In line with the celebration of the National Women’s Month and the Philippine Embassy’s gender and development initiatives, the Embassy conducted a lecture for its personnel on gender sensitivity, assistance to Filipino nationals and psychological first aid for its personnel on 24 March 2017.

In his opening remarks, Philippine Ambassador Jose Santiago Sta. Romana underscored the power of women in today’s society. In particular, he paid tribute to the late Ambassador and Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani who was a staunch defender and firm advocate of women’s rights. He also cited other female diplomats who have demonstrated excellence in their professional careers. On providing assistance to Filipino nationals overseas, he emphasized the need to render appropriate assistance to Filipinos in distress as mandated by law.

Second Secretary and Consul Irish Kay Kalaw-Ado’s lecture focused on pertinent provisions of Philippine Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women (MCW), which was enacted in 2009 to eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, respecting, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in the marginalized sectors.  Ms. Kalaw-Ado further discussed different gender issues such as culture biases and the use of gender-sensitive language.

The last part of the lecture talked about the importance of psychological first aid in coping with stress caused by day to day demands and hassles, pressures and conflict, to catastrophes and crises. The lecture also presented different strategies in managing stress like self-care, meditation, and support groups.

This lecture is one of several gender-related projects of the Embassy which supports the Philippine national government’s commitment of empowering women to be partners in the pursuit of the country’s economic, social, cultural and political development.  END.

Ambassador Sta. Romana delivering the opening remarks

Embassy personnel sharing their insights during the open forum