WE CALL THIS nation Inang Bayan, but sometimes it feels like her sons in the government have forgotten she even exists. I bet if she were a real mother, she is probably somewhere out there shaking her head and saying to herself, “Anak, kailan ka magsisilbi at hindi puro salita.”
Look at them now. Watching her bleed dry. Gentlemen of congress, do not you forget that she’s the hands that raised you, the soil that gave you life, the blood that made you a Filipino, and the very mother who gave you the right—to serve her children – yes all of us Filipinos.
It is Women’s Month, supposed to be the celebration of courage, resilience, and sacrifice. But look where we are, witnessing the irony.
“Isn’t it funny, or maybe scary, how the men who owe their existence to women, and to Inang Bayan, the nation born from them, think it’s all right to use their offices, intended for protection and service, as platforms for arrogance and entitlement.”
Take Jinggoy Estrada, who in a Senate hearing managed to steer the conversation from the issue at hand to the woman’s boyfriend. Reducing her from a person with ideas to a side note in his banter.
The former Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, went on live TV and joked about rape, saying he would assume responsibility if the men in the military acted badly in a martial law setting.
Christian Sia, who spoke in a campaign rally, thought it was the funniest thing in the world to mock single moms and their “loneliness.”
Robin Padilla, from his Senate seat, once asked a question about marital rape that made everyone flinch about what can a husband do if he’s “in the mood” but his wife isn’t?
And Bong Suntay, meanwhile, made sexualized jokes about actress Anne Curtis during a House hearing, treating a woman as entertainment rather than a person.
Hey, everyone ! look familiar? Yes, these are the ones you put in charge. Isn’t it so nice to watch? The one thing all of these men have in common is their power, yet their ability to use it to belittle women, make jokes at their expense, all while being kings of loud opinions and fragile egos.
It is especially sad when we consider that we were not always here. In pre-colonial Philippines, women were in positions of power, owned their own lands, and were respected within their own communities.
And yet, here we are in the 21st century, yes, claiming we are progressive, and it feels like nothing has changed. Women still fight to be heard, have to prove that their dignity has to be respected, and watch as men in national politics turn their lives into jokes or props for entertainment. And that, my friends, is the bitter truth that the struggle for respect and equality is still very much alive.
But the question that perhaps each of us must ask ourselves during this Women’s Month is this: will it always be the case that boys will be boys and use their power to belittle, mock, and erase women’s voices? And perhaps it is high time for these boys in government to actually remember the mother who gave them life — the mother who is Inang Bayan — and the children she trusts them to serve.
Email me at thebedan_socialmediamanager@sanbeda.edu.ph