The Bayi Citation was conferred by the Institute of Politics and Governance (IPG) and the Barangay Bayan Governance Consortium (BBGC) to 30 exemplary women in politics and governance in 2005, 2007 and 2009.
The 2005 Bayi Citation was carried out by the IPG and BBGC in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung-Philippines. The 2005 Bayi Citation in effect launched the Women Political Leadership Program of the IPG.
The first set of 10 outstanding women was highly acclaimed by the media and the community of participatory good governance practitioners. No less than our dear and revered woman leader, the late Haydee Yorac, said that “she had received so many awards but Bayi was special because it put her side by side with women who worked very hard and were largely unrecognized.”
The Women Political Leadership Formation of the IPG captures the intuitive leadership styles borne by painstaking experiences of women leaders who were able to transcend and continually engage male-dominated centers of power. Its notions of gender equality and women empowerment are inspired by the women’s OWN distinct qualities and approaches in leadership while transforming the impositions ingrained in patriarchal structures of decision-making.
In the Philippines’ culture of politics, both men and women ascribed to categorical and subtle forms of patronage dispensed by leaders who are mostly men. The country has had two women presidents. There is a 30% policy in women participation in government. Education performance of girls is high.
More so, there are countless women’s organizations and a dynamic women’s movement. Even then, the economic and governance structures remain at the hands of men. Transforming this power arrangement that at most marginalizes women is a continuous mission for generations of women. A crucial action that women must take is to win and occupy positions of government power. Enabling the women to do so is the aim of the Women Political Leadership Formation program of the IPG.
The Bayi Citation is an important element of the Women Political Leadership Formation program. The in-depth and wealthy experiences of women awardees of the Bayi Citation will be the main contents of the program. The formation program will ascertain a renewed meaning to the cliché “the personal is the political” will have a renewed significance as the program describes and, more importantly, synthesizes the perspectives of these exemplary women leaders as they move within, around and between private and public spheres.
The Bayi Citation awardees and other women leaders’ distinct individual journey to empowerment help the IPG to understand the inertia that pushes women to change power relations and how they sustain this inertia. The Bayi Citation awardees bring forth confidence in women to enter and re-structure the state’s local centers of power.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
- Has a significant number of years of service to the local/sectoral community as a woman activist and/or a women government official, and has brought about meaningful and substantial outcomes of her engagements/interventions in the local/sectoral community and/or executive, legislative or judicial branch of government;
- Has introduced innovations and experimentations in opening and/or widening the space for participation of women in government decision making processes, electoral and political processes;
- Has displayed consistency and determination in exercising and promoting gender equity in both public and private spheres;
- Has consistently fought against abuse of and violence against women and children; and,
- Is a champion of genuine peace, development and democracy.
SELECTION PROCESS
A Search Committee composed of member-NGOs of the Barangay Bayan Governance Consortium (BBG) opens the nomination process for the BAYI Citation.
A Selection Board composed of distinguished personalities in the women’s movement, politics, governance and other fields select the awardees from the nominees based on the set criteria.
Awardees are notified through mail and made public through the awarding ceremony and publication in the leading broadsheet of choice.