Mindanao lady solon joins liberal and democrats workshop in Cambodia

via CAAI

Davao City (14 October) -- Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora-Apsay attended the recently concluded gathering of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) in Cambodia from October 1-6, 2010. She was joined by Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad.

The meeting was a back-to-back workshop on party management and grassroots organizing and was staged in cooperation with the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).

Rep. Zamora-Apsay lauded the successful event, and vowed to impart the valuable lessons from it to "strengthen not only the Liberal Party, but also other democratic institutions and processes."

"From its vast membership, I feel honored and privileged to have been chosen by the Liberal Party as one of its two representatives to this important assembly," the young solon added.

"This is made more meaningful by the fact that I was tasked to present the Party's agenda on women-one of my core advocacies-and how to strengthen their empowerment through legislation for true equality and genuine respect."

CALD, founded in 1993, is a regional alliance of political parties in Asia which aims to advance the values of liberalism, democracy, human rights, rule of law, private property, and good governance.

Through the years, it has maintained its relevance by addressing issues and concerns that its member parties consider as vital in their operations and political survival.

The workshops saw the attendance of representatives from political parties and organizations across Asia.

These include CALD full members like the Democrat Party of Thailand (DP), the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan (DPT), Liberal Party of the Philippines (LP), the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka (LPSL), the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia (SRP), the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), the Malaysian People's Movement Party (PGRM), and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). CALD associate member Liberal Forum Pakistan (LFP) and observer member Nation Awakening Party of Indonesia (PKB) were also present.

According to Rep. Zamora-Apsay, echoing the workshops' findings on empowerment, transparency and accountability and grassroots organization, and translating them into goals will create greater representation of not just women, but even for those who need access to their political leaders the most. (Office of Cong. Maria Carmen Zamora-