By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
QUEZON CITY — The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) on Wednesday (April 23) presented key findings from its latest study on women’s political participation in the lead-up to the May 12, 2025 national and local elections.The CWR launched the “Women’s Political Participation Survey Results” during a press conference at Kamuning Bakery Cafe.
Kuro Pulso ng Kababaihan is an annual press conference which is periodically conducted by CWR.
Bren Yasay, Research Coordinator of CWR, noted that it was in 1937 when women obtained the right to vote or right of suffrage and the women voter turn out since then was high.
The respondents were from the cities and provinces of Cavite, Bulacan, Lagunapondsnets, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Iloilo City, Davao City, National Capital Region, Rizal, and Cordillera Administrative Region.
Majority of the respondents fall below the poverty threshold and struggle to meet basic needs where 74.5% of the respondents said that their combined family income is less than P15,000 a month.
According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), of the 65.7 million registered voters for the 2022 elections, 33.6 million were women—1.5 million more than male voters (32.07 million).
Female voter turnout was also slightly higher, with 82.43% in 2016 and 76.16% in 2019, compared to male turnout rates of 81.43% and 75.62%.
In the 19th Congress, women comprised seven of 24 senators (29%) and 85 of 311 Representatives (27.3%).
Out of the 13,586 elected positions in 2022, only 4,141 (30.47%) were held by women, with many being placeholders for term-limited incumbents who are male family members.
The survey study examines how women in the Philippines engage with the electoral process—what influences their choice of candidates, what criteria they prioritize in candidates, and how gender shapes political participation.
It also highlights key issues on the women’s agenda for the 2025 elections.
Yasay said that on issues that candidates must address, economic concerns dominate, adding that, the price of commodities (23.23%), job creation (20.48%), and raising wages (17.64%) collectively account for more than 60% of the priorities.
“This underscores the importance of addressing economic stability and cost-of-living challenges,” Yasay said.
Health (13.76%) and education (15.5%) — these reflect the need for better access to healthcare and quality education systems.
The survey results also disclosed that the majority of the responses had an overall negative perception about the current political system and elections.
More than half (54.4%) of the respondents described it as “ magulo” (chaotic) and think that politicians take advantage of public funds for their vote-buying activities in the form of providing cash and or “ayuda”.
Yasay added that corruption ranks third as a persistent issue, with 9.3% of respondents that see addressing corruption as a priority.
She stressed that the target here are registered women voters before the conduct of the actual interview with different women’s groups in Davao, Cebu, Panay, Guimaras, Cordillera and women’s organizations in the communities, the volunteers and student volunteers in their office.
Yasay pointed out that the survey was commissioned by the CWR and it is periodically conducted.
The survey respondents were 500 plus, from an original target of 385, with a margin of error of 5%, and January to March 2025 was the period of data gathering
The CWR believes that women should not be used in the elections, they should not be humiliated and they should not be made as a source of “entertainment” during the election.
Yasay cited that 4Gs (Guns, Goons, Gold and Girls) are oftentimes used during the campaign period.
Angela Panagsagan, Research Program Assistant of CWR, said that the women were also pressured such that they do not want to be delisted from the voters list.
Panagsagan added that the use of women as source of entertainment during the campaign period seems to be being normalized, but the dignity and decency should be upheld, especially for women.
Cham Perez, Executive Director of CWR and Babae, Bantayan ang Eleksyon (BaBaE) Network Secretariat, said that it is better to understand the pattern of the survey given the limited opportunities or options for women in the face of political dynasties.
Perez noted that more than half of the voters were very active in their participation in the election.
However, they are still happy in the sense that they can see that there is still hope.
Perez added that economic insecurities contribute to the vulnerabilities to women, citing that laws should be implemented, especially by the elected officials, including the inclusion of gender equality and women’s rights in school curriculum.
“As an institution, the CWR does not endorse any candidates or political parties in the election,” Perez said. ###
