BONTOC – The provincial government of Mountain Province through the Provincial Gender and Development (GAD) Council started conducting Gender Sensitivity Seminar to all its employees.
This is in support to the mandate of the national government to all government agencies to integrate GAD concerns in their program of activities.
According to Eunice Andaya of the Provincial Population Office here, this is a one-day seminar for provincial government employees divided in six batches and scheduled in various dates.
In his memorandum, Governor Leonard Mayaen said this seminar aims to ensure gender responsive services to all people and it is also the initial effort to create awareness among employees for them to become aware of gender concerns affecting the office, its clients and even those affecting them and their families.
Personnel of the Provincial Engineer’s Office composed the first batch that attended the said seminar in June 9, 2014.
Andaya said that personnel of the Office Provincial Governor, Provincial Tourism Office, Human Resource Management Office, Security Services Division, Environment and Natural Resources Office, Mt. Data Hotel, Provincial Information Office, Provincial Cooperatives Office and General Services Office comprised the second batch that attended the seminar last June 11.
In lieu of the governor, Provincial Administrator Johny Lausan said that the seminar aims to enlighten the participants on gender equality concerns affecting them in their homes, workplace and community.
Lausan added that the seminar helps facilitate respect between groups that include people with different genders, religions, ages, races, or sexual orientations. He further said that it promotes reduction of gender based violence among women and abuses towards children.
“At the end of the day, we learned additional information on gender issues and concerns that makes us gender sensitive. We must share what we learned in this one-day seminar to our family and the community”, he stressed.
The provincial administrator also thanked the resource speakers and facilitators who came from the Provincial GAD Council pool of trainer on Gender Sensitivity. These include Provincial GAD Focal Person Shirley Chiyawan, Men Opposed to Violence against Women and Children Everywhere (MOVE) –Mountain Province Chapter President Dale Marrero, MOVE- Provincial Capitol Chapter President Victorino Dines, Tyronne Glenn Lawey, Prima Te-elan of the Provincial Health Office and Miguela Angwani of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.
Meanwhile, the participants said that they were now aware on GAD issues and concerns. Specifically, their concern on the importance of GAD; differentiate sex and gender; identify gender roles in the family, household and society; and discuss the situation of women and men in the province were all discussed and presented by the resource speakers.
