(Eagle News) – The President does not promote violence against women.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque emphasized this during a press briefing at the Eduardo Cojuangco National Vocational High School in Paniqui, Tarlac on Friday, March 2, 2018.
Roque’s statement came in the wake of women’s groups claims the Chief Executive used “offensive language” that shows his “misogynous character.”
Roque stressed that President Duterte should not be judged by his words but by his actions.
“Palabiro po ang bibig ng ating presidente, pero kinakailangan po husgahan siya kung ano talaga ang ginawa niya bilang mayor ng Davao City. Let us not take the words of the President literally, but of course we should take the President’s words seriously,” he said.
According to Roque, when President Duterte was still mayor of Davao, he implemented the local version of the reproductive health bill even before it was legislated nationally.
He also said that he established the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center that has been providing accessible alternatives for family planning to clients mostly indigents in Davao.
He added that this was apart from the Councils for Women established at the barangay level that was tasked to monitor and report cases of violence against women and children.
Davao City under then-Mayor Duterte, according to Roque, also established a Women and Children Protection Unit at the Southern Philippine Medical Center to provide psychological intervention for women and children, and a Public Safety Command Center dedicated to receiving and acting on reports of domestic violence through its 911 hotline.
He said the city council of Davao also passed the Women’s Code of 1997, paving the way for the massive campaign against gender bias in government offices.
“Ang Davao City po is a trailblazer in upholding the rights of women,” Roque said.
When Duterte became president, Roque said the Chief Executive signed Executive Order No. 12 to attain and sustain the need for modern family planning through the strict implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act.
He said the President also banned the deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers to Kuwait to protect mostly women who are prone to abuse.
Rape cases, according to the Philippine National Police, went down by 13.53 percent to 8,114 in 2017, compared to 9,384 incidents in 2016, Duterte said.
“So there’s a distinction between (President Duterte’s) language and his policies,” Roque explained.