The Philippines Joins Eve Ensler's ONE BILLION RISING Today

Eve Ensler and Monique Wilson with Filipino women in Payatas, Quezon City (photo by New Voice Company)

Manila, Philippines, February 10, 2013 -- Community groups Gabriela Women's Party and Gabriela, which fight for Filipino women's rights, and theater organization New Voice Company, which is best known for its repeated "stagings" of Tony winner Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" in the Philippines, will join women and men in 200 countries to celebrate Ensler's 15-year effort to end violence against women and girls via ONE BILLION RISING, where participants "strike, dance, and rise" along Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City on Valentine's Day, today, February 14.

In ONE BILLION RISING, "billion" refers to one billion women and girls that are survivors of abuse, which includes domestic violence, human trafficking, and rape, among others; "billion" also refers to the global campaign's aim to enlist at least one billion women and men to take a stand against acts that harm women and girls.

According to Rossana Abueva, New Voice Company's executive producer, ONE BILLION RISING on Valentine's Day will be an all-day event.

Schedule of Events:

8:00 a.m.: Assembly Registration of parade participants (Scout Castor corner Tomas Morato)

9:00 a.m.: Start of Parade

10:00 a.m.: Morning Program (Scout Madrinan corner Tomas Morato extension)

11:00 a.m.: Opening of Booths

4:00 p.m.: Pre-main Program

6:00 p.m.: Main Program in three segments

STRIKE!, directed by Chris Millado of the Cultural Center of the Philippines

DANCE!, hosted by Eugene Domingo

RISE!, directed by Monique Wilson of New Voice Company

8:00 p.m.: Concert

ONE BILLION RISING, which is an offshoot of Ensler's nearly 15-year-old V-DAY pro-woman campaign, began as a call to action based on the staggering statistics that one in three women across the globe is beaten or raped during her lifetime.

"With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls. One billion women violated is an atrocity; one billion women dancing is a revolution," claimed by ONE BILLION RISING fellow organizers in Boston.

Ensler, as part of her ONE BILLION RISING world tour, visited the Philippines last December.

Ensler, along with Wilson, met with Gabriela; ONE BILLION RISING-Philippines task group, which include Migrante International (Migrant Workers), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Center for Women's Research (CWR), Contend/Act (Teachers), Association for the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia (ARCEA), Amihan (Peasant Women Federation), SAMAKANA (Urban Poor Women), and Gabriela Youth; and actresses and activists that have been doing "The Vagina Monologues"/V-Day in the Philippines since 2000.

In the United States, ONE BILLION RISING has been endorsed by Hollywood celebrities Rosario Dawson, Thandie Newton, Charlize Theron, and Robert Redford. Locally, the campaign has been endorsed by Filipino actors Wilson, Domingo, Angel Aquino, Anne Curtis, Maritina Romulo, Leo Valdez, Rito Asilo, Bobby Andrews, and Art Acuña.

For more information, visit onebillionrising.org

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