PARTIDO Reporma senatorial candidate Dr. Minguita Padilla on Tuesday called on parents to raise their daughters in a way that they will feel empowered to be anything that their hearts tell them to be.

“Never discourage or belittle them. Allow them to dream big. So that your little girls can grow up to be healing, inspiring, ‘colorblind’ leaders, who put the country before politics,” Padilla said.

An ophthalmologist and a longtime public health advocate, Padilla is running under the slate of Partido Reporma standard-bearer Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson and his running mate Senate President Tito Sotto.

Her pioneering contributions in the medical industry, including her establishment of the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines, Inc., thrust her into a leadership role, which she hopes to maximize by pushing for much-needed reforms in the healthcare sector.

“I know that the Lacson-Sotto administration will empower women and give them the respect they deserve as partners in nation building,” Padilla said.

Lacson in previous public statements said he would be a strong ally not only of women but everyone who identifies with the non-binary or genderqueer communities.

He vowed to promote gender equity if he wins in May.