Senatorial candidate Camille Villar vowed to support more initiatives that will promote women empowerment in both the government and private sector.
In her recent sortie in Luna, Isabela, Villar noted the multiple role of women in the family, especially mothers.
“Helping mothers is really my advocacy. As a mom, I know the difficult and multiple rolea we have to play,” said Villar, a mother of two children.
As the country marks Women’s Month this March, Villar batted for equal opportunities for women, and sought for benefits such as parental leave from work.
She also cited the need to provide better access to health services, particularly reproductive and maternal health as well as mental health awareness.
Villar said she recognizes how challenging it is for women to climb up the work organization, which was once dominated by men.
These are the reasons why, Villar said, she also strongly support programs that encourage financial literacy and training to equip women in providing means of livelihood for their families.
During her two-term career as a legislator, Villar has been in close coordination with advocacy groups that support women causes, including Buntis Congress that educate mothers on maternal health and child-rearing, and the importance of breastfeeding.
Villar, who has been juggling her passion as a mother, a wife, a lawmaker, and an entrepreneur, said she will continue pushing for bills that promote women once given the chance to work at the Senate.
In Congress, she filed House Bill No. 10697- Pregnant Women Welfare Act, that proposes flexible work arrangements for pregnant women and postnatal mothers.
She also pushed for the passage of the Equal Maternity Protection Act. The measure seeks to grant maternity benefits to women workers in the informal economy.
If given the chance to serve the Senate after the 2025 midterm polls, Villar said she would push for the approval of a measure seeking to prohibit any health institution, hospital, or maternity lying-in from refusing to admit or give assistance to expecting mothers who are about to give birth. She had filed a similar measure in the House of Representatives.
She also wants to push for the distribution of maternity kits to low-income pregnant Filipino women to improve their prenatal care to reduce child mortality in the country.
Villar also vowed to file a measure similar to her pet bill, HB 5243, an act granting free medical and hospitalization benefits to indigent Filipino women suffering from diseases, illnesses and injuries as result of violence inflicted on them.