Press Release
June 10, 2015

Senate commends former Senate President
Pro-Tempore Leticia Ramos Shahani

The Senate today adopted Resolution No. 1396 honoring former Senate President Pro-Tempore Leticia Ramos Shahani for her contributions as a legislator, diplomat, educator, women's rights advocate and civil society leader.

"It is incumbent upon the Senate to recognize one of the finest and most distinguished legislators to have ever graced its halls and acknowledge her untiring efforts in pushing for valuable legislation on matters of paramount national interests," Senator Loren Legarda, sponsor of the resolution, said.

Shahani served the Philippine Senate for 12 years and authored several legislation on women's rights like Strengthening the Prohibition of Discrimination Against Women in the Workplace (RA 6725), Anti Rape Law of 1997 (RA 8353), and the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1998 (RA 8505). She also introduced the inclusion of a mandatory five percent budget allocation for gender and development in every government agency.

In the international arena, Shahani pushed for the institutional empowerment of women serving as the Secretary-General of the 1985 United Nations (UN) Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya and as head of the Philippine Delegation of the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

The resolution stated that Shahani "continues to passionately advocate and campaign for the advancement and protection of women's rights even after retiring from government service."

For her service and dedication to her various advocacies, Shahani has been recognized locally and internationally with awards such as the French Legion of Honor, Order of Commander, conferred by President Jacques Chirac in June 1996; United Nations Population Award in 1996; Rafael Salas Population and Development Award in 1996; Lazo de Dama de la Orden de Isabel la Catolica, conferred by King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1996; and Women in International Relations, Golden Awards for Woman Achiever, National Council of Women of the Philippines in June 1996, to name a few.

Hailing from Lingayen, Pangasinan, Shahani was the daughter of Angela Marcos Valdez, a public school teacher, and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Narciso Ramos, considered to be one of the founding fathers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Former President Fidel Valdez Ramos is her brother. (Apple Buenaventura)

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