Miriam Santiago: The next president should be female

We’ve had two female presidents — but that’s not enough, we should have another female president, is the view of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Guest speaker at the International Women’s Day celebration of the International Rice Research Institute Tuesday, she said a third one would ensure meeting the United Nations Millennium Goals of gender equality.

“We’ve had 13 male and only two female presidents so far. The Philippines has had a total of 15 presidents. To achieve equality between males and females, since we have had 13 males, the next 11 presidents should be female,” she said.

“We should have a female president in 2016. Research shows that when women are empowered as political leaders, countries often experience higher standards of living with positive developments in education, infrastructure, and health care,” Santiago explained.

 My question, Senator, is, do we  have a female candidate for the 2016 presidential election? That is barely two years from now; would there be enough time for a possible female candidate to move up towards  the position? And, would the male aspirants allow such a woman to assume that most powerful position in the land? What must us women do to help get a woman elected again — precluding an EDSA revolution, or banking on celebrity and entertainment popularity?

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Santiago goes further to achieve gender equality. In the 2016 elections, she said, voters should pick at least six female candidates in order to balance the number of six  male and six female senators in the Senate.

In numerical terms alone, there is still a wide gender gap in public office between the sexes, she said. “Numerically, half of our high government officials should be women, and half should be men.  And yet the division between the sexes is highly disproportionate in favor of men.  In the Philippine Senate, in the 16th Congress, of 24 senators, only six of us are women,” she said.

Santiago said that the Civil Service Commission has issued a memorandum circular setting a target of 50-50 representation of women and men in executive positions.

Yet in 2011, the CSC  found that women occupy only less than one-third of third-level positions in the government; more than one-third in government-owned and controlled corporations; less than 20 percent in local government units, and more than one-third in the judiciary.  Overall, the proportionate share is 1:2 in favor of men holding top posts in the government.”

Further, women government employees are more likely to be technical staff, while the men are likely to be clerks, managers, or executives.“When women are empowered as political leaders, countries often experience higher standards of living with positive developments in education, infrastructure, and health care,”  Santiago said.

In health care, the implementation of the Reproductive Health Law is badly needed by women. After languishing in Congress for some 16 years, Republic Act No. 10354, or “The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012,” aka RH Law, was signed by President Aquino last 21 December 2012.  As the principal author and co-sponsor of the RH law in the Senate, Santiago saw how women lawmakers, the medical community, and women’s groups fought long and hard to pass this measure. The RH law affirms that reproductive health care is a human right. The people are entitled to demand it from their government, and the government is obligated to provide it to its constituents.

However, the RH law remains under an indefinite status quo ante or halt order, pending the Supreme Court’s decision on 14 petitions questioning its legality.

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As she was addressing an IRRI conference, Santiago touched on the feminization of agriculture, referring to the  measurable increase of women’s participation in the agricultural sector, particularly in the developing world.

In Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, she said, women contribute at least half of total labor inputs in rice production. In the Philippines, as of October 2010, there are 5 million women laborers and unskilled workers; and 839,000 women farmers, forestry workers, and fisherfolk.

While women’s role in the agricultural sector continues to grow, women are often poorer than their male counterparts, she said. Their plot sizes are smaller. They have less access to productive resources like education, tools, and seeds; and social connections like credit and market networks.

She praised the  International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for “leading the way in empowering women in the agriculture sector.”  The IRRI’s Training Center has trained 2,450 female scholars.  From 2002 to 2012, the institute has also given 200 women from 26 countries leadership training courses in agricultural research, development, and extension.

She salutes the important work of  Sulo ng Pamayanan, an IRRI group of women leaders, in promoting women’s rights in agriculture. The group conducts training in sustainable and income-generating livelihood projects for women to benefit their families and their communities.

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After an exhausting tennis game at the UP Diliman Tennis Club, the hubby and I found our way to  Bawai’s, a Vietnamese restaurant on 79 Katipunan Avenue,  White Plains, Quezon City. What a nice meal we had, with dishes recommended by the restaurant owner – Gui Cuon, an appetizer consisting of fresh garden rolls with caramelized pork or beef, steamed shrimp and rice vermicelli;  Bawai’s Salad, made of fresh coconut sprouts, glazed pork and steamed shrimps with house dressing;  Hu Tieu Noodle Soup of Saigon original seafood and pork bones-based noodle soup with pork belly slices, shrimps, squid and crabsticks;   the spicy Bu Kho, or beef stew, and the restaurant’s best-seller, Tom Rang Me or prawns laced with spicy tamarind sauce. For dessert, we had Banh da Lon, or basil ice cream, topped off with Ca Phe Lua Nong, its coffee beans flown in straight from Vietnam, and ground in Bawai’s kitchen.

Bawai’s,  the only classy restaurant in White Plains, is near the corner of the Mormon Temple.  It is a branch of Bawai’s of Tagaytay, whose owners, Virgilio Tatlonghari and Vietnamese wife Yong, are friends of lawyer Herminio “Hermie”  Liwanag of  White Plains. Bawai means grandmother, and Yong being a good bawai,  has made the Tagaytay a mecca for foodies on weekends. All the ingredients at both branches are imported from Vietnam – from the meats to the spices, salt, sugar,  vinegar, and milk.  Only the crisp and fresh salad greens are from Tagaytay.  The Talongharis’ son, Victor, is the chef at the Liwanags’ branch, which opened last September.  So every dish, every morsel, is authentically Vietnamese, says Hermie.

The Tagaytay restaurant is open only on weekends. Herminio opened the White Plains branch last September, which is open everyday, from 10 to 2, and 4 to 10.  He and his wife Laarni are at the place everyday, to make sure things are going smoothly, the diners are happy, and come back with families in tow. “But the ones rally running the place are our son, Dale, and daughter Hyra.” Herminio and the two kids are graduates of Ateneo.

Hyra, an economics major, used to work for her dad’s printing firm. She loves  Bawai’s. “I love it, I love meeting all kinds of people.” Among frequent diners are Rep. Roman Romulo and his wife Shalani. Shalani told me her favorite is Bawai’s Salad.

For reservations, call Hyra Liwanag at 0917 885 1445 or 02 442 88 74.

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