Women will vote for GMA, says lawmaker

President Arroyo is expected to get a majority of women’s votes when she faces three male rivals in next May’s presidential race, a female lawmaker said yesterday.

"Being the only female candidate is an advantage, but her pro-women and pro-family policy is her strongest pull for women votes," said Quezon City Rep. Nanette Castelo-Daza.

"She has demonstrated sincerity in supporting issues that protect the welfare of women and unity of the family."

Daza said women leaders know that the Arroyo administration has placed health and education on top of its order of priorities.

"President Arroyo’s pro-women and pro-family policies possess the hallmarks of an excellent leader for she has maintained a good balancing act in responding to the sometimes opposite views aired by the religious, women and other concerned sectors on these issues," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo had immediately signed into law Republic Act 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, which imposes stiffer penalties on those benefiting from the prostitution of women and children, she added.

Daza said she was also backed by women community leaders when she ran for Congress against former mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. and former representative Edcel Lagman.

Daza said in the House of Representatives, she has been pushing pro-women bills, including the granting of free medication and hospitalization benefits for indigent women suffering from diseases and domestic violence, as well increased maternity leave benefits.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party (LP) chairman in Bulacan asked partymates nationwide to support Mrs. Arroyo’s candidacy.

Jess Santos, a former member of the LP executive committee, said Mrs. Arroyo remains a staunch supporter of the LP, which her father, President Diosdado Macapagal helped found in 1946.

"Former President Diosdado Macapagal remained loyal to the party until he retired from politics," he said. "It was during his term as party head that the LP was strengthened and unified, which led to his victory in the presidency, and to a second Liberal president for almost 20 years."

Santos said the nation’s welfare and the LP’s future should not be compromised to somebody untested or unqualified.

"There is no reason for us to turn back on one of our own," he said.

Santos said Mrs. Arroyo’s accomplishments speak for themselves, and that what the country needs is continuity and not to start from zero.

"What we need is something who works for the people, and not those who do nothing but politicking and character assassination," he said.