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Philippine tribals mark Women's Day with call for peace

Groups call for resumption of peace talks, Duterte hails women as 'heroes'
Philippine tribals mark Women's Day with call for peace

Women's group Gabriela leads a march in Manila to mark International Women's Day on March 8. (Photo by Jhun Dantes Jr.)

 

Published: March 08, 2017 10:24 AM GMT
Updated: March 08, 2017 10:32 AM GMT

Tribal groups in the Philippines marked International Women's Day by calling for an end to armed conflict in the country, saying that women and children are the "most vulnerable victims."

They demanded a resumption of peace talks between the government and communist rebels that broke down in January.

"The war is proving to be a war against the people," said Pya Macliing Malayao, secretary-general of the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines. 

Malayao said tribal communities "had high hopes" when peace negotiations between the government and the rebel National Democratic Front of the Philippines opened last year.

"Our long-ignored pleas for the respect of our right to ancestral lands and self-determination and our call for an end to the militarization of the countryside were put on the agenda by both camps," she said.

The talks, however, collapsed after the government and rebels lifted their respective unilateral ceasefires following a disagreement over rebel demands for political prisoners to be freed.

When the fighting resumed in February, Malayao said at least three tribal people were killed and at least 1,132 others fled their homes in clashes.

A total of 16 tribal people have already died due to the conflict since July 2016, according to human rights group Karapatan.

Malayao said most of those killed were community leaders active in campaigns against destructive mining, logging, and military occupation of tribal lands.

She called on President Rodrigo Duterte to "stop his genocidal campaign or face the wrath of a united people."

 

'Women are heroes'

In his International Women's Day message, Duterte lauded women as "heroes" for playing "vital roles in the transformation of Philippine society."

"The entire world can look up to women for their creativity, and imagination, for their courage and boldness, for their self-sacrifice and charity."

Duterte said he commits himself to empowering women during his presidency, adding that "generations have been witness to the amazing ways by which women have transformed societies."

When he was mayor of the southern city of Davao, the president championed reproductive health programs for women and established help desks for women victims of violence.

But the president, a self-admitted "womanizer," also drew flak for derogatory remarks on women during his presidential campaign in 2016.

In his message, Duterte pointed to the Philippines' high ranking among 144 economies when it comes to gender equality.

"The Philippines ranks high in the Asia Pacific region and in the world in terms of gender equality," he said.

Based on the World Economic Forum's 2016 Global Gender Gap Report, the Philippines has maintained its spot as the world's seventh most gender-equal society, just behind Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Rwanda, and Ireland.

It also remained as the highest-ranked gender-equal country in the Asia-Pacific region, leading New Zealand, Lao PDR, Australia, Singapore, and Mongolia in the top five.

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