SHE feels it, although she may not have the solid evidence to prove that her gender gets in the way; when she needed to punch a court sheriff just to stop a demolition and when she had to raise her voice in objection on how House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is talking behind her back.
It is how gender bias manifests itself, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio said in her speech at the 19th Women's Summit Friday at The Ritz Hotel.
"He backbit me in Davao del Norte. He previously went to President Rodrigo Duterte for him to tell me not to allow anyone to run against him in his district," Duterte-Carpio said. But when Alvarez found no such assurance from the President, the speaker aired his sentiment against her to the mayors of Davao del Norte.
"He called the mayors of Davao del Norte, he did not know that I am friends with them," she said.
Duterte-Carpio said she is sure that Alvarez would have thought twice if she were a man.
"I feel that if I were a man, they will hesitate to issue those statements, but because I am a woman, he thought I would not react," she said.
On February 22, the mayor in social media posts hit at Alvarez for accusing her as part of the opposition party after forming the regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago.
“Kung a**..hole ka sa Congress, don’t bring that to Davao, leave it in Manila. Somebody should tell the President what you are doing. How dare you call me part of the opposition. Kapal ng mukha mo. You messed with the wrong girl,” she said in a post on Instagram that came complete with Alvarez's photo.
In her speech at the Women's Summit, she said that she still wants to issue more statements against Alvarez but since he is silent, she finds it not important to talk as well.
The mayor said that her being a woman must have also played a part in how the court sheriff disregarded her plea to put on hold the demolition of houses in June 2011 amid the flooding of Matina Pangi River where more than 30 people died.
She admits that until now, she cannot forgive the court sheriff Abe Andres for what he did, who to this day would salute her when their paths cross.
"Others do not salute me, but he kept doing so," she said.
She said that she was really angered how the officer passed the blame on others when there were already people injured in the melee between the demolition team and the informal settlers.
The city mayor admitted that she was then a young politician and a woman, which possibly became the factor why her opinion on how the demolition should be done was left unheard, that led to the punching incident.
"I always feel, though I cannot confirm it, that my gender was a part of it," she said.
Still, Duterte-Carpio congratulated Davao City for having worked out a society that has less gender bias than normal.
Compared to other cities, she said, the city has more gender and development programs.
She also said that she will ensure that the resolution which the women in the summit crafted together will be considered and will be forwarded for the city council to act on.