Violence against women will continue to affect low-income women after 2016 elections—CWR

No high hopes for change

A women’s research and training institution puts no high hopes on the election results to resolve the persisting violence against women (VAW). The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR), which has been working for women since 1982, do not see a change in scenario with more spaces allotted to the rich and the powerful, even in the party-list system.

"The party-list system has supposedly opened a space for the under-represented sectors.  But even this limited opportunity now accepts any group or party that will further push the marginalized sectors like women to the way side,” remarked Jojo Guan, CWR executive director.

The Supreme Court has revised in 2013 the rules, allowing political parties and groups not representing marginalized sectors to run under the party-list system.

Guan said, "Party-list groups need to provide legislation for the sectors that they represent.  So if the traditional political clans and businessmen dominate the party-list groups, more seats in congress means better protection for their interests. The party-list system means additional leverage for trapo and negosyo and not for the common tao.”

Media has reported that 52 of 56 party-list representatives in the 16^th Congress are multimillionaires. For the upcoming 17^th Congress, political clans observably dominate party-list groups like the Abono partylist of Estrella and Ortega clans of the North, Abyan Ilonggo of the Tupas clan of Iloilo, Ang Kasangga of the Quimpo clan of Aklan, SBP of the Belmontes in Metro Manila, among others.

The leading party-list group in the recent poll survey is Ako Bicol, comprising of rich entrepreneurs and professionals.  Its social media newsletter boasts of scholarships and livelihood support for Bicolanos.

"Even if a party-list group of a political clan or businessman claims to advocate the cause of the underrepresented, it would only be a patronizing act since most of their programs are dole-outs," said Guan.

Based from the records of Philippine Statistics Authority, Bicol is one of the regions that exhibited high poverty incidence during the first half of 2014, obtaining 48.2% while the other two regions are Eastern Visayas (54.9%) and ARMM (54%).

According to CWR’s study, Bicol region is also one of the areas with a high rate of poverty incidence where VAW cases, particularly rape, have soared in number for 14 years.  Aside from Bicol, the highest number of rape cases from 2000 - 2014 were recorded in CALABARZON, NCR, Western Visayas, and Central Luzon. 

“The recent news of a mother in Bicol region pimping her young daughters to foreigners through cyberpornography depicts of how poverty morphs people into savages for survival. The accountability rests in the political leaders who neglect their constituents. Bicol region is consistently included as having provinces with high poverty incidence, such as Camarines Sur, Masbate and Sorsogon,” remarked Mr. Guan.

"With high poverty rate, Ako Bicol could barely be the champion of Bicolanos' demand like the improvement of the coconut industry. It may be a co-signatory in the Reproductive Health Bill but it never condemns privatization of health services, large scale mining, military operations in school premises, which all result to grave violation of women’s rights.  Ako Bicol even rejected the Php2000-increase of pension for senior citizens,” said Guan.

Guan added, “the little space provided for marginalized sectors like women has even been snatched by traditional political families and businessmen. Women should never allow that trapos and profit-oriented politicos dominate their acquired space. Women should show their power of collective action.”