DEPUTY Speaker Maria Rachel Arenas on Monday underscored the urgency of sustained leadership and cooperation among women lawmakers across Southeast Asia, declaring that crises must not derail the region’s push for inclusive governance.
Speaking at the opening of the 5th Meeting of the Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Arenas said the gathering itself sends a powerful signal of resilience.
“Though we gather today through extraordinary circumstances, our presence here sends an extraordinary message: that even in uncertain times, leadership does not pause; cooperation does not weaken; and the work of building a better future must continue,” the lawmaker from Pangasinan said.
The meeting, hosted by the Philippines and held fully virtually, brings together women parliamentarians across ASEAN to advance cooperation on political participation, economic inclusion, and gender-responsive governance.
Arenas, who heads the AIPA 2026 organizing team as chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said the ongoing global energy crisis—driven in part by tensions in the Middle East—is a test of ASEAN’s collective resolve.
“The current energy crisis has reminded us of a truth our region knows well—that stability can never be taken for granted, and resilience must always be built in advance,” she said.
“Yet even as challenges test our systems, they also reveal our character. Today, by choosing dialogue over delay and action over hesitation, we prove that ASEAN’s spirit remains strong.”
Arenas emphasized that the WAIPA platform plays a critical role in shaping a more inclusive and just ASEAN.
“WAIPA is more than a committee. It is a movement of voices that refuse exclusion, a platform of leaders who transform barriers into bridges, and a force that reminds us that democracy is strongest when women stand fully within it,” she said.
At the same time, she cautioned that gains in women’s representation and rights must be protected and translated into concrete outcomes.
“Our words must become policy. Our solidarity must become systems. Our commitments must become change that ordinary women can feel in their daily lives,” said Arenas.
Looking ahead, she called for stronger cooperation to ensure a more inclusive and compassionate ASEAN.
“Let us imagine not only a prosperous region, but a humane one; not only a competitive region, but a compassionate one; not only a connected region, but a community where no woman and no girl is left behind,” she said.
Arenas urged women leaders across the region to take bold and united action.
“The future of ASEAN will not be shaped by geography alone, nor by markets alone, nor by institutions alone. It will be shaped by the courage of its people—and by the leadership of its women.”
