by Len Ocayo, 25 years old
1st place, Babae Kapuso Ka ng Bayan Essay Writing Contest

“Siya’y taong-bahay,
Ang kanyang kapatid na lalaki,
Ang ilustrado,
Ay nagdaos ng mga lihim na pulong,
Nagsulat ng mga sanaysay,
Nagtatag ng La Liga Filipina.”

Many Filipino women can only sigh about what have become their role in history and share the sentiment of Joi Barrios in her poem “Ang Kapatid na Babae ng Ilustrado,” which refers to Josefa, one of Jose Rizal’s sisters. When I was a kid, I was only taught about Gabriela Silang and Melchora Aquino. They were great women, my teacher said; but they were not included in the list of heroes whose pictures we needed to gather for our project. I thought that heroism can be measured, and that Silang and Aquino failed to meet the standards—if there were, I didn’t bother.

I was preoccupied with using my mother’s shoes then despite the clanking sound because they were too big for my feet. I would use the blanket with floral design as my cape, the bowl inverted on my head as my crown, and move my right hand from left to right repeatedly with palm facing the imaginary crowd—all of these in front of the mirror. I thought that womanhood was about beauty queens, and that I needed to rehearse. When the world gradually introduced itself to me, while years allow me to fit in my mother’s shoes, I witnessed stories that parents could never hide from their children and scenes in life that I thought are only found in history books: poverty, feudalism, corruption, pollution, child abuse, discrimination, and the traffic in EDSA, which I think mirrors every Filipino’s greatest weakness: lack of discipline. I felt uneasy with the bowl on my head, and whenever I’d ask my mother about those things, I’d get upset because she’d simply tell me to “study hard.”

Never did I realize that my disenchantment with her response would turn to empowerment because it was in books that I learned more of the unpleasant tales of the country, explored their possible solutions, and realized that women are not required to keep the bowl on their heads.

That could have been the fate of Nelia Sancho, who was Bb. Pilipinas 1st runner up in 1969 and Queen of the Pacific in 1971; but the plight of black-eyed Eves and minors at the firework factory who lost a finger or two created another world where she is still beautiful…but crownless. She was a U.P. Mass Communication student and an Upsilon Sigma Phi sorority member when she joined the anti-Marcos student movement, a decision that made her like a deity behind bars from 1976 to 1978.

This beauty queen turned activist chose other titles, chairwoman of the International Relations Committee of the Women’s Rights Movement of the Philippines (WRMP), coordinator of the United Nations (UN) Asian Women Human Rights Council (AWHRC), coordinator of Lolas Kampanyera, and president and executive director of Streetchildren and Child Workers Support Center (SCWSC). Aside from having attended several conventions abroad for the U.N. and Zonta International and making the Philippines proud, she founded the Buhay Foundation for Women and the Girl Child, Lila Filipina, and the women’s group Gabriela. Women trafficking, struggles of comfort women, and women’s battles in population policies still persist are the main championing of Sancho, as reflected on her writings, including the books “War Crimes on Asian Women,” “Military Sexual Slavery by Japan,” and “The Case of Filipino Comfort Women.”

When women are able to establish—at least to themselves–that they can matter here, there, and anywhere, they can define their dreams with a silver lining. There is really no huge difference between men and women; and most of the time, it is just physical agility. But this world is not run by wrestling every day. Men discovered things that are usually seen with the hands of a woman, like the paper clip, pop-up toaster, and sewing machine; and women invented those that seem to fall on man’s work, such as the elevated railway, submarine lamp and telescope, and the first user-friendly business computer software program.

Truly, women can achieve great things with the same time, hard work, wit, and ability that men used to mark in history. Sometimes, women are not just the beautiful Cinderella who exists only in fairy tales. Their story of dreams, resilience, and triumph radiate everywhere: where Socorro Ramos managed to save their bookstore amid foreign invasion, where Ruth Callanta established the Center for Community Transformation and promotes microfinance for her countrymen, where Cory Aquino showed unfathomable service for the country, where Rosalind Wee introduced new ways to empower women through the Philippine Federation of Local Councils of Women, where Pacita Juan does not just talk about Filipino coffee but social corporate responsibility, where Ana Julaton exceeded the limits for Maria’s physical capabilities that everybody thought, where Amina Raul-Bernardo hoped for peace through founding the Philippine Council on Islam and Democracy (PCID), where Lea Salonga, Chin Chin Gutierrez, and Charice Pempengco planted the seeds of their dreams, where Rizal’ sisters are also known as Saturnina, Narcisa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad, and Soledad, and where my mother told me to study hard so I can understand my country.

