TRINIDAD,EvaAngelineM.

201141125BABroadcastCommunication
Kas118WF10:0011:30
April22,2015

InsightsontheRoadtoWomensSuffrageinthePhilippines

It was a long and arduous journey to womens suffrage inthePhilippinesonethattook

place from the year 1907 and only ending in 1937. It was the fruit of the labor of so many
womens clubs and organizations in the country after years of lobbying, campaigning, and
persistingevenwhenachievingwomensrighttovoteseemedtoofaroutofreach.
Although the first bill for woman suffrage was presented in Cebu by Congressman
Filemon Sotto in 1907, and was repeatedly endorsed by the then GovernorGenerals Francis
Harrison and Frank Murphy, it was met with strong resistance from both men and women who
felt that women were more suited for housework, homemaking, and social work rather than
politics. However in the year 1937, the issue of womens suffrage was finally settled through a
plebiscite that was held in Aprilofthatyear:awhopping447,725womenvotedYEStosuffrage
and44,307votedNO.
Through both Pura Villanueva Kalaws and Encarnacion Alzonas accounts of the
struggle for suffrage, I saw two sides of the same coin. Kalaws perspective was written as a
straightforwardly historical account. She carefully laid out the details and chronology of the
events that took place, as well as the political context of these such as indicating the

governorgeneral or the type of government during that time period. Her accounts centered on
the causality of events and highlighted the importance of womens groups and associations and
howtheywerecentralintheachievementofwomenssuffrageinthecountry.
Alzona, on the other hand, took a more personal approach. Her writings reflected not
only the sociopolitical atmosphere during this time but also her own views and convictions
regarding womens suffrage and those who oppose it. She stated, [...] I have seriously
considered the arguments for and against this question. As I have not found anyvalidargument
for excluding women from the polls, I have remained an incorrigible advocateoftheimmediate
enfranchisement of Filipino women. In her accounts,shealsoaddressedtheerroneous viewsof
the oppositionists with logicalcounterargumentsand hertonegavetheimpressionofwantingto
persuadethereadertobeprowomenssuffrage.
What I found interesting in both their accounts is how, even backthen,thepressandthe
media held a lot of power with swaying and shaping public opinion. Kalaw mentioned how the
views and biases of Manila newspapers both posed difficulties for and contributed to the
struggle for womens enfranchisement. She also mentioned how radio stations proved to be a
huge help in the campaign because of their broadcasting weekly programs regarding womens
suffrage. The press provided enlightenment as to the full nature of suffrage and arguablywould
have helped word of the plebiscite reach into the farther parts of the country. As a broadcast
communication student, I hope to be able to do as much good and make a positive impact on
historyasthosewhocontributedtotheachievementofwomensrighttovoteinthePhilippines.