Legarda highlights Filipina women’s resilience in the face of climate crisis

At the conclusion of National Women’s Month, Senator Loren Legarda praised the crucial role of Filipina women in holding communities together, especially during trying times caused by extreme weather.

Legarda pointed out that Filipina women have long strived to make their families better, but have been faced with difficult challenges exacerbated by natural disasters intensified by climate change.

“For the Philippines, climate change affects all aspects of life. It affects the price of food, the safety of our homes, the security of jobs, and the future of our children,” Legarda said during her speech at the Commission on Higher Education’s National Women’s Month celebration on March 30.

“Beyond greetings, photographs, and gatherings, Women’s Month is the time to further strengthen our call to ensure our systems make women’s work safer and more valued, that their voices are heard in every space where decisions are made, and that their rights are fully protected,” she asserted.

While the protection of women’s rights has come a long way through laws such as the Magna Carta of Women, the Anti‑Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, the Expanded Maternity Leave Law, and the Anti‑Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, there are still societal problems that hamper the cause.

Based on the January 2026 preliminary Labor Force survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority, Legarda pointed out that only 50.7% of women are in the labor force, compared with 73.7% of men.

This means that more Filipino women remain outside formal work, working unpaid care work, bearing the burden of responsibility without being recognized.

Furthermore, the Philippine Commission on Women reported that 17.5% of Filipino women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence.

“Women are not ‘victims by nature.’ They are placed at risk by systems that were not designed with them in mind,” lamented Legarda.

“It is women most of all who are compelled to rebuild a sense of normalcy for family and community.”

As the author and sponsor of the Climate Change Act and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, Legarda sought to champion women of resilience in various sectors through the Philippine Resilience Awards (PRA).

Established in 2023, the PRA looks for leaders and initiatives that show preventive, anticipative, absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities, among others.

“Nation-building is also about the everyday decisions that make our communities safer, kinder, and more just,” Legarda said.

“Women are already at the forefront of climate action and nation-building—drawing up budgets, crafting plans, leading projects, and mobilizing communities,” she continued.

“Our task is to recognize them, support them, and ensure that the systems around them are worthy of their courage and their competence.”

She concluded her speech by calling on the government to include gender sensitivity in policy-making, especially pushing for research grants that highlight women’s roles in the blue and green economies. (30)

Legarda, pinuri ang papel ng mga Filipina sa pagbangon

Sa pagtatapos ng National Women’s Month, pinuri ni Senador Loren Legarda ang mahalagang papel ng kababaihan sa pagpapatatag ng mga komunidad, habang iginiit niya na ang mga Filipina ang madalas na nangunguna sa pagbangon ng pamilya at komunidad lalo na sa panahon ng matitinding sakuna.

Binigyang-diin ni Legarda na matagal nang nagsisikap ang mga Filipina para pagandahin ang buhay ng kanilang pamilya, ngunit patuloy silang nahaharap sa mabibigat na hamon, lalo na sa mga kalamidad na lalong pinalalala ng climate change.

“For the Philippines, climate change affects all aspects of life. It affects the price of food, the safety of our homes, the security of jobs, and the future of our children,” pahayag ni Legarda sa kanyang talumpati bilang resource speaker sa pagdiriwang ng Women’s Month ng Commission on Higher Education noong Marso 30.

“Beyond greetings, photographs, and gatherings, Women’s Month is the time to further strengthen our call to ensure our systems make women’s work safer and more valued, that their voices are heard in every space where decisions are made, and that their rights are fully protected,” dagdag niya.

Ipinunto ni Legarda na malayo na ang narating ng laban para sa karapatan ng kababaihan dahil sa mga batas tulad ng Magna Carta of Women, Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, Expanded Maternity Leave Law, at Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

Gayunman, nananatili pa rin ang mga problemang panlipunan na pumipigil sa ganap na pag-unlad ng kababaihan.

Batay sa paunang Labor Force Survey noong Enero 2026 ng Philippine Statistics Authority, sinabi ni Legarda na 50.7% lamang ng kababaihan ang kabilang sa labor force kumpara sa 73.7% ng kalalakihan.

Ibig sabihin, mas marami pa ring Filipina ang nasa labas ng pormal na trabaho at kadalasang gumagawa ng unpaid care work sa tahanan, na mga responsibilidad na hindi kinikilala at hindi nababayaran.

Iniulat din ng Philippine Commission on Women na 17.5% ng mga Filipinang may edad 15 hanggang 49 ang nakaranas ng pisikal, sekswal, o emosyonal na karahasan.

“Women are not ‘victims by nature.’ They are placed at risk by systems that were not designed with them in mind,” pahayag ni Legarda.

“It is [women] most of all who are compelled to rebuild a sense of normalcy for family and community.”

Bilang may-akda at sponsor ng Climate Change Act at Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, patuloy na itinataguyod ni Legarda ang pagkilala sa mga kababaihang lider sa pamamagitan ng Philippine Resilience Awards.

Kinikilala ng naturang parangal ang mga lider at inisyatiba na nagpapakita ng kakayahang maghanda, umangkop, at bumangon mula sa mga sakuna at iba pang hamon magmula noong itinatag noong 2023.

“Nation-building is also about the everyday decisions that make our communities safer, kinder, and more just,” ani Legarda.

“Women are already at the forefront of climate action and nation-building—drawing up budgets, crafting plans, leading projects, and mobilizing communities,” dagdag niya.

“Our task is to recognize them, support them, and ensure that the systems around them are worthy of their courage and their competence.”

Sa pagtatapos ng kanyang talumpati, nanawagan si Legarda sa pamahalaan na isama ang gender sensitivity sa paggawa ng mga polisiya, kabilang ang pagsusulong ng mga research grant na magbibigay-diin sa papel ng kababaihan sa tinaguriang blue at green economy. (30)