THE House of Representatives on Wednesday hosted the national transformative dialogue (NTD) on women’s rights and gender equality, as well as living wage and living income.
Rep. Rose Marie “Baby” Arenas, the Women Political Leaders (WPL) Country Ambassador, in a recorded video message, explained that the forum gathered resource persons with the goal of developing strategic recommendations and strategic action plans to advance a more inclusive and sustainable conversation and participatory decision-making in the country, “NTD Philippines was designed to enable exchange of information on living wage and living income, understand the challenges and barriers, as well as opportunities and their impact to women’s rights and democracy.”
The NTD featured Women Political Leaders (WPL), experts, legislators, policy decision makers, and advocates.
Former Deputy Speaker (FDS) and Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero saw the NTD underscoring the importance of a holistic approach that combines government policies, civil society engagement, trade union advocacy, international collaboration, and private sector initiatives, “This comprehensive strategy is necessary to address gender inequality and enhance women’s economic opportunities in the country.”
She recognized Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) representative Atty. Sophia de Castro for shedding light on the persistent gender inequality issues in the Philippines, “Despite significant legislative progress, such as the Domestic Workers Act and the Magna Carta of Women, women’s labor participation rates remain low. They also continue to face stereotypes associated with domestic work, which, in my view, could be effectively addressed through the institutionalization of alternative childcare policies and the passage of the Magna Carta for Informal Workers Bill.”
FDS Escudero commended Mr. Renato Magtubo from NAGKAISA Labor Coalition for emphasizing the growing disparity between minimum wages and the family living wage, underscoring the need for a comprehensive review of Republic Act 6727. She also cited Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay for offering insights into the issues plaguing the rural and informal economy in the Philippines.
Atty. Vaneza Defensor, a member of the Organizational Policy Development HREP-Gender and Development Focal.Point System, discussed best practices within the HRep GAD budgets while Mr. Gonzalo Xavier Estupiñan of the International Labor Organization Team – Bangkok, shared his insights on achieving pay equity, expanding minimum wage coverage, and implementing measures to rectify gender pay gaps.
The dialogue was made possible through the collaboration of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Pangasinan Rep. Maria Rachel Arenas and Unilever Philippines, in partnership with the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (CSFI) chaired by Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez.
Some 81 women representatives were elected to the House of Representatives for the 19th Congress, while nearly half of HREP employees are women.
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