Book: A Legacy of Hope and Triumph

From ABS-CBS News:

Filipino women have figured prominently in history, and an exquisite coffee-table book chronicles their achievements.

Entitled A Legacy of Hope and Triumph, the book details via text and images how members of the National Federation of Women's Clubs in the Philippines (NFWCP) led in shaping Philippine history as we know it.

NFWCP, a non-stock, non-profit organization, was formed in 1921 by Filipino and American members of the Manila Women's Club to unite Filipino women through the promotion of their general welfare, for mutual understanding and cooperation, and to prepare and equip them to become more effective participants in national development efforts.

Philippines: ICM Nuns Celebrate 100 Years

From Inquirer Lifestyle:

THIS OCTOBER, former students of schools established or administered by the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Immaculati Cordis Mariae, or ICM) will come together for the first time to celebrate the congregation’s 100th anniversary in the Philippines.

It was in 1910 that Rev. Mother Marie Louise de Meester, a Belgian nun who founded the ICM, originally the Missionary Canonesses of St. Augustine, arrived in the Philippines. With three other Belgian nuns, she opened the St. Agustine School in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.

Over the years, the ICM sisters spread out all the way to Sulu, setting up mission houses, clinics and more schools, the biggest of which are St. Theresa’s College (STC) in Quezon City and Cebu City, named in honor of St. Teresa of Avila, a doctor of the Catholic Church.

Other ICM schools are St. Louis School Center in Baguio and St. Francis Academy in Balamban, Cebu. (STC on San Marcelino St. in Manila was closed down in 1980.)

STC in Quezon City will be the venue of the culminating activities of the centennial ICM celebrations from Oct. 8-10.

Philippines: More Women On Peace Panel

From the Inquirer:

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Annabelle Abaya urged the incoming Aquino administration to place more women on the government panel with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) as she noted their critical role in balancing or cooling the usually tense atmosphere in talks. Abaya said government negotiating panels should include at least two women.

Ampatuan: Mystery of Massacre Deepens

From GMA News:

According to police reports, Ampatuan and about 100 gunmen clad in camouflage fatigues robbed the victims - 21 females and 36 males - that rode on a convoy heading toward Shariff Aguak town.

Most if not all of the women’s pants were unzipped, but this wasn’t the case among the males victimized in the massacre, observes police Chief. Supt. Felicisimo Khu Jr., the head of a group of authorities that investigated the November 23 crime scene in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

“It therefore gives you the impression that the women were raped," says Khu, deputy director general for administration of the Philippine National Police in Region 12.

But vaginal smear tests conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation yielded negative results. Not one of the 15 women examined had traces of human sperm, Floresto Arizala, chief of the NBI’s Medico-Legal Division said on Monday.

Bloating could be the cause, according to Arizala. “Bloating and decomposition will actually force (down) the zipper…Yung huli kong nakita 23 lang waistline na reported, nang mare-examine almost 40," Arizala says.

However, Khu’s observation differs from that of Arizala. The police officer said that the authorities who first went to the crime scene - about three hours after the grisly killings took place - saw that the pants of the women were already unzipped.

If it takes eight to nine hours before a dead body bloats as pointed out by Molino, it indicates that the pants had already been unzipped even before the bodies got bloated.

Theatre: Women of Substance

From the Manila Times:

Sheer beauty that can soften the most hardened of hearts. Will power and strength that can transform an entire nation. Pure love and wisdom that create a strong foundation of a home. Resilience through life’s difficult passages. These qualities and more make a woman of substance. Thus, four literary masterpieces featuring passionate, extraordinary, complicated, “women of substance” will come alive on stage as Tanghalang Pilipino opens its 23rd Theater Season 2009 to 2010 starting in August.

Featuring:

• Apples from the Desert / Mansanas ng Disyerto
• Mother Courage and Her Children
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• Three Sisters

Founded in 1987, Tanghalang Pilipino is the resident theater company of the CCP. It aims to promote Philippine theater that is rooted in centuries-old Filipino culture and history while being responsive to evolving contemporary society.

Corazon Aquino

From David Randall @ the Independent:

Corazon Aquino, who was propelled by the assassination of her husband into a crusade that saw her defeat Ferdinand Marcos, the then president of the Philippines and one of the 20th century's most corrupt dictators, died yesterday. She was 76.

