‘The aspects of care during the pandemic’

More than a hundred participants from different sectors joined the virtual public discussion on the “Aspects of Care during the Pandemic” on March 30, 2021 via Zoom.

This is in celebration of women’s contributions from the ground in the CoViD-19 pandemic. This activity was co-sponsored by the Regional Gender and Development Committee (RGADC) of the Regional Development Council (RDC) VI and the Iloilo Provincial Government.

National Economic and Development Authority-VI OIC-Regional Director Meylene C. Rosales, Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao (RDC-VI Chairperson), Dr. Emilia Monicimpo, MD (Regional Director of the Department of Health VI and Chairperson of the RGADC-VI), Atty. Suzette Mamon (on behalf of Iloilo Provincial Governor Arthur R. Defensor, Jr.), and Ms. Febie Ibojos (Signpost Philippines Executive Director and Co-Chairperson of the RGADC) gave their messages for the National Women’s Month 2021.

Their messages centered on giving due recognition and honor to women frontliners and leaders during the pandemic, providing enough support for Filipino women to become more empowered, the resilience of women, and in working together with men allies in eliminating gender biases and inequality.

Ms. Joyce Nagnal and Ms. Ann Catacutan, educators, organic agriculture practitioners, and Aeta coordinators in Barangay Lanit, Jaro, Iloilo City shared their stories on helping a small community achieve food security and sufficiency, sustainable development, livelihood recovery planning, and initiatives to combat malnutrition through the Plant Back Better Initiative, which is supported by the Iloilo City Government.

Ms. Crisanta Ignacio-Trigo, spoke about the challenges of being a Filipino caregiver based in Singapore and of her previous experiences taking care of a differently-abled elderly.

Dr. Cynthia Palmes-Saloma, Executive Director of the Philippine Genome Center, talked about caring for the national population as one of the scientists tasked to develop kits for mass testing and also genomic bio-surveillance.

Dr. Henrietta Española led the participants into the practice of mindfulness as a form of self-care.

With all those enriching topics tackled, the region’s celebration of this year’s Women’s Month ended meaningfully. (IGPahila/NEDA6-DRD)