'Running Senator' joins Cebu leg of 33rd Milo Marathon

CEBU CITY - Senator Pia S. Cayetano today said more women should be encouraged to run for public office at level levels, saying that a deeper and more diverse field of male and female candidates would give Filipino voters more options and better chances to push much-needed reforms in 2010.

"More women should run for public office. Political parties should give them a fair chance to make their electoral slates. Women bring a different perspective to governance. They see things differently because of their experiences and background. True democracy and prosperity requires gender equality at all levels and all sectors of society," she stressed.

Cayetano, President of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, pointed out that despite major strides in gender equality, the number of women around the world holding key positions in parliaments is still a minority.

She cited the latest survey of the IPU showing that across the world, women make up only 18% of members of parliaments. In the Philippines, women comprise only four out of 23 senators and about 25% of the membership of the House of Representatives. The ratio is even smaller for elected women at the local level.

"Being a woman alone does not automatically make a good leader, however. Voters should see through her qualifications, abilities and sincerity to serve. For instance, we do have a woman President now, but this has not translated into positive reforms, and neither for good governance nor women empowerment," said the lady senator, who ran as a virtual unknown in 2004 but was voted top sixth in the Senate.

But aside from running for public office, Cayetano is also encouraging more women to run literally -- in races, whether as serious competitors or for fun as a way to empower and keep themselves fit and healthy.

The lady senator, 43, is also an accomplished triathlete, a lawyer, entrepreneur, and single mother with two daughters. She is set to join thousands of runners at the Cebu leg of the 33rd Milo Marathon which kicks off on Sunday (July 5) at the Fuente Osmeña Blvd. in Cebu City and will end at the Cebu City Sports Center. She will compete in the 21-kilometer category in what is considered to be the biggest and most prestigious running event in the country.

Cayetano is the founder of "Pinay In Action," a movement aimed at promoting women empowerment, health and fitness. One of the group's annual activities is an all women's run, the only one of its kind in the country, to mark International Women's Month.

"Like in politics, the number of women participating in marathons is also a minority. There was even a time when women were not allowed to compete in marathons. But nowadays, women can enjoy both kinds of running - for government posts and running competitively."

"Women nowadays do not know how lucky they are for the rights they enjoy now were the fruits of the struggles of those who came before us. And yet, the battle for gender equality is still miles away. All of us, both women and men, should run towards that goal. Running is not just a sport; it's a way for women to express ourselves. I hope that women will flood our streets and run for gender equality," she concluded.