Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidate and Makati City Mayor Abigail ‘Abby’ Binay emphasized the need for more Filipino women in leadership roles in government and the private sector.
Binay made the statement when asked about her message for Women’s Month, which begins on March 8 at a news conference in Pili, Camarines Sur.
“As a woman, I believe we need more female leaders. While the Philippines has made progress, we still lack enough women serving in public office and leading in the corporate world, which remains male-dominated,” Binay said.
The mayor said she hopes her decision to run for national office, alongside fellow women candidates in the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, would inspire other women.
“If we can do it, so can you,” she said, adding: “Even as mothers, we can balance family and a career while serving our country.”
“That’s what we want to show, that even though we already have a family, we can balance family life and serving the nation,” she said in Tagalog.
As Mayor of Makati, Binay has introduced programs for women, among them free Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccines and providing newborn nursing kits.
Her programs in health, such as free vitamins, supplements and maintenance medicine, have benefited the city’s female residents.