Yes, their story is right here in our own nation where women make life not only possible, but amazingly beautiful.

by Mark Pere Madrona, 21 years old
2nd place, Babae Kapuso Ka ng Bayan Essay Writing Contest

Filipina entrepreneurs are visible everywhere. In the broadest sense of the word, they are not only those who wear pantsuits and pearl necklaces in their daily work. The spirit of entrepreneurship is evident for every woman in the community who is managing her own sari-sari store, carinderia, or bakeshop. According to website InternationalEntrepreneurship.com, a slight majority of entrepreneurs in the country are women. This, however, does not mean that everything is going smoothly for female business owners in the country.

For many years, Marina Serapio, or “Manang Maring” to her customers, has managed a small vegetable and fruit store in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. She used to work in Brunei as a domestic helper during the 1990s, and her savings from that employment stint served as the start-up money for her business.

Aling Maring’s employment in the said Southeast Asian country reflects the prevailing trend at that time. In a paper titled “Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region[1],” University of Oxford’s Stephen Castles noted that the demand for female domestic helpers within Asia surged in the said period, a phenomenon described as the “feminization of migration.” Figures from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency show that in 2010, women comprise close to 55% of newly-deployed land-based overseas Filipino workers[2].

Helping the 66-year-old Aling Maring in manning the store is her 76-year old husband and her 12-year-old grandchild. And despite her age, Aling Maring can still be considered as part of the labor force because technically speaking, she is self-employed (as per the definition used by the Department of Labor and Employment). In 2010, the employment rate among Filipinas stood at 93.1 percent. It can be deduced that a good chunk of these employed women actually run their own businesses.

When the going gets tough, she relies on certain Indian nationals for capital (through the 5-6 lending system). These motorcycle-riding foreigners can be seen roaming around the area during daytime either to lend money to troubled small entrepreneurs or to solicit payments. As Mari Kondo, an associate professor at the Asian Institute of Management wrote in 2003[3] for Kyoto Review, this scheme is “crucial to the most marginalized micro-entrepreneurs.”

Aling Maring is not privy with the intricacies of securing even a small loan from the government or private financial institutions. In the absence of a more stable source of daily capital, Aling Maring have learned to rely on informal lending means to make her store survive. Similar to many other small and medium entrepreneurs, Aling Maring has no formal training in business management.

This handicap may have played a key role in her business’ financial woes in recent years. The once-fledging sales of her vegetable and fruit shop eventually dwindled, which forced her to convert her stall into a sari-sari store. Unlike in the former, maintaining the latter does not require her to wake up at dawn each day to buy fresh goods. Though her tindahan has been around for six years now, Aling Maring does not see her store expanding within the next few years. After all, it still subsists on a hand-to-mouth existence.

Last September 2011, ministers of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) member-countries held a high-level policy dialogue about the role of women in the economy. APEC leaders signed the San Francisco Declaration, which underscored the lingering reality that “the full potential of women to contribute in the regional economy remains untapped[4].”

In the Philippine context, it is safe to assume that even though women entrepreneurs are omnipresent, they are still unable to maximize their opportunities for further growth. Aling Maring’s business, for instance, didn’t gain any traction despite her perseverance. As APEC ministers wrote in the declaration, “Evidence has shown that women-owned businesses tend to be smaller and less profitable than male-owned businesses and generally have greater difficulty in accessing capital.”

It also added that the lack of information and knowledge about more formal lending practices hinders the ability of women to obtain much-needed capital. This statement essentially explains Aling Maring’s troubles. If she only knew where else to secure a loan, then she might have been able to expand her business after years of dedicated work. Evidently, more has to be done to end this boom-and-bust cycle of women-initiated businesses.

The contribution of women in the Philippine economy cannot be doubted. They comprise more than half of the labor force and they are also very active in the field of entrepreneurship. However, there is still a long way to go before they can achieve a complete realization of what they can do. Although gender per se isn’t really a constricting factor here as much as it is overseas, other challenges are present. Women entrepreneurs are constantly badgered by two questions: 1) where to secure seed money, and 2) how to hone their business skills. These will provide Pinay entrepreneurs the arms they need to survive in the competitive world of business.

