Press Release
November 11, 2022

Pia seeks equal opportunities for women in leadership and decision-making

  • Highlights of Senator Pia Cayetano's interpellation on the proposed budget of the Department of National Defense (DND)

  • Senate plenary budget deliberations

Senator Pia S. Cayetano: "Mr President, I direct my question to the Chairman [Senator Ronald Bato Dela Rosa]. I suppose the people beside you, except for the women here, and behind here [referring to women DND personnel seated in the gallery], are all part of the leadership of DND, correct? Is there any woman in the leadership group?"

SPSC: "Kung ganun ka-importante, bakit wala ho siya d'yan? [referring to the all-male DND delegation at the VIP gallery behind Sen. Dela Rosa, the sponsor of the defense department's budget] Actions speak louder than words. Kailangan pa palang punahin para maging part siya dyan? Kasi that means her views are not that important, that she is not necessarily at the beck and call of the Chairman, di ba?"

[Sen. Dela Rosa's response: The protocol of the military establishment, Madam, Your Honor, is that inaalagaan nila ang mga babae...hindi inilalagay sa frontline.]

SPSC: "That is a gentlemanly answer. Pero that can be a form of discrimination because, [in] your desire to protect, you may not be giving them [women] the opportunities to advance in their career to prove themselves, bcause they are so protected in the back. I do not put any malice there, I believe you. Kayo kaibigan ko kayo, you are really a gentleman. But you get my point? Huwag na natin pahabain, the gentlemen here see my point.

SPSC: "I will assume that many are [Philippine Military Academy] graduates, so talaga naman an officer and a gentleman. So you are very gentlemanly towards the women, but you also need to ensure that you are at the right place at the right time. And if decisions are made in the golf course, if decisions are made right here, behind the chair of the Chairman, then they are not part of the decision-making process. Do I make my point, Mr Chairman? Can you ask the Secretary and the gentlemen behind if I made my point clear?"

[Sen. Dela Rosa's response: Yes, Your Honor, yes they are nodding their heads. In fact, we have a woman one-star general. The chief nurse and the surgeon general are both one-star generals, Your Honor, Mr. President, and they are female.]

SPSC: "I will share with you the same comments I make when I talk to a governor or a mayor, and I ask about gender equality and women representation in their political parties, and they say to me, 'ay ito ma'am, may isa kaming babae.' [But] we are not talking about one, we're talking about serious representation. I won't belabor the point, Mr Chairman. Alam ko naman you understand me. Can you at least assure me that I am also understood by the decision-makers [in DND]? Because after this budget, hindi ka naman kasama d'yan sa daily decision-making [ng DND], Mr Chairman, di ba?

[Sen. Dela Rosa's response: Additional information Your Honor is that right now, in PMA, 25% - not 5%, used to be 10% - 25% are female. And maybe starting next year or the following year, you will see more female officers holding sensitive positions. Dahil yung mga female graduate na babae are already full colonels. And so they will be holding command positions, like brigade commander. We have battalion commanders who are female, Your Honor.

SPSC: "And I appreciate that background because it starts there. Even if you wanted to, [pero] kung wala naman tayong na-training in the last 20-30 years, then ngayon pa lang, so I really understand that. And I want you to know that I don't know how many years ago it was, but when my daughters started playing for the UP Football Team, I brought them to PMA to play with the football team because that is my effort in fostering peace at a young age. Imagine ngayon pa lang, magkakaibigan na yung mga taga UP and PMA, nagkapalitan pa ng phone number, hindi ko naman alam kung ano na ang continuation ng kwento, but I was able to bring them there two times. So I am happy with that."

SPSC: "I had the opportunity to study in the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Dalawa lang kaming female out of 38...so naiintindihan ko yun na it [military service] used to be a man's world, but it's a world where we know we will do better if women have equal representation."

SPSC: "So alam ko yan, naiintindihan ko yan. I just want you to make an effort to reach that, and with the background you gave me, I am quite confident. And to emphasize my point, that is [Sustainable Development Goal] 5. Target 5.5 states that we 'ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunity for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life.' Kaya I just used it to illustrate my point: women have to be part of the discussion, whether it's in the golf course, over a bag of chips and late nights, they have to be part of the decision-making process. And of course that is part of our Magna Carta of Women [Republic Act 9710].

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