美国国家公共电台 NPR In Largely Catholic Philippines, A Muslim Woman Shakes Up Senate Campaign

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LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

It's Election Day in the Philippines Monday. Half of the Senate and all of the House of Representative seats are up for grabs. And the outcome will be a test of President Rodrigo Duterte's grip on power. NPR's Julie McCarthy profiles the only woman running for the Senate on the opposition¹'s slate² of candidates. She's a Muslim lawyer and a women's rights advocate.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE³: Wearing a white headscarf wrapped turban-like, Samira Gutoc is a live wire in this campaign.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY: She's at ease whether she's slurping⁴ noodles from a banana leaf with farmers or swaying to the music at a rally, which delights crowds in the Philippines' song-and-dance political culture, or mustering⁵ a spirited defense⁶ against President Duterte's maligning⁷ of opposition parties.

SAMIRA GUTOC: Election time, character assassination⁸ time.

MCCARTHY: Duterte accuses the opposition of plotting to oust⁹ him and claims politicians of all stripes are involved in illegal drugs. Instead of hurling¹⁰ accusations¹¹, Gutoc asks, why don't you figure out issues like poverty? She gently jabs Duterte for not confronting China over its aggression¹² in the South China Sea, which has hurt Filipino fishermen and which Gutoc calls a sellout. Riding along as she travels, Gutoc tells me...

GUTOC: If you are bowing to China, you should bow more to your fisher folk or farmers. People who are prejudicing our future are in the other side.

MCCARTHY: The opposition senatorial slate careens between farmers beneath coconut¹³ trees, social service groups at a local cathedral and a serenaded lunch.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing in foreign language).

MCCARTHY: Between stops, Gutoc ducks into her van to reapply lipstick¹⁴ and rearrange her headscarf. She's a Muslim in a country that is 92% Christian¹⁵, and her race is nationwide. But Gutoc's religion does not appear to be an issue. She generates more of a stir as the only woman among the male-dominated lineup of opposition senatorial candidates known as the Straight Eight, which is how they'd like voters to mark their ballots¹⁷. But rally after rally, Gutoc is the fiery¹⁸ fresh face who can break out into song about the loneliness of Filipinos who work overseas.

(SOUNDBITE OF RALLY)

GUTOC: (Singing in foreign language).

MCCARTHY: Gutoc has been tested, not in high office but in war. Her hometown of Marawi on the restive¹⁹ southern island of Mindanao was laid waste in 2017 when Philippine government troops battled ISIS-linked militants²⁰ who had dug into the city. Gutoc led volunteers in rescuing residents trapped during the five-month-long siege and is displaced herself. The experience animates²¹ her belief she can serve.

GUTOC: Because I can talk about their struggle. And it's also the struggle of anyone, to try to find a house and shelter and safety.

MCCARTHY: Duterte jokingly exhorted²² soldiers to commit rape²³ during the Marawi siege. Gutoc called the remark offensive and quit a local peace panel to which Duterte had appointed her. In the campaign, she sounds the alarm about rape in a country where data show a woman is sexually assaulted every 72 minutes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GUTOC: We have got to band together, join together and file a claim against that bastard²⁴ who did it to us.

MCCARTHY: Her call to report rape resonated with 21-year-old coed Michele Orbeta.

MICHELE ORBETA: When she opened up about that during the forum²⁵, I could tell, especially amongst my fellow students, it really got everyone's attention.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY: Women of all ages literally²⁶ embrace Gutoc and eagerly snap selfies with her. Her biggest hurdle²⁷ in Monday's election may be name recognition. But beside each candidate's name is a number. Gutoc is 36, which she's used to good effect.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GUTOC: (Speaking foreign language).

MCCARTHY: Thirty-six is my ballot¹⁶ number, the stout²⁸ Samira Gutoc tells audiences, and my waistline.

Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Manila.