The nation will certainly reap the rewards of empowering women entrepreneurs. If owners of small and medium enterprises like Aling Maring will have the chance to expand their business, this will create a ripple effect that will ultimately fuel the Philippine economy’s path to progress. As United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remarked[5], “Businesses owned by women make considerable contributions to their national economies.” Limited access to capital and business know-show should never be allowed to be a glass ceiling for Pinay entrepreneurs.

—
Sources:
[1] Castles, Stephen and M. Miller. “Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region.” MigrationInformation.org (http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=733). Accessed February 16, 2012.

[5] __________. “Women Entrepreneurs Grow Economies.” Voice of America website (http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/africa/Women-Entrepreneurs-Grow-Economies–133562263.html). Retrieved February 16, 2012

by Angelica Jazmin I. Cabrera, 17 years old
3rd place, Babae Kapuso Ka ng Bayan Essay Writing Contest

Ang Kababaihan ay sadyang makapangyarihan. Di makukulangan ng oras, di mauubusan ng pasensya at lalong lalo di mawawalan ng pagmamahal. Noon, kilala lamang ang Kababaihan bilang taong bahay, walang ibang ginawa at inisip kundi magsilbi at maglingkod sa tahanan. Ngunit ngayon, lubos akong humahanga sa mga kababaihang di lamang nagsisilbi sa tahanan kundi maging sa lipunan. Nakakamanghang isiping may mga Kababaihan sa tahanan na nakakaisip ng mga bagong ideya at stratehiya para lamang kumita. Mayroong gumagamit ng talento sa pananahi upang magsimula ng tahian, mayroong gumagawa ng “Home-made Biscuits”, processed meats at mayroong gumagamit ng galing sa pagdidisenyo na gumagawa ng kwintas, hikaw at bracelet. Kilalang kilala dito ang Kababaihan. Noong una, ang pagkakaintindi at pagkakahulugan ko sa isang babae ay isang “Ilaw ng Tahanan” ngunit ngayon ko lang napagtanto na ang “Babae ay ang Kapuso ng Bayan.

Natutuwa ako sa tuwing may babaeng makikilala sa larangan ng pagnenegosyo dahil naaalala ko ang pagsasakripisyo at tapang na iginagapang ng kababaihan para lamang maibigay ang pangangailangan ng pamilya. Ang aking butihing ina mismo ay aking huwaran sa pagiging matapang makipagsapalaran sa agos ng buhay ng mawalan ng trabaho ang aking ama ng ito’y magkasakit sa mata. Pinagbuhusan niya ng oras at pagod ang lahat ng pwedeng pagkakitaan. Tinutukan niya ng husto ang kanyang tindahan upang umikot ang pera at pagkukuhaan ng kita, nag-aral siyang gumawa ng mga hikaw, bracelet at kwintas na siyang binebenta namin sa paaralan at siya’y naglaan ng oras upang makapag-aral ng pananahi upang tumanggap ng patahi mula sa kanyang mga kakilala at maging hanggang ngayon ay di pa rin siya tumitigil at gustong mag-aral ng baking, na iniisip niyang magandang pagkakakitaan. Hindi siya tumitigi, wala siyang ipinakitang luha sa amin. Katapangan bilang isang tunay na babae ang umiral sa kanyang pagkatao. Sadyang ang Kababaihan ang Kapuso ng Bayan.

Ang babae ay dapat iginagalang at pinapahalagahan sapagkat ang isang babae ay parang Ilog, walang humpay sa pag-agos ng kanilang pagmamahal na dapat nating igalang at ingatan. Ang babae ang tunay na simbolo ng pagmamahal ng di dapat abusuhin. Tunay na tagumpay ng kababaihan ay tagumpay sa lipunan. Ito ang aking munting paraan ng pagpapahalaga sa Kababaihan. Sa pamamagitan ng pagsulat ukol sa kababaihan ay nabibigyan ko ng pasasalamat ang mga kababaihan. Isang ehemplo ng magandang kinabukasan. Bilang isang kabataan, ako ay lubos na humahanga sa Kababaihang lumalaban sa hirap at yumayakap sa tagumpay. Sa aking buhay na tinatahak di ko makakalimutan ang mga kababaihan na nagpakita ng katapangan at walang humpay na pagmamahal. Saludo sa lahat ng Kababaihan. Mabuhay ang lahat ng kababaihan na lumalaban at nabubuhay sa pagmamahal. Dapat nating isaisip na ang babae ay hindi lamang “Ilaw ng Tahanan” bagkus “Kapuso ng Bayan”.