SANTA ANA, Cagayan—To help the government address gender discrimination and inequality, the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority has conducted orientation seminars on government policies pertaining to women’s issues.
Joyce Marie Jayme-Calimag, Ceza public relations chief, said the ecozone has gathered its employees both based here and in Manila to orient them on the Magna Cara in Women or Republic Act 9710, Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (RA 7877) and Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (RA 9262).
“Our objective is to include raising consciousness among our Ceza employees on the value of dignity of every individual, promoting respect for human rights and upholding human dignity,” Calimag said.
She said the holding of orientation seminars at Party Beach Resort in Rapuli, Santa Ana, the Ceza Freeport headquarters and in their Pasig City office is in line with Ceza’s advocacy to promote gender equality and development and to foster a professional and harmonious relationship among its employees.
Calimag has cited the country’s consistent high ranking in the Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum, which she said is the result of both the government and non-government organizations’ efforts in addressing gender issues.
In 2016, the WEF’s report recorded the Philippines closing nearly 79 percent of its gender gap, ranking first in Asia and seventh among 144 countries worldwide.
The Global Gender Gap Index ranks countries on the gap between women and men on health, education, economic and political indicators, the possible score of which is 1 (equality) and the lowest possible score is 0 (inequality).
According to the Global Gender Gap Report, the Philippines scored a perfect 1 in terms of educational attainment and the health and survival indicators.
The Index aims to understand whether countries are distributing their resources and opportunities equitably between women and men, regardless of their overall income. The countries which remained top of the Index are Iceland, followed by Finland, Norway, Sweden, Rwanda and Ireland.
According to Calimag, the orientation seminar in Santa Ana was led by the Civil Service Commission in Cagayan Valley (Region 2) chief human resource specialist Elpidio Bunagan Jr., and senior HR specialist Ronald Dancel.
In Pasig City, it was spearheaded by Janice Lee Monte-Hernandez, National Public Information officer from Gabriela, Milet Ancheta from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and SPO4 Marie Per Bala, Women and Children Protection Desk officer in charge of the Philippine National Police in Pasig City.