Pia Perez-garduce, 47
Gabriela Women’s Party member and chief of staff for Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Emmi De Jesus
Who are the women who inspire you?
Among the heroines of our past history, I draw inspiration, of course, from Gabriela Silang, who stood and fought beside her husband against the Spanish colonialist invaders. In the more recent past however, the courage, intelligence and strength of Lorena Barros is equally inspiring. She sustained the revolutionary tradition of her family, from a patriarch who was a Katipunero and a mother who served in the HUKBALAHAP against the Japanese oppressors. Lorena fought for the rights of women and believed that women should stand side by side with men in the struggle for national liberation and the fight for social justice. She formed the women’s popular organization of MAKIBAKA in 1971 and continued to stand up against the fascism of Ferdinand Marcos during the martial law years.
Among the living heroines, I admire Nanay Mameng, who gives voice to the struggles of urban poor women for their right to a life of dignity. I know the hardships Nanay Mameng faces in her daily life, yet she refuses to buckle down under these extreme pressures.
Who, in your opinion, are female role models for today’s youth?
I should say Angel Aquino could be a female role model for today’s youth. She has not succumbed to the klieg lights by allowing showbiz to inflate her ego. She remains down to earth, and tries to use her fame and fortune to reach out to women and children oppressed by poverty. Most of all, she is proud to be a member of Gabriela and has helped women victims of violence and poverty in a lot of ways.
What women’s issues are you tackling in your organization?
Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) works toward the adoption of policies that address the infringement on the rights and dignity of marginalized women and children. Among the priority economic policies that Gabriela supports are the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill to address the problem of landlessness for the peasants, and the nationalization of the Downstream Oil Industry to arrest the unregulated oil price hikes. GWP is also a proponent of a reproductive health bill that recognizes the basic right of women to quality health services and programs, from the moment they are born up until their senior years. Gabriela Women’s Party, however, stands in opposition to three remaining provisions of the consolidated Reprohealth bill 4244 pending at the House of Representatives, that we believe espouse a population control agenda. We continue to work for the amendment of these three provisions as these perpetuate the wrong notion that blames women’s wombs and a burgeoning population for the rising poverty in the country. To address poverty is to address landlessness, lack of national industries, low wages and spiraling high prices resulting from monopoly control over oil and the regressive VAT on oil and basic commodities that poor families buy on a daily basis.
What can we do to empower ourselves as modern women?
When confronted with a situation, modern women need to always believe we have the capacity to act and contribute to the possibility of change. But then we need to always ask ourselves, “Change for whom?” The essence of democratic change is that it should benefit the biggest number of Filipinos, not just ourselves. They are no other than our farmers and fisherfolk who feed us, and the workers who make our shoes, clothes, books, and build our homes.
What challenges do you face in your position today?
One challenge in my job is to manage all the various aspects of our work and make sure that all these wonderful, highly committed and talented women I work with continue to inspire each other, bring out the best in each other, so that we collectively work to serve the main constituency of Gabriela Women’s Party, the marginalized women and children. The greatest challenge, however, is to learn well from the daily lessons that can be had from working with a truly committed, wise, yet very funny and warm GWP Congresswoman, Emmi De Jesus.