Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, who authored and sponsored numerous landmark laws on women’s welfare during her three terms as senator, said that laws are not enough in strengthening the role of Filipino women as active agents of change.
IN CELEBRATING the National Women’s Month and the International Women’s Day today (March 8), Antique Representative Loren Legarda underscored the need to continue building on the country’s gains on women empowerment and invest in viable opportunities for women to actively participate in economic development.
Legarda, who authored and sponsored numerous landmark laws on women’s welfare during her three terms as Senator, said that laws are not enough to strengthen the role of Filipino women as active agents of change.
“As the leading nation in Southeast Asia in closing the gender gap, we should be continuously challenged to further strengthen our women empowerment policies and initiatives. Let us be a country that not only protects women’s rights but also provides easy access to economic opportunities for all Filipino women,” Legarda, who is running for senator again, said in a statement issued yesterday.
“Hindi sapat na batas lang ang meron tayo, ang mas mahalaga ay naipapatupad ng maayos ang mga batas at may sapat na pondo para maisulong, halimbawa, ang mga programang pangkabuhayan na mapapakinabangan ng ating mga kababaihan. It is time for us to provide more opportunities for women in education, the workplace, entrepreneurship, rural development, governance, and leadership roles,” Legarda said.
Among the laws she authored and sponsored are: the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, the Magna Carta of Women, the Anti-Child Labor Law, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and its expanded version, which was the first anti-trafficking law in South East Asia.
Women as ‘economic drivers’
The three-term senator also recognized the vital role that women play in pursuing economic development and stressed that the government should invest in women’s potential, skills, and talents by providing them better access and control over resources, income alternatives, trainings, and opportunities for start-ups and entrepreneurship that they need to achieve economic empowerment.
Over the years that Legarda has championed women’s rights, she also authored and funded laws on livelihood assistance.
Laws on livelihood assistance
Such laws include the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises and the Barangay Livelihood and Skills Training Act, and national programs such as the DTI Shared Service Facilities (SSF) program, DSWD Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), as well as DOST Community Empowerment thru Science and Technology (CEST), and DOLE Pangkabuhayan, among others.
“I have had dialogues with various women organizations and sectoral groups to understand their concerns and find ways to provide better support and assistance. Through these dialogues, their persistence and resourcefulness gave me hope that by bringing government programs on livelihood and capability building closer to them, we will be able to provide our women the avenue to maximize their full potential,” the three-term senator said.
“I believe in the Filipino women's capability to lead the country's economic development given adequate investment and support. As I have always done before, I will continue to champion inclusivity in our nation-building and promote employment and economic upliftment among women. What we should be doing now is harnessing the skills of Filipino women because they have the ability to lead communities towards resilience and sustainable growth,” Legarda concluded.
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