It was Speaker Gina de V that day
ALL-WOMEN SESSION
IT WAS an all-women session in the House of Representatives on March 12, a special assembly held in observance of International Women’s Month, and Fourth District Rep. Gina de Venecia again stood as Speaker.
She was assisted on the floor by other women lawmakers from Pangasinan, namely: Reps. Rachel Arenas of the Third District, Kimi Cojuangco of the 5th District, and Marlyn Primicias Agabas of the 6th District.
De Venecia is the president of the 65-strong Association of Women Legislators, Foundation, Inc. (AWLFI), a group of all the lady legislators in the House of Representatives.
The agenda included legislation bills pertaining to women, including House Bill 4643 on the expansion of the prohibited acts listed in the “discrimination against women” law, and the status of House Bill 4434 on the declaration of November 25 of every year as National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
During the privilege hour, Rep. Evelyn Mellana spoke on Women in the Workforce, Rep. Juliet Cortuna on Women in the 21st Century: Leaders, Builders and Enablers of Philippine Development, Reps Luz Ilagan and Ana Cristina Go on Gender Sensitivity, Rep. Imelda Dimaporo on Discrimination Against Muslim Filipino Women, and Rep. Imelda Calixto-Rubiano on Celebrating Pinay: Celebration of the International Women’s Month.
The AWLFI also sponsored the exhibition of the indie film on family, “Agawan Base.”
On March 21, the group will sponsor a forum on “Women’s Rights under the Family Code” with lawyer Lorna Kapunan.
HEART OF CONGRESS
Under De Venecia’s leadership, the association was formally registered last year as a non-stock and non-profit foundation at the Securities and Exchange Commission, as Association of Women Legislators Foundation, Incorporated (AWLFI).
“As the heart of Congress”, De Venecia says, “we will endeavor to turn that licker of hope – by patient work and by genuine example – into a blazing flame of optimism and accomplishment, for the Filipino people.”
Among the recent activities of the lady legislators were the successful passage of the “anti-corporal punishment bill” to protect children from unwarranted harm in the name of discipline; holding of series of dialogues with President Benigno Aquino III and members of his Cabinet, as well as Gloria Steele, Mission Director of USAID; conducted seminars on first-aid and disaster preparedness with the Philippine Red Cross and Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum.
The association has also been given a permanent office at the South building in recognition of the organization’s status as a permanent constituent of the House of Representatives.
The group, founded by former congresswoman Cynthia Villar during the 12th Congress, is credited for the passage of the Magna Carta of Women of 2009, the Anti-Violence Against Women.
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