Peace and reconciliation, in a region rife with armed conflicts over sectarian, ideological and territorial differences, were the focus of the recent general assembly of the Centrist Asia-Pacific Democrats International (Capdi) in this coastal city in Southern Sulawesi, Indonesia.
As the saying goes: “Defeat is an orphan while victory has many fathers.”
One of the less-noted developments in the recent elections is that, with much of the counting over, the country has just doubled the number of women in the Senate. As of this writing, no one among the victorious women is in danger of being dislodged from the winners’ circle, but none of those within shot of securing a place in the two remaining slots is a woman, either.
I knew Grace Poe-Llamazares had a good head on her shoulders, as well as a heart, when I first met her at a Bulong Pulungan media forum while she was still chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
It never gets old. The sights awaiting us at polling centers on Election Day are a bracing testimony to the vigor of our democracy. Whatever is said about Filipinos, it is clear that Filipinos love to vote.
“It’s like being captain ball of a team,” said Sen. Pia Cayetano of her role as an endorser of candidates for tomorrow’s polls. “When you choose your possible teammates, you choose the most capable, most qualified and proven people to join your team. You choose the best.”
If I were a woman of (still) childbearing age, and if I had the means or the choice (or inclination), I would give birth in Finland. Or in any of the other Nordic countries, which all ranked at the top of the list of “mother-friendly” locales as compiled by the international NGO Save the Children.
“Go out and vote for health.” That is the “prescription” that doctors, health advocates and health activists offered voters during a recent press briefing.
Joining the ranks of political endorsers is Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who recently announced her support for two members of Team PNoy: Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara and former Rep. Risa Hontiveros.
The United Nations estimates that in any country, 10 percent of the population is composed of disabled persons—the blind or visually impaired, the deaf or hearing impaired, the physically disabled or wheelchair-bound, and the developmentally or mentally impaired.
The report in yesterday’s (Thursady’s) Inquirer that departing senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is endorsing “balik-Senate” Jamby Madrigal, and handing over to her the “mantle” of graft-buster in the Senate, reminded me of the lone member of Team PNoy still languishing in the outer margins of the winners’ circle.
Like the “Catholic vote,” the “women’s vote” has been much talked about, speculated upon and searched for. But so far, the evidence for it has been sparse, with a consensus emerging that in fact many women voters do not vote for women candidates, or for candidates who support women’s issues.
