Press Release
March 16, 2017

HONTIVEROS HITS TESDA CHIEF FOR SEXIST REMARK
'Women are not men's servants' - Senator tells Mamondiong

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director-General Guiling Mamondiong earned the ire of Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday for saying that women "don't have time anymore for their spouses because they are powerful." The TESDA chief made the remark to media while commenting on overseas Filipino workers' plight abroad.

"We are not your servants," Hontiveros declared. "On behalf of Filipino women, especially those who work abroad, I'd like to remind the Director-General that our empowerment does not come at men's expense," she furthered.

Hontiveros, who is also the Chair of the Senate Committee on Women, said that Mamondiong may have an outdated view of women and gender-relations.

"I respectfully ask the Director-General to clarify his remark and his views on women. It is not within men's rights to dictate what role women should play whether it is at home or work," Hontiveros said.

The senator also pointed out the irony of Mamondiong's remark that was made while the country celebrates Women's Month. "It seems that we still have a long way to go, not only in educating our people but also our public officials on gender sensitivity and equality," she said.

"The TESDA chief's sexist outlook reinforces societal structures that deny women our rights and the implementation of policies that are oppressive to us," Hontiveros said.

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