News Release

 Provincial Gender Advocacy and Development leads March 2011 women’s   month celebration

By: Irma A. Guhit

Sorsogon City, March 1, (PIA) – The Provincial Gender Advocacy and Development (PGAD) Council, spearheads this year’s activities for the Women’s Month celebration.

Board Member Rebecca Aquino, chair of the Committee on Women and Family Relations convened the members of the PGADC for the run-down of activities that will highlight the Women’s Role as Development Partners in Governance and Development.

For this year, the Women’s Month celebration will focus on the “Different Faces of Women”. This will be showcased in a photo competition, providing photographers to capture women at best. The competition is opened to all and criteria will be announced through the Philippine Information Agency Sorsogon Information Center.

A Coffee Table Book highlighting “Empowered Women of Sorsogon” will be one of the projects to be undertaken by the PGADC. The preparation conceptualization and write up will be within this 2011 and the book launch will be on March 8, 2012. The book will feature empowered women in the province whose contribution in their different field of expertise has made a significant dent in either their communities, in the province or in the national development as well.

Several other activities were taken up and discussed that to include the PGAD Logo Making Contest, Poster Making Contest and Extemporaneous Speaking Competition. Handicraft and Kakanin Making Contests were also included to showcase the versatility of different women in each municipality and to highlight their talent and skills.

To emphasize women’s stand on certain issues and concerns, a forum will be conducted specifically on the proposed revision of the Juvenile Law. The PGADC will lobby for the review and revision of the law since there are certain provisions that have to be amended. Another issue in the forum that calls for the attention of women will be to re-launch the Character Program, started by former Governor Sally Lee. The PGADC believes that strengthening the values of the young through the character program promotion will eventually create positive changes among our new generation.

Care for the environment will also be taken up in the forum. The presentation will not be the lecture type but will deal more on situational cases and statistical data presentations of issues pertaining to women and children her in the province and in the national scene.

The culminating activity of the March 2011 Women’s Month Celebration will be highlighted on March 31. It will start with a Fun Run at 6:00AM to be participated in by women from all sectors in all municipalities and will start from the provincial government going around the main thoroughfare of Sorsogon City.

To finally culminate the celebration is an evening event dubbed as “A Night for the Empowered Women of Sorsogon”. It will honor the significant contributions of women in Sorsogon from politics, business, academe, media and other fields. Commendation and recognition will be categorized as individual, group, organization or sector.

“I am very positive that this year’s celebration of the Women’s Month will focus on the very significant contribution of women as catalysts of change and development. Let us not always picture women as oppressed or victims. It is high time that our role in the Gender Advocacy and Development Program be acknowledged. It is also a time for women to celebrate life and live it.”, former governor and now the executive director of the Sorsogon Provincial Management Office (SPMO) Sally A. Lee expressed during the meeting, where the SPMO was the venue and host of the event. (PIA Sorsogon)