House forms committee on women

MANILA, Philippines—A new committee will be formed in the House of Representatives to provide extra attention to the welfare of women and to protect them from abuse and violence, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman disclosed Wednesday, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The Committee on the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Children will be created when the House resumes its sessions on Dec. 7. Speaker Prospero Nograles agreed to the formation of the new committee upon Lagman’s suggestion.

Lagman denounced all forms of violence against women, and said those responsible become less than human.

“Violence against women dehumanizes us all and when we talk about gender-based violence, we are not only talking about women’s rights. We are talking about human rights,” Lagman said in a statement.

The observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women came as the Philippines reels from the massacre in Maguindanao where a group of women, including the wife of a local politician and lawyers, were waylaid and slain by armed men linked to a political rival. –Leila Salaverria, Philippine Daily Inquirer