Marcos wants to see more women in key leadership posts

BY BETHEENA UNITE

Dec 13, 2023 12:32 PM 

President Marcos is hoping to see more women in key leadership positions in the country, including government seats.

 National Executive Board and Regional Presidents of the Lady Local Legislators League of the Philippines, Inc. (Photo courtesy of PCO)

Marcos made the statement in his speech at the oath taking ceremony of the National Executive Board and Regional Presidents of the Lady Local Legislators League of the Philippines, Inc. (Four-L Phil’s), stressing the "steady" work women put in their work.

The President noted that women have been working very hard for the society all throughout the country's history, so he hopes to see more opportunities in facets of the society open for women.

"[C]reate a conducive and nurturing environment for women and for girls to participate freely and equally in our political, social and economic spheres," Marcos said on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

"So, moving forward, I hope to see more women in key leadership positions in the country," he added.

He further said that women, especially girls, must not be excluded from certain sectors of the economy and the society, stressing that "women leaders play an indispensable role in the vital task of nation building."

Marcos encouraged the women leaders to continue to work for the passage of local legislative measures that aim to improve the lives of the people, especially the vulnerable.

He urged them to embrace their commitment to conduct fair and gender-responsive programs in their respective localities and broaden the growth of opportunities and enhance the role of women in the society.

"Let us aim to eradicate prejudice and discrimination against women in every facet of our society," he said.

The Chief Executive also told the women legislators to work with the government in closing the country's gender parity to improve the Philippines' ranking in the global gender gap index in the World Economic Forum.

This year, the Philippines attained a rating of 79.1 percent in gender parity, ranked 16th among 146 countries globally

The administration, he said, remains steadfast in implementing the magna carta of women at all levels of government. 

Mindanao quake damage now at almost P1-B, NDRRMC says

BY AARON RECUENCO

Dec 13, 2023 09:43 AM

  

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The damage to agriculture and infrastructure as a result of the 7.4 magnitude quake that hit Mindanao early this month is now at almost P1 billion, reports reaching the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) revealed on Wednesday, Dec. 13.

In a situation report released on Wednesday, the NDRRMC said the damage to infrastructure is at P837.5 million, almost all of them are in the Caraga region while the rest were reported in Davao Region.

For agriculture damage, it said the report from National Irrigation Administration (NIA) was at P91 million while P19.2 million in agriculture products as reported by the Department of Agriculture.

In the same data, it said a total of 177,689 families composed of 790,773 individuals, some of them lost their homes as the NDRRMC reported that there were 354 damaged houses and 5,442 houses were partially damaged.

The epicenter of the earthquake was traced in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur and so far, it has already triggered a total of 7,444 aftershocks.

There were three reported fatalities, including a pregnant woman, and 74 people who suffered injuries, although the NDRRMC said they are yet to validate the casualty reports from the field.

What’s your greatest desire?

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

IT should be to look for Christ, to be with Christ, to follow Christ. That’s where we can find what is good for us in any situation we can find ourselves in. If that is not yet our greatest desire, then it’s about time that we train ourselves to acquire such desire.

Why is that? The simple answer is because Christ himself said that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” proper to us. In the Book of Isaiah, we are told that “they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall take wings as eagles; they shall run and not weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (40,31)

Besides, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, Christ clearly tells us: “Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (11,28) And he reassures us that he will be the one to give us rest. He also tells us that his yoke is sweet and his burden light.

Thus, if we find looking for Christ and living with him not sweet and light, we can be sure that we are not truly with him yet. Let’s do something about it immediately. To be with Christ should give us the sensation of lightness, peace, joy and confidence, irrespective of the situation we may be in. It should fill us with energy to do a lot of good.

Even in our difficulties and suffering, such conditions of lightness, peace, etc., should be felt. After all, it would be Christ who would be bearing them more than us. We simply share a little of the weight. And when we share it with him, we would know that such difficulties and suffering have some positive value.

We should be wary when we are complacent in this duty of looking for Christ in everything that we do. We have to look for him, so we can find him and be with him, and share what he has with us.

We have to be wary when we would just allow ourselves to be dominated or ruled by our earthly condition—our moods, bodily health, the temper of the times, etc. We should be guided always by our faith which, by the way, is a gift God gives us always in abundance. The gift of faith is no problem. It’s never in short supply.

Right at the start of the day, let’s take the decision to be ruled by our faith, and not simply by our earthly condition, and to start looking for Christ. With him, we are assured of a happy life despite whatever. Our outlook in life would always be marked by optimism and confidence. Yes, Christian life is always a happy life.

Let’s help one another develop this greatest desire to look for Christ. That way, we can help many people deal properly with problems, challenges and trials. Just looking around, we can see many cases of people in states of sadness, discontent and depression. Mental illness is becoming a kind of epidemic these days. Sad to say, some people, especially the young ones, choose to commit suicide.

This business of looking for Christ in order to have a happy and meaningful life, should be made a culture in our place. It should be an ordinary and commonplace thing around. It’s not meant only for a few chosen ones. It’s meant for all!