Women lawmakers lead House session
IN celebration of Women’s Month, female lawmakers of the House of Representatives will lead the chamber’s plenary session on Monday.
The office of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said that in line with Section 15 (h), Rule IV of the House’s rules, Romualdez designated these lawmakers to preside over the session in the following order: Bulacan 4th District Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica, Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, Pangasinan 3rd District Rep. Maria Rachel Arenas, Alona Party-list Rep. Anna Marie Villaraza-Suarez, Bukidnon 4th District Rep. Laarni Lavin Roque, Malabon City Rep. Josephine Veronique Lacson-Noel, Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Mary Mitzi Cajayon-Uy, Pangasinan 6th District Rep. Marlyn PrimiciasAgabas, Zamboanga del Norte 2nd District Rep. Glona Labadlabad, and Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman.
Bataan 3rd District Rep. Maria Angela Garcia will be the majority leader, while Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette HerreraDy will be the minority leader.
Romualdez said the designation of the women lawmakers as temporary presiding officers and leaders “reflects the importance the House leadership puts on the role of its women members and Filipino women in general in lawmaking, in nation building, and in society.”
“The House leadership champions women empowerment, gender equality, and gender balance. Women have constantly become our guidepost in making critical decisions affecting our families, our communities and our nation. They are our strong moral pillars,” he said.
Romualdez expressed his “deep gratitude” to his women colleagues, to Filipino women, and especially “to the speaker of my House,” referring to his wife, Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, who leads the House Committee on Accounts.
“We thank them not only for their participation in nation building but particularly in tending to our households and caring or helping care for our families and guiding them to the path of righteousness,” he said.
The female lawmakers are expected to lead the passage of prowomen and children bills as well as the adoption of resolutions, according to the press release.