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February 22, 2000
11th Congress of the Philippines
Batasan Pambansa
Batasan Road, Quezon City
To the Honorable
Members of the 11th Congress of the Philippines:
The women of GABRIELA, a national alliance of women in the Philippines, seek your support at this very trying time for the Filipino women.
Currently, the situation of dire poverty and destitution has further debased Filipino women and children. The lack of employment opportunities with liveable wage has pushed countless women into undertaking options that undermine women as productive members of the society. Women farmers and their families continue to lose the lands that enable them to survive. All over the nation, women bewail the continued increase in oil prices and consequently, the prices of basic goods and services. As overseas Filipino workers, our women are being exploited , abused and even killed in foreign lands.
Yet, the present administration under President Joseph Ejercito Estrada remains inutile in responding to the basic needs of women. Instead, it endorses gambling such as on-line bingo as a means of survival for impoverished Filipino families. President Estrada has done nothing but push women into further degradation and destitution. Prostitution continues to flourish and women and children remain vulnerable to sexual abuse in this decaying society.
More so, President Estrada has time and again insulted the Filipino people by reversing the victories of the people as can be gleamed with the return to power of the Marcoses and the renewed US military intervention with the Visiting Forces Agreement.
We have had enough of poverty. We have had enough of degradation. We need to redeem the dignity of our nation, the lives of our people and the future of the next generation. Mr. Joseph Ejercito Estrada must step down as the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
As the Congress of the Philippines, representatives of the people, it is your duty to listen to the sentiment and to act on the demands of the people. We call on you: Impeach President Joseph Estrada.
In service of the Filipino women,
GABRIELA National Alliance of Women
