President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take stronger action against gender-based violence in online spaces amid the expansion of the digital economy and connectivity.
He made the remarks at the 4th ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit, where he said new threats like online harassment and abuse targeting women and girls have emerged as the region continues to digitalize.
“We cannot speak of empowerment while our women and girls face harassment and abuse online,” Marcos said.
He added that the country supports the development of regional digital frameworks to protect women and girls and ensure that online spaces remain areas of opportunity rather than oppression.
The President also called for concrete policies to translate ASEAN’s commitments on women’s leadership into action, including measures addressing women’s economic participation, peace and security, and inclusive prosperity.
He said the Joint Ministerial Statement on Women’s Leadership for Inclusive Prosperity should serve as a roadmap for ASEAN member states as they develop policies and programs toward the ASEAN
“Women are not simply beneficiaries of our progress. They are leaders and innovators, shaping ASEAN’s future and our policies, institutions and investments must reflect this,” he said.
At the same summit, Marcos also pressed for stronger support for women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises across Southeast Asia.
This is as more than 60 million MSMEs across ASEAN are owned or managed by women, making them an important part of the region’s domestic economies.
“If we are serious about inclusive prosperity, we must transform the economic landscape for women,” the President said in highlighting the vital role of women-led MSMEs in driving inclusive economic growth across the region.
“For decades, women across Southeast Asia have sustained our families, strengthened our communities, driven our economies, and yet their contributions have too often been undervalued,” he added.
He noted that women entrepreneurs continue to face structural barriers, including limited access to capital and gaps in digital skills.f
Marcos said the Philippines is advancing measures to improve women’s access to digital financial services and regional markets.
“Under the Philippines’ chairship, we are accelerating digital financial inclusion and ensuring market integration explicitly benefiting women-led enterprises,” he said.
He stressed that removing barriers to women’s participation in the economy would help expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs and strengthen inclusive growth across the region.
The President also pressed for greater investment in care infrastructure and a more equitable distribution of caregiving responsibilities, noting that unpaid care work disproportionately affects women and can limit their participation in the formal workforce.