Later, as supporters scattered yellow confetti on the procession, her body was taken to a Manila school, where it will lie in state. Her funeral will take place on Wednesday at the capital's cathedral. She had been diagnosed with advanced colon cancer last year, and, for the past month, had been confined to a Manila hospital. Her old adversary, Imelda Marcos, even led prayers for Cory Aquino in the final weeks of her illness.

Women in the Philippines

History in the making in the Philippines for women.

From Committee News - House of Representatives (Philippines):
"THE COMMITTEE on Labor and Employment under Representative Magtanggol Gunigundo I (2nd District, Valenzuela City) approved in a recent meeting House Bill 1131 which provides for mandatory women and gender education in the workplace.

Authored by Rep. Liza Largoza-Maza (Party List, Gabriela), the proposal requires employers to provide their workers and employees free annual seminars on women's rights, welfare, development and gender equality in the workplace using participatory and non-formal education modules prescribed by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) and women's organizations.

The bill, which amends Title Four of Book Four of the Labor Code, underscores the value of awareness through education to better prevent or fight crimes against women, including sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace

"A citizenry aware and enlightened on women's rights, welfare and development and gender equality is better equipped to promote and protect women, prevent crimes against women of all ages and eliminate gender and sex discrimination and inequality", the author explained.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan (Party List, GABRIELA) during the meeting in behalf of the author.

Meanwhile, the Committee also discussed three measures aimed at further promoting women's rights and welfare in the workplace.

House Bills 445, 197 and 3465 all seek to expand the list of prohibited acts of discrimination against women in the workforce under the Labor Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree 442).

The bills, respectively authored by Deputy Speaker Raul V. Del Mar (1st District, Cebu City), Rep. Juan Edgardo M. Angara (Lone District, Aurora) and Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro), will be consolidated to come up with a single version.

In filing the bills, the authors cited the Constitutional provisions recognizing the role of women in nation-building and ensuring the fundamental equality of men and women before the law.

All three measures consider the following discriminatory acts punishable under the Labor Code: the act of giving preference to a male applicant over a female applicant in the hiring process, whether through notices, announcement or advertisements for employment or apprenticeship or in the actual recruitment, hiring or employment of workers where the particular job can be equally handled by a woman; and the act of favoring a male employee over a female employee with respect to dismissal of personnel or the application of any retrenchment policy of the employer solely on account of their sexes.

In filing his bill, Deputy Speaker Del Mar explained that women, perceived by many to be the "weaker sex" despite what they have achieved in all major fields of endeavor, struggle for a place in the competitive job market with this handicap.

With the strict statutory prohibition against any form of discrimination in the hiring process, Rep. del Mar said his bill, "will inject some fairness in the playing field and force men and women to compete on an even keel."

Rep. Angara explained that his bill is but "one step towards departing from the prevailing social and economic inequity in the country."

In pushing for his bill, Rep. Rodriguez cited a study conducted by the Bureau of Women and Young Workers and the National Statistics Office (NSO) which states that generally, women employees earn less than their male counterparts, are predominantly in low-skilled jobs, and only a few advance to the top of the organizational hierarchy.

Elizabeth Angsioco of the Democratic Socialist Women's Party (DSWP) lauded the intention of the proposed bills and expressed her group's full support.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) representative Evelyn Manangan said that the proposed measures will raise heightened awareness of the rights of a woman as a person."


From GMA News:
"A pending bill on women's rights and gender education in the workplace gained ground in the House of Representatives as it passed second reading.

The House of Representatives website said Monday House Bill 4374 underscores the role of employers and trade unions to help educate and inform workers.

Principally authored by Reps. Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela Party-list, the bill aims to amend Article 210 of Presidential Decree 442, the Labor Code of the Philippines.

The bill requires the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to jointly prescribe the regulations for such education programs.

Such programs include women's rights and gender equality; and the rights, benefits, duties and responsibilities of workers.

Employers and trade unions may seek the assistance of government instrumentalities, non-government organizations, labor groups, industry chambers, and other entities concerned with such activities.

"This bill addresses the need for government to enforce the promotion and protection of women workers' rights, welfare and development and gender equality through education seminars in the workplace," Maza said.

Maza lauded women's groups and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that tried to raise awareness about women's rights and gender equality to fight sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

But she said it is still the government that should be primarily responsible for women and gender equality education in conformity with the Constitution's mandate.

"A country aware and enlightened on women's rights, welfare and development and gender equality is better equipped to promote and protect women, prevent crimes against women of all ages and eliminate gender and sex discrimination and inequality," Maza said. - GMANews.TV"