Stress ability, not gender

The article "Two nations, two women, one aim in the Feb. 27 issue of your newspaper may have been an attempt by the writer, Scott Thompson, to analyze the similarities between the political campaigns of the incumbent presidents in Indonesia and the Philippines, but it reads more like an opportunity to take cheap shots at two national leaders.

I can't speak for his comments regarding President Megawati Soekarnoputri, but I can tell you that those regarding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's stature, and unfounded gossip regarding her private life, do a disservice to a woman who has made a significant and positive impact on a country that was in ruins when she assumed office two-and-a-half years ago.

President Arroyo is running for office on the basis of a very strong record of achievement and an excellent political resume, not on her height.

Keeping with the writer's focus on size, in calling President Arroyo's husband a "large Chinese landowner" was he referring to Arroyo's physique or his land holdings? Neither is relevant anyway because Arroyo is neither Chinese (he may, like many in our country, have some Chinese ancestors, but he also has ancestors who were part of the diverse melting pot that created the people of the Philippines) nor does he have large land holdings. Thompson should do a better job of fact checking.

In addition to taking a swipe at the Chinese population in the Philippines, Thompson also seeks to alienate the 50 percent of the Philippine population who are female. To say that President Arroyo has not been taken seriously by men of power is to ignore the fact that it was both men and women who elected Arroyo by a landslide as vice president and then subsequently elevated her into the highest office when her predecessor was removed in January 2002. We are a nation that places more value on ability than gender.

CATALINO R. DILEM, JR Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Embassy of the Philippines Jakarta