This speech (originally in Filipino) was delivered by Vicky Garchitorena, Vice President for the Women's Sector of the Liberal Party, at Balay, Quezon City, on November 30, 2012.
The day of November 30, 2011 is comparable to a dawn—a symbol of the doors of the Liberal Party opening to the basic sectors. The launch of Mamamayang Liberal (Liberal Citizens) on Andres Bonifacio day is significant, as he is a hero from our ranks. One of the basic sectors we are launching is the women's sector. This is in accordance with the law called Magna Carta of Women which states the equality of women with men in all aspects of their lives—family, business, politics and all of our acts in society.
We as the Women's Sector are committed to do everything we can to improve the level of life of women in all corners of the Philippines; brighten the level of women's organizations, and teach to all the skills for life, such as financial literacy, skills training, microfinance, and business.
We are also pleased to launch the program for the development of our leadership skills and our knowledge of the formation and operation of development projects so we can contribute to President Aquino's directive in the Bottom-Up Budgeting process.
With your help, with our unified action, we believe it possible that the women's sector, with the ranks of workers, urban poor, farmers and fishermen, and the youth, can push for real reform of our political system.
In this way, our sector will participate in the promotion of a political system where the most fit, deserving, responsible, and able can run our society. In this way, we expand the choice of candidates to not only those who are well-known or those who can afford to pour money into the election. In this way, we strengthen the Liberal Party to resume, continue the reforms initiated by President Aquino. In this way, we all sectors of society can take part in the continuous development of our nation.
We call upon all present today, all of our partners in the Liberal Party, to come together in commitment to our ideals and our actions. We are calling on those in government to deliver, to the lowest level of our sector, the basic services needed to fully participate in the life of our country. We call upon the businesswomen and men, to be true to their employees and to be generous to those in need of their help. We call upon our fellow NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) and POs (Political Organizations), to add their political education in helping our sector.
The progress that we are experiencing today brightens with the continued pursuit of President Aquino and his administration against corruption. It is therefore clear that for development to be scaled up and sustained, we need good governance, what we are calling "daang matuwid" (the "straight path"). In turn, good governance needs good people—those whom Jesse Robredo called "good and sensible" to serve as elected and appointed government officials. This means we need a strong and robust political system that will ensure that good men and women from all sectors of society can be identified, nurtured, encouraged, and assisted in joining the electoral process.
This is the dream of the women's sector of the Liberal Party. This is the dream of the women's sector of the Liberal Party—to develop and empower women from all walks of life so that they too can have a voice, so that they too can have a seat at the table where decisions on the life of their family, their community, their city, and their country are made.
Today, it is just a dream. Tomorrow, we will make that dream come true.
Today, it is just a dream. Expect that tomorrow, these, our dreams will come to life—with all of your help and with the guidance of the Lord.
Long live the Mamamayang Liberal!
(Translated from the original text into English by Carlos Garchitorena, courtesy of Google Translate.)
The day of November 30, 2011 is comparable to a dawn—a symbol of the doors of the Liberal Party opening to the basic sectors. The launch of Mamamayang Liberal (Liberal Citizens) on Andres Bonifacio day is significant, as he is a hero from our ranks. One of the basic sectors we are launching is the women's sector. This is in accordance with the law called Magna Carta of Women which states the equality of women with men in all aspects of their lives—family, business, politics and all of our acts in society.
We as the Women's Sector are committed to do everything we can to improve the level of life of women in all corners of the Philippines; brighten the level of women's organizations, and teach to all the skills for life, such as financial literacy, skills training, microfinance, and business.
We are also pleased to launch the program for the development of our leadership skills and our knowledge of the formation and operation of development projects so we can contribute to President Aquino's directive in the Bottom-Up Budgeting process.
With your help, with our unified action, we believe it possible that the women's sector, with the ranks of workers, urban poor, farmers and fishermen, and the youth, can push for real reform of our political system.
In this way, our sector will participate in the promotion of a political system where the most fit, deserving, responsible, and able can run our society. In this way, we expand the choice of candidates to not only those who are well-known or those who can afford to pour money into the election. In this way, we strengthen the Liberal Party to resume, continue the reforms initiated by President Aquino. In this way, we all sectors of society can take part in the continuous development of our nation.
We call upon all present today, all of our partners in the Liberal Party, to come together in commitment to our ideals and our actions. We are calling on those in government to deliver, to the lowest level of our sector, the basic services needed to fully participate in the life of our country. We call upon the businesswomen and men, to be true to their employees and to be generous to those in need of their help. We call upon our fellow NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) and POs (Political Organizations), to add their political education in helping our sector.
The progress that we are experiencing today brightens with the continued pursuit of President Aquino and his administration against corruption. It is therefore clear that for development to be scaled up and sustained, we need good governance, what we are calling "daang matuwid" (the "straight path"). In turn, good governance needs good people—those whom Jesse Robredo called "good and sensible" to serve as elected and appointed government officials. This means we need a strong and robust political system that will ensure that good men and women from all sectors of society can be identified, nurtured, encouraged, and assisted in joining the electoral process.
This is the dream of the women's sector of the Liberal Party. This is the dream of the women's sector of the Liberal Party—to develop and empower women from all walks of life so that they too can have a voice, so that they too can have a seat at the table where decisions on the life of their family, their community, their city, and their country are made.
Today, it is just a dream. Tomorrow, we will make that dream come true.
Today, it is just a dream. Expect that tomorrow, these, our dreams will come to life—with all of your help and with the guidance of the Lord.
Long live the Mamamayang Liberal!
(Translated from the original text into English by Carlos Garchitorena, courtesy of Google Translate.)
