SC Justice Singh urges gender equality laws in government appointments

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh on Tuesday pushed for laws and ordinances that would take into consideration the proportionate appointment of males and females in government.

During the High Court’s first Distinguished Women’s Forum, Singh said she is already in agreement with Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on the establishment of a local ordinance regarding equality in government appointments.

“I am already in agreement with the Mayor of Quezon City, with Mayor Joy Belmonte, that there will at least be a local ordinance in Quezon City which will already try the gender quota,” she said.

Additionally, Singh said that two congresswomen promised to help her draft a gender quota law.  

“I was talking to two Congress people, both female, at the UN where I came from, and they promised me they would help me with a gender quota law,” she said.

“That means that all vacancies, not just in the judiciary but in the government, will take into consideration the proportionate appointments of males and females,” she added.

Singh said she feels that she operates at a disadvantage even up until now, noting there are only two female justices in the High Court.

“It’s me and Justice Amy. Fortunately, we have very loud voices so we drown them out. So when we argue, kapag nag salita na kaming dalawa, talagang we manage to dominate yung discussions,” she said.

“But it should not be the case. Kasi if only there were more equality in the appointment of justices to the Supreme Court, then we would see more women on the court,” she added.

Singh said that this is important as women bring a unique perspective, later adding that women are best suited to raise and address issues of abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual relations.

Other panelists in the forum were retired Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, retired Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, and retired Associate Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez.

Meanwhile, Carpio-Morales agreed that there should be more women members in the judiciary.

“Because we empathize with what women suffer, especially now, there is a lot of violence against women. But it takes a woman to understand what a woman is going through, which is not fully understood by the men, unless he’s a binary,” she said. —LDF, GMA Integrated News