Press Release
May 19, 2009

Press statement of Senator Loren Legarda

On Baldwin objectifying Filipino women

That statement by actor Alec Baldwin about getting a Filipina mail-order bride was tasteless, chauvinist and racist, even if it was meant to be a joke.

Isn't it that when you order something, you pay for it? Thus, I say to them, Filipino women are not for sale, not even to Hollywood actors. The practice of taking mail-order brides, aside from being illegal in the Philippines, is just one step removed from prostitution.

Women in general should not be treated as commodities to be ordered like fastfood or a pair of jeans to be discarded at the whim of the buyer. I condemn all forms of commoditization and objectification of women.

On worsening swine flu threat

The swine flu virus has proven to be highly contagious as can be seen from the soaring number of people in Japan afflicted by it. From an initial report of just four people infected by the virus in Japan, cases there have reportedly spiked to 135, forcing authorities to shut down 2,000 schools.

Many of the infected Japanese are students who had not gone abroad but who, Japanese officials suspect, may have been infected during an inter-school sports competition.

This goes to show that countries, including the Philippines, must continue undertaking measures against the spread of the H1N1 virus and the readiness of their health facilities to quarantine and treat those already afflicted.

The Japanese experience should be looked into by local health authorities because it will give them an idea about the speed of the spread of the virus and the danger of cases of H1N1 going undetected until many others had already been infected.

On GMA stepping down in 2010

A number of people had said that those being considered for president in the 2010 election must unite in asking President Arroyo to make a categorical statement that she will not run for president next year or resort to any other means to stay in power.

As far as I'm concerned, President Arroyo knows fully well that she cannot legally run for president anew next year. Likewise, her administration will be answerable to the people if it would pursue term extension under any guise.

As to making her promise to step down, I say "promises, promises." The people are already too jaded to believe them.

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