At least six widows of slain male politicians are standing in the Philippines’ midterm elections, extending a decades-long tradition of women in the country refusing to let their murdered spouses’ agendas die with them.
“I have a lot of things to do for Rodel, for the people of Daraga,” said Gertrudes Batocabe, who took over her late husband Rodel’s mayor candidacy in the central Philippines city of Daraga when he was shot dead in December. “It’s not really automatic that the wife takes over, but in this case I cannot see my opponents sitting down,” she told AFP.
The political practise has a long history. In 1983 Benigno Aquino Jr, a Philippine senator and rival of then-president Ferdinand Marcos, was assassinated and his death inspired his widow, Corazon Aquino, to successfully run for president in 1986, toppling Marcos.
The midterm elections, expected to strengthen President Rodrigo Duterte’s political standing, involve candidates jostling for more than 18,000 seats in the country of 61 million people. Senate seats, plus local roles such as mayor, are among the positions being voted on on Monday.
Candidates are at greatest risk of being murdered in the run-up to midterm voting, when attackers are emboldened by what is viewed by many as a corrupt justice system.
Last year Alex Lubigan, vice mayor of Treces Martires, a city south of Manila, announced a run for mayor and was promptly murdered. Alex Lubigan’s widow, Gemma, stepped into her late husband’s shoes to run for mayor, promising to “take up the fight” for him.
Gertrudes Batocabe is protected by a security detail and is aware of the risks she is running. “I’m careful, is the word, but I’ve been given so much protection by the president,” she said.
Analysts say that taking on the political mantles of murdered husbands is a powerful way for women to break into the Philippines’ male-dominated political sphere.
