The cards are laid. The official candidates for the 2016 elections are now known for the electorate to scrutinize and choose from. Interestingly, of the major contenders for the presidency, two are women, Senators Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor-Santiago. For vice president, there is Representative Leni Robredo.
As I said in an earlier piece, for the first time in the country’s electoral history, there exists a possibility that the two highest positions in government will be both occupied by women. This is a welcome development for those of us working on women’s rights, and particularly, on a more substantial women’s political participation.
The fact that there are several women vying for the top government posts gives the impression that the country is now more accepting of women leaders. I say “impression” because we need to analyze the candidates’ backgrounds to validate such acceptability.
While all three candidates presently hold important positions, it is only Santiago who can be considered as being elected on her own merits. Both Poe and Robredo are by-products of the popularity of male family members who have passed on. Their cases are much like the one of former President Corazon Aquino who was brought to the public eye because of the assassination of her husband Ninoy.
Poe and Robredo are qualified to run for office even without the benefit of their kinship with the king of Filipino movies, FPJ in the case of the former, and the well-loved Jesse Robredo for the latter. However, I doubt it very much if they would have won in 2013 based only on their own persons. FPJ and Jesse were the keys to their victory. Grace and Leni were the recipients of a huge number of sympathy votes because of the passing on of FPJ and Jesse.
Moreover, if they were unrelated with these men, they would not have been chosen to run for 2016 for such high positions.
Therefore, while women occupying vital government positions are no longer frowned upon, the quickest and surest way still, is to be related with popular men. I hope for the day when women are considered and elected solely based on their own qualifications and merits. Then and only then can we say that our society has matured enough in accepting women in leadership roles.
Despite the manner by which Poe and Robredo became candidates, the possibility of having a women-led government remains real. But how realizable is this?
First, I am of the opinion that Defensor-Santiago’s entry in the race is a minus for Poe. I thought that Santiago’s announcement of her desire to run for office was a deal-breaker. Not a few who were considering Poe said that they would go for the more experienced and better qualified Miriam instead. This is understandable considering the differences between the two candidates.
Also, some of those who want someone with a strong personality in Malacañang (and there are many) would possibly go for Santiago. This may happen especially with Duterte’s continued rejection of calls for him to run for the presidency.
While Poe leads in the surveys, and no matter if I think that Defensor-Santiago will not win because of her low numbers and lately, her defense of the Marcoses, as well as her refusal to make public her medical records, a vote for Santiago is still one less vote for Poe. Unless of course Santiago later on pulls out of the race and endorses Poe.
There is also the question of the various disqualification cases against Poe. I personally hope for these cases to be decided with finality before elections because if she wins, those against her will not stop and her administration will be saddled with these cases which might impact on her performance and/or perception of her legitimacy as president.
Let us not forget that we have not had a woman who was clearly elected to the presidency. Cory Aquino was installed in Malacañang via Edsa 1. Former president Macapagal-Arroyo via Edsa 2 against Erap Estrada, and was accused of cheating FPJ when he ran against her. Therefore, the question whether a woman can clearly win a presidential election remains valid. Will Poe be the first to do it? It remains to be seen.
Poe is up against equally strong candidates. Vice President Binay has planted seeds with many local government units for many years. Mar Roxas on the other hand, is fully backed by the machinery and resources of the administration and Liberal Party.
The lone woman candidate for VP, Leni Robredo is quite likeable. Her statements make her stand out among the women candidates. My disappointment with Poe mainly stems from the fact that I have not heard her verbalize any plan in relation with women’s rights. Robredo, on the other hand, has made clear her advocacy for women’s rights and experience in responding to the needs of the marginalized, including women.
She also asserts her being her own person different from her late husband. She wants people to vote for her because of her own merits. Robredo, to me, is the more feminist one compared with Poe. Robredo is like a breath of fresh air in this electoral exercise.
However, her numbers are still low and she is running against veterans like Senators Escudero, Honasan, and Marcos.
Lastly, it is unfortunate that it seems that not too many voters are now ready to vote for a woman president and another woman for VP. Many still doubt women’s capacities and will probably select just one woman to vote for. Thus, I think that a vote for Poe or Santiago is one less vote for Robredo and vice-versa.
Sadly too, a women’s block vote does not (yet) exist. Even among women voters, going for women for the two highest positions remains unlikely.
We have not reached that level of consciousness where we do not look at the candidates’ sex or gender and solely focus on their program of government, credibility, qualifications, and track record. Our minds are still clouded by stereotypes of men and women and our choice for government leaders are still influenced by such notions.
Yes, in 2016 we might have a woman president and another woman as VP. This is history in the making IF they are able to beat the odds. And there are many.
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