MyDailyRace.Com

Last year, I sponsored Senate Bill No.2865, otherwise known as the Reproductive Health Bill. It went through the process – we had hearings, then we made our committee report , which embodies SB 2865. Since then, there have been many questions raised by the public and rightly so, given that intelligent debate and discourse are [...]

In this blog and later in my book, both entitled “My Daily Race,” I wrote  an article identically entitled “Women Who Run.”  Here I talked about two kinds of women who run – the runner and the one who runs for political office. I continue to believe that women who run are an empowered group [...]

1 August 2011 Today I walked into a sea of purple in the Senate Session Hall. By this I mean the Senate Gallery was filled with supporters of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill which I sponsored last June and which Senator Miriam Defensor- Santiago is sponsoring today. I had the chance to briefly chat with [...]

8 March 2011 Senate of the Philippines Film Showing on the State of Maternal and Child Health Last March, in  celebration  of Women’s month, my office and the Senate, in cooperation with Mu Sigma Phi Fraternity of UP Manila College of Medicine, hosted a  film showing on women’s lives. The films which include a documentary and short [...]

Every October, Parliamentarians from all over the world meet in Geneva for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference. I am currently the  President of the Women Parliamentarians and our  committee of women meets here once a year to take stock of our work and to prepare for the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians the next year (2010 [...]

Violence comes in many forms. It is not just physical, like a black eye or a swollen face. Other forms of violence are less visible but equally painful and damaging. Incidents involving video-taping and the posting/circulating of such material  has brought about many questions as to what kind of abuse or violence is punishable. There [...]

Yesterday, I organized a forum on Cervical Cancer Prevention in the Senate together with Cervical Cancer Prevention Network (CECAP). The objective was to raise awareness about the causes of cervical cancer and how to prevent it.   We invited various NGOs and women representing different sectors of society to participate in the forum. Our speakers [...]

I never thought I would find myself in Ethiopia. But then again I never imagined I would be a senator. So, here I am a senator representing the Philippines and presiding over the meetings of women parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). I was elected President last year in South Africa and as such, travel [...]

Every year I am asked why do a run to celebrate women’s month? My answer is because running is empowering. We gain strength and confidence in the company of other women. We feel good when we run. We may be tired, but when we finish our run, we feel accomplished, proud and happy! A lot of [...]

All over the world, women perform unpaid work as homemakers and care-givers. Imagine this: Ms. A is a mother and takes care of her three kids and her elderly parents. She cannot work outside the home. Compare this to another woman, Ms. B who works outside her home. Ms. B cares for the children of [...]