Maza lauds SC Justice Puno's assessment on women's legal roadblocks; challenges next admin to carry women's agenda

Gabriela Representative and Makabayan-Nacionalista senatorial candidate Liza Maza agreed with Supreme Court Justice Reynato Puno’s incisive assessment of the “legal roadblocks” faced by women and children who are victims of violence and abuse such as the non-regularization of family courts which were created through Republic Act No. 8369 more than a decade ago in 1997.

“We are not lacking in laws that supposedly protect Filipino women and children. In fact, the Philippines already has 27 laws concerning women's rights. In addition to that, we are also signatory to a number of covenants such as the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which we signed in 1981,” Maza said.

“The problem lies in the lack of implementation of these laws and the proper mechanism for the monitoring of their implementation,” Maza explained. “This is why despite the many measures in place for the promotion of women’s rights, the cases of violence against women still continue to reach alarming rates.”

Justice Puno noted that from 1999 to 2008, at least 67,436 cases of violence against women were reported.

Maza said that this revelation poses a challenge to local and national candidates in the 2010 elections to have a concrete and long-term women agenda, reminding that one measure of an administration’s success is its ability to improve women’s overall situation. ###