INTROSPECTIVE Searching for a new ombudsman

Now that the term of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales is about to end, it’s time for President Duterte to begin searching for her replacement. Despite the controversy surrounding the current Ombudsman during her tenure, I believe that she did a good job and should be lauded for her efforts. She performed her duties without fear and favor and that is something very important for someone doing her job. I think she should exit the position with pride knowing that she was able to do her best despite extremely challenging circumstances.

President Duterte is now on the look out for someone who can perform the same duties with passion and purpose and free from the fear of political pressure. Someone he was saying he wants to be “honest, diligent, and most of all non-political.” In theory all of that is well and good and a perfect description of a person well suited for the job. But then, amidst listing the qualifications he was hoping to find, Digong added that he did not want a woman for the job. In fact his words were “someone with integrity, non-political, and especially not a woman.”

It is shocking that a president in a democratic and progressive country (like we are claiming to be) would say something as medieval as not wanting a woman to be in a position of power. To be frank, such a ludicrous statement is par for the course for our current president who has already demonstrated much sexist behavior in the past, but for him to blatantly come out and say the words was still quite shocking. I’m sure I am not the only one who could not believe that he had to include that in his list of requirements.

But like I said, it’s not that this is a new type of bias the president is displaying. In the almost two years he has been in office (and even during the campaign period) he has shown that he has issues with women – and it seems – most especially women in power. His battle with ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is no secret and of course his detaining of Senator Leila de Lima, his constant veiled insults and misogynistic remarks towards Vice President Leni Robredo among several other local and international women of power who he feels have crossed him or perhaps had the audacity to question his actions.

He has also shown in the way he makes “jokes” that women’s rights or even feelings are not high on his priority list. He makes sarcastic remarks about a woman’s “legs” and defines her personality by how she looks instead of her abilities. He has consistently made light of rape and most recently said he wanted to remove a statue of comfort women simply to avoid offending Japan.

So again, what he said now is not exactly shocking for a man who seems threatened by women in a position of power and makes light of causes important to women, but it does say something about everyone around him who continues to make excuses or find “reasons” to defend his statements. After all, even among the 16 million who voted him into power, a sizeable chunk of that were women. More than half of our population is female. It’s hard to believe that mothers with daughters and nieces and granddaughters are not at least worried that they have elected a leader who obviously does not see them as equals.

It’s highly unfortunate and I hope the president retracts his statement (although, let’s face it, the damage has been done). I hope the president remembers that women have so much to offer as well and gives credit for many Filipinas luminaries who have paved the way over the past years and doesn’t try to – for lack of a better term – put them back in the kitchen. Time will tell if he will realize the error of his most recent statement, and his general treatment of his women colleagues, but honestly I wouldn’t hold my breath. If anything the president will probably say it was just a joke – a bad one to be clear.

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Social Security is seeking an Executive Order from the President to amend the charter and release the second hike in the pension for retired working citizens. At this point the state fund has no authority to increase pension without a corresponding EO from the president although the SSS president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Dooc stressed that he wanted to release the second tranche of pension within the term of our current president.

I’ve written about this in the past and I think an increase is quite important for our working class retirees. With the rising costs of goods and services, it has become increasingly hard for them to care for themselves in the golden years – something that was already challenging considering the ageist nature of work in the Philippines. Any help towards living expenses would make a world of difference for those looking to supplement their retirement savings and especially those who were not able to save for retirement – which is quite a number of Filipinos. Any help in making them more self-sufficient would also help alleviate the burden of their families who tend to be the ones who take on their expenses once they stop working.

Of course with a corresponding increase in pension there would also have to be an increase in contributions as well. If there were none, the fund would not survive. While initially working citizens now might complain about the added expense and deductions from the salary they have to look at it as an investment in their futures. Much like insurance, it is key to put away while you are still able to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor later on in life.

I hope that they are able to find a solution that works best for everyone and implement it soon. I believe that it will help make a difference to so many senior citizens in the country that need it.