are substantial number of women in policymaking. While there are many men who passionately fight for women’s rights, the inclusion of women in the political process—in Congress and the executive, for instance—is not only an essential element of participatory democracy but also ensures their direct engagement in decision-making. UN Women, the United Nation’s entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, have cited numerous studies that show “higher numbers of women in parliament generally contribute to stronger attention to women's issues.”

In other words, men should get involved in women’s issues, but it is still different when women themselves are in Congress, advocating for their own rights. In one study by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Germany, they found that “municipalities with a higher share of female councilors expand public childcare more quickly.” The NDI study further indicated “that whether a legislator is male or female has a distinct impact on their policy priorities, making it critical that women are present in politics to represent the concerns of women and other marginalized voters and help improve the responsiveness of policy making and governance.”

I witnessed the empirical evidence of this idea listening to Camille passionately discuss her plans for women, specifically mothers. Just like many Filipino women, regardless of socio-economic standing or social status, Camille has been juggling her multiple roles as a mother, a wife, a lawmaker, and an entrepreneur. For instance, she knows firsthand how challenging it is for young women to climb up the work organization, which is typically dominated by older men. 

Camille has strongly supported programs that encourage financial literacy and training to equip women in providing means of livelihood for their families. She has advocated to educate mothers on maternal health and child-rearing, and the importance of breastfeeding. She has fought for flexible work arrangements for pregnant women and postnatal mothers, and for better maternity benefits to women workers in the informal economy.

I have heard her legislative agenda for women if she gets the mandate in the 2025 midterm elections: She would push for the approval of a measure seeking to prohibit any health institution, hospital, or maternity lying-in from refusing to admit or give assistance to expecting mothers who are about to give birth. She also wants to push for the distribution of maternity kits to low-income pregnant Filipino women to improve their prenatal care to reduce child mortality in the country. 

March 8, 2025 is International Women’s Day which celebrates and fights for “the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.” May 12, 2025 is election day which gives Filipino women the electoral opportunity to put in place more women in positions of power where they can accelerate women’s equality and welfare. 

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