Ambassador Domingo P. Nolasco addresses the Filipino community leaders from different organizations and encourages them to take part in the government’s advocacy on gender equality and women empowerment.

ROME 14 March 2019 – In celebration of the National Women’s Month, the Philippine Embassy in Rome brought together forty (40) Filipino community leaders in Italy for a Merienda Cena where a program called “Juan (One) for Juana” was held.

The program was meant to inspire Filipino community leaders to join the Embassy’s advocacy on gender equality and women empowerment. By having male community leaders speak about women empowerment, the event was able to highlight the meaning of the word “We” in the 2019 National Women’s Month celebration’s theme, “We Make Change Work for Women” that calls for collaboration of both men and women to make real change possible.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Domingo P. Nolasco emphasized the crucial role played by the Filipino community in disseminating information on women’s rights and the Philippines’ efforts in closing the gender gap.

This was seconded by Mr. Augusto Cruz, former President of the Philippine Independence Day Association (PIDA) and current PIDA adviser who talked about the power of collaboration among men and women. “It takes two to tango. Men and women are partners for change,” Mr. Cruz, former told his fellow community leaders during his inspirational talk.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fresco Santos, the incumbent PIDA President talked about the changing times and how Filipinos had positively changed for the better. He cited an instance when before, Filipino men as heads of the household would usually make family decisions unilaterally. Nowadays, they would consult their wives for any decision affecting the household and this practice proved to be worthwhile.

After the key messages of Filipino community leaders were delivered, a video featuring the story of Filipina women who made money from rags was shown to inspire women participants to innovate to transform their lives and the lives of others. This was consistent with the UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day (08 March 2019), “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”.

The program ended with a talk by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Ma. Claribel Ochoa on the milestones and progress made by the Philippines in the field of gender equality and women empowerment.

“Juan (One) for Juana” is a part of a series of month-long activities conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Rome in celebration of the National Women’s Month. The activity was also attended by personnel from the Embassy and its partner agencies. END

Mr. Augusto Cruz, adviser of Philippine Independence Day Association (PIDA), talks about why men should be at the forefront of advancing women’s rights.

Mr. Fresco Santos, President of PIDA, tells the participants how the Philippine society is gradually shredding its paternalistic character.

Third Secretary and Vice Consul Ma. Claribel Ochoa updates the Filipino community leaders on the progress made by the Philippines in the field of gender equality and women empowerment.