10 May 2016 – Filipinos in Mandalay had an opportunity to gather once again as the Embassy made a visit to Myanmar’s second largest city to deliver consular services and to speak on gender and development (GAD), as well as on the Embassy registration, latest news of overseas voting and the celebration of the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between the Philippines and Myanmar.
As most of those in attendance for the GAD talk were teachers, Consul General Maria Lourdes M. Salcedo spoke of the crucial role that teachers play in the formation of youth and the development of a country’s. “This year is auspicious as the Philippines and Myanmar celebrate the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations. As teachers in Myanmar, you project the image of the Philippines in this country,” she told them. Other Filipinos such as engineers came earlier for consular services.
In introducing GAD, Consul General Salcedo reminded Filipinos of Republic Act 9710 or Magna Carta for Women, which is a comprehensive law that recognizes and guarantees women’s basic rights. “Despite the achievements the Philippines has made in closing gender gap, discrimination still exists in our societies and in our midst. We must keep on reminding ourselves of the importance of gender equality,” she continued.
According to Consul General Salcedo, the Philippines has ranked consistently in the top 10 of the World Economic Forum Gender Equality Report. However, since “poverty wears a woman’s face” owing to women’s traditional roles of keeping the household and caring for children, women in the Philippines still carry a great burden of gender inequality.
And speaking of health and survival as one of the indicators of gender (in)equality, former Australian Ambassador Mr. Graeme Lade of the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation was invited to shed light on prevention of cervical cancer. “Cervical cancer is one of the biggest causes of death among preventable diseases,” he said. He shared his experiences in promoting awareness and prevention of cervical cancer in Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Kiribati, and the Philippines. He urged those in the audience to encourage their mothers, sisters, aunts and friends to get regular screening, and if needed get their young daughters vaccinated. “Prevention is better than cure,” he said. END