Press Release
March 10, 2015

Senate declares March 8 as Int'l Women's Day

The Senate today adopted a resolution declaring March 8 of every year as International Women's Day "to celebrate the achievements of women and recognize the struggles they undertake and endure to achieve equal rights and opportunities."

Senate Resolution No. 1205, introduced by Sen. Manuel "Lito" Lapid, also "honors and salutes the women of the Philippines and of the world, from present day and from history's pages, and all those who fought, that women are assured equality and basic human rights."

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said that the resolution was an expression of the upper chamber's recognition of the need to strive for gender equality and end gender-based discrimination and violence in Philippine society.

"While the Philippines has fostered a progressive environment where many advances in gender equality have been achieved, much remains to be done. The Senate thus is an active supporter of continuing efforts to assert the rights of women and the equal role they play in advancing the nation," Drilon said.

Noting that 49.6 per cent of the world's population, or over 3.5 billion in the world today, are women who play a critical role in the political, social and economic scene, and in advancing the growth of various economies, the resolution also asserted the Senate's commitment to ending discrimination and violence against women, and ensure the interests and welfare of women are upheld.

Meanwhile, the Senate also adopted Senate Resolution No. 1218, supporting the goals of International Women's Day in light of the 20th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, a landmark document for advancing the rights of women and gender equality worldwide. Introduced by Sen. Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, the resolution recognized that "women empowerment is inextricably linked to the growth and development of the Philippines and reaffirms its commitment to not just end discrimination and violence against women and children but, ultimately, to ensure their safety and welfare.

"There is a need to support the laudable goals of the International Women's Day not only to reaffirm the role of women in the Philippines but to recognize as well the need to continue to address the obstacles towards addressing lingering gender gap issues," the resolution said. (YVONNE ALMIRANEZ, PRIB)

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