Press Releases

Women’s Partylist group Gabriela today said the outright dismissal of rape charges against the US serviceman accused of raping a Filipina in Okinawa is a grave injustice. “We feel that our kabaro has beenvictimized twice over in the name of foreign relations.”

Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Liza Largoza Maza said “it is apparent that both the Japanese and Philippine governments have succumbed to pressure from the United States. That the statement of the accused failed to agree with that of the victim is not a sufficient enough reason to have the charges dropped.”  read more »

Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Luz Ilagan denounced today the killing of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Southern Mindanao Region (KMP-SMR) spokesperson, and Bayan -SMR vice chairperson Celso Pojas.

Pojas was killed on May 15,2007 at around 6:00 am, right outside the gate of the Farmers Association of Davao City, of which Pojas was secretary general.
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Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Liza Maza today joined government employees in denouncing the use of GSIS assets in the Malacanang-led bid to takeover Meralco.

“Malacanang should stop pitting government employees’ funds for this apparent financial crackdown on business and media institutions that refuse to toe her line,” said Maza.

Maza fears transferring the Meralco management from the Lopezes to the Malacanang-Garcia conspiracy is like putting electricity consumers from the frying pan to the fire.  read more »

Gabriela Women’s Party filed today a bill extending the allowed maternity leave from the current period of 60 days for normal deliveries and 78 days for caesarean section deliveries to as much as 120 days, as recommended by the International Labor Organization Convention 183 on Maternity Protection.  read more »

“While judicial processes must be respected, we in Gabriela Women’s Party remain doubtful of the investigation conducted by the Philippine National Police which is the basis of the warrants issued today.”

“Though this has long been ignored, our demand for an independent probe on the November 13 Batasan blast stays. Until then, justice for the victims of the Batasan blast remains elusive”  read more »

The hearing today on the motion for the judicial determination of probable cause filed by Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Liza Maza, Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casino (Bayan Muna) and Rep. Rafael Mariano (Anakpawis) has been reset to May 12 by Judge Evelyn Turla of Branch 40, Palayan City Nueva Ecija RTC.  read more »

“There is no point in extending a bogus land reform program that has served to strengthen the hold of big landowners, agro-corporations and multinationals over vast tracts of land.”

Thus explained Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Liza Largoza Maza, in voting “NO” to the proposed extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program which was approved at the committee level yesterday.  read more »

Members of Gabriela Women’s Partylist today stormed the office of the National Food Authority(NFA) to denounce the pull-out of NFA rice priced at P18.25 from most of the 108 public markets in the National Capital Region.

The P25 high variety rice from the United States was said to replace the cheaper NFA rice in the markets.

Cristina Palabay, secretary general of the women’s party, said this move will aggravate the situation of the largely impoverished consumers, who cannot afford the P25/kilo rice.  read more »

The militant women's partylist group Gabriela today criticized as a mere spin, President Arroyo's supposed bid to have pro-poor measures passed including a measure implementing tax exemption for minimum wage earners.

"This is but an attempt to appease growing restiveness as prices of oil, rice and basic commodities continue to rise. The truth is, a great majority of the population will not at all benefit from this measure," said Rep. Maza.  read more »

As Congress sets to deliberate anew on proposals to extend the comprehensive agrarian reform program, representatives of the militant partylist group Gabriela today said extending the failed CARP will inevitably lead to a rice crisis of larger proportions and to further food insecurity in the coming years.  read more »