The Philippine Ports Authority Port Management Office of Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro (PPA PMO MO/C), together with the Region 10’s Transport Sector Agencies namely Coast Guard District of Northern Mindanao (CGDNM), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and Land Transportation Office (LTO), participated in the two-day orientation and workshop on Gender and Development (GAD), Men Opposed to Violence Against Women (VAW) Everywhere (MOVE), and Women-Related Laws Highlighting the Safe Spaces Act (SSA) on November 14 and 15, 2022 held at Del Luxe Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City.

Organized by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) – Northern Mindanao Field Office (NMFO), the orientation and workshop tackled topics including GAD, laws protecting women, and the roles that various agencies may play in closing the gender gap. Participants in the seminar, twelve (12) of which were from PMO MO/C, learned that the Safe Spaces Act and other international and national mandates linked to GAD address gender issues and concerns that affect every individual, not just women. During the first day of the orientation, Chief GAD Specialist Atty. Khristine Kay M. Lazarito-Calingin introduced the Basic GAD Concepts and gave an overview of the difference between gender and sex, what GAD is and what it is not. The second day of the training was focused on the technical aspects of GAD, its different tools and protocols, and how men play an important role in eliminating VAW.

Aside from being a basic human right, GAD is also the cornerstone of a peaceful, successful, and sustainable community. Achieving gender equality is also one of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. GAD recognizes that the roles, passions, and demands of men and women are different. It entails acknowledging how gender prejudices obstruct development and shows a shift in attention from women’s exclusion from development activities to the dynamics of inequality between women and men.

PCW encouraged the participants to implement Safe Spaces Act in their respective agencies to protect the workers and passengers’ safety against sexual harassment. Thus, participants took an oath and pledged to work together to make their communities/agencies safe places for women and everyone. The absence of gender-based sexual harassment in the PPA PMO MO/C was likewise guaranteed by the participants.-JTIbrahim