MANILA, Philippines – Sarah Elago, the student activist turned youth representative of Kabataan party-list, is seeking to return to the House of Representatives, but this time as the first nominee of Gabriela Women’s Party.
Elago led Gabriela in filing its Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) on Friday, October 4. Gabriela currently holds one seat in the lower house through Arlene Brosas, who filed her candidacy on Friday for senator as part of the leftist Makabayan slate.
The second and third nominees of Gabriela are women’s rights advocate Cathy Estabillo, and physician-environmentalist Jean Lindo. Voters choose only one party-list in their ballot, and those who get at least 2% of the national votes get one seat, with chances of more seats if they get more votes.
Elago said that among the priority legislative agenda of Gabriela is the divorce bill, which has already passed a second time in the lower chamber, but faces opposition from the Senate’s conservative members, mostly men.
“Ipagpapatuloy namin ang pagsusulong ng mga batas para sa karapatan ng mga kababaihan at LGBT, tulad ng divorce bill, SOGIESC equality bill, ganoon din ang mga amyenda para palakasin ang anti-rape at anti-VAWC (Violence against Women and Children) law,” said Elago.
(We will continue to push for laws in the interest of the rights of women and LGBT, like the divorce bill, the SOGIESC equality bill, as well as amendments to strengthen anti-rape and anti-VAWC laws.)
Lindo said that Gabriela also supports moves to decriminalize abortion. “We are for decriminalization of women who opt for abortion. Nademonstrate na ng mga countries na nagdecriminalize ng abortion na mas bumaba ang prevalence of abortion dahil name-mainstream, nabibigyan ng maraming options, at nabibigyan ng sapat na reproductive services,” said Lindo.
(Countries that have decriminalized abortion have demonstrated that by doing so, the prevalence of abortion went down because of mainstreamed services, the availability of other options, and sufficient reproductive services.)
Elago and Lindo also said that their stance on the rights of sex workers come from a framework where they consider sex work as prostitution because lack of job opportunities force women into that line.
“We do not equate prostitution to a job…. We call them prostituted women as it is the social environment that is disempowering for these women,” said Lindo, which prompted a follow-up question from the media if their stance is imposing on a woman who has autonomy over her body.
“Walang babae o bata na magsasabing, when I grow up, I want to be a prostituted woman (No woman says, when I grow up I want to be a prostituted woman),” said Lindo.
Elago said Gabriela is ready to hold nationwide consultations and an information campaign on women’s rights.
While she was Kabataan representative, Elago was in the line of fire of progressive personalities that faced suits from the state. Elago survived this episode in 2020 when the justice department junked kidnapping and war crime suits filed against her by the police, and the mother of a student activist who claimed that the leftist leaders kidnapped her child.
Leftist politicians believe these sustained attacks and the red-tagging campaign against them were the main reason why they were decimated in the 2022 elections.
Under a new government, they are staging a comeback bid in the hopes of increasing opposition members in the lower house. – Rappler.com
