Author: Pia

Pinay in Action All Women's Run 2009

by Pia April 2, 2009 Comments3

aerial-start1

Every year I am asked why do a run to celebrate women’s month? My answer is because running is empowering. We gain strength and confidence in the company of other women.

We feel good when we run. We may be tired, but when we finish our run, we feel accomplished, proud and happy!

2-girls1

A lot of women are scared to run for the first time or to run a longer distance, but when they do, the feeling is indescribable! And it shows in their smile! I know, because I’ve felt this many times. And last Sunday, women came up to me telling me the same thing.

Whether we are moms, wives, daughters, professionals, employees, students or young girls, we should be proud of who we are.

Doray Ellis and her girls Gabby and Kira

We should never be scared to pursue our dreams (see my related article Phooey to Limitations, Yes to Possibilities). No one should tell us we are not capable of doing something because we are women. On the contrary, because we are women, we shall excel!

As a mom, I want my girls to have good role models. I want them to be inspired. I want them to meet trailblazing women who beat the odds. At the Pinay in Action Run, I saw lots of these women. And I am so happy my daughters saw and met them too.

At the start with my kids, Danee and other women runners

My daughters Max and Nadine both do the Pinay in Action5k every year

Did you enjoy your run? Were you inspired by other women runners? I’ve posted the links of some of the blogs about the Pinay in Action run. I enjoyed reading their stories. If you have a story to share, we would love to hear about it .

The Pinay in Action 2009 Race Day by: imom

On Sunday, March 29th, my alarm clock went off at 4:45 AM to wake me up and hub and iPatch and VGood and Nate.

My first race was going to be a family affair!.. (more)

Running with Friends: by Penny

It was a beautiful day for for the Pinay In Action fun run at the SM Mall of Asia grounds. The race for the 10k and 5k participants started at 6:14am (behind schedule for both, by the way). The sun was out but it wasn’t too hot. and there were LOTS of runners. Although it was an “all-women run” there were actually more than a handful of men who ran with us. Also children and pet dogs. ..(more)

1o kilometers: by Regina

I have never seriously run a fun run before. Previously, I and some other troopers only walked in armor, and finished the shortest route, just to raise awareness for the cause..(more)

Pinay in Action with Workmates: by runpinayrun

Finally get to run a race with my co-workers! We always fail meeting up prior to the race so we end up not seeing each other after everyone crosses the finish line..(more)

At the end of the run, we gathered near the stage and awarded the winners (list of winners are on pinayinaction.com. Participants and spectators also took time to visit the different booths that were set up for various causes close to women such as the breast cancer detection booth set up by my friend Dr Cecille Montales, cervical cancer by GlaxoSmithKline, violence against women by Women’s Media Circle and various health products for women.

After the awarding, I headed home, went to church and gave thanks for this day.

Tokyo Marathon: "I Promise My Goal"

by Pia March 27, 2009 Comments6

At the Tokyo Marathon Expo, the theme was “I Promise my Goal.” Not a perfect English translation, but we figured it meant set your goal and accomplish it. That sort of pressured me to do just that. Thing is, I didn’t really want the stress and the pain of attempting to break 4 hours again. The last time I tried five months ago, I missed it by 2 seconds! But even though I had less time to train for this one, the night before the race I decided I would to try again. I would run an under-4 hour pace for the first 21k and then see how it went from there.

At the Expo - visualizing my elusive goal

With that decision, I had to stay up an hour later, scribbling my splits per km on my white medical tape which I taped to my wrist. Arggh!

I was actually out late the night before mingling with the other guests of the Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Officials from other countries were there and I had a wonderful exchange with the women representatives from Singapore, Thailand and Japan, talking about women issues, like discrimination and empowerment. I was the only guest who was running the race. All the others were just there to observe.

Race Day:

The holding area was filled with runners, not a surprise since there were 35,000 participants. I was hoping that they would release the runners in waves so it would not be as crowded when we started running. But as I had feared, it was still very congested at the start and we were forced to run at a much slower pace for the first two kms until the runners spread out more.

As the run progressed, there didn’t turn out to be much to see. There was just building after building and then more buildings. But what was interesting were the people who ran in costumes. I was passed by a slimmer version of Winnie the Pooh, a clown and lots of runners in funny hats. I also spotted a gay fairy and most memorable of all was a girl who passed me in angel wings. I remember thinking, buti pa siya may pakpak.

To my utter horror my garmin malfunctioned and was showing wild numbers for my pace. Grrr! Oh well, the race went on. After about four hours of running, what will forever be etched in my mind is the finish line. The last three kilometers we ran thru the howling winds and the pouring rain. I had to hold on to my cap and shades because it already got blown off early in the race. It was never sunny enough to put on my shades.

Into the last 3kms, I already knew that we would not break 4 hours. We might have if I had been able to maintain a 5:30min/k pace at 35kph. But at km 39, we had about 14 minutes left and I had slowed down a bit. I told Joey he could do it, but being the gentleman that he is, he said we would finish together.

So we pushed thru the wind, climbing one of the very few bridges, where to our delight the theme song of Rocky was blaring (Joey and I are Rocky fans because we box as part of our cross training). The Japanese spectators enthusiastically cheering us on, sadly in a language that was totally foreign to me.

At the 1km mark, the crowd got thicker, the cheering got louder and the rain poured harder. I loved it!

By then I started looking out towards the bleachers, because my kids and Che were suppose to be there. When we turned the last bend, I finally saw the finish line! I felt like I was running in slow motion because I can remember carefully scanning the faces in the crowd trying to find my children.

I was suddenly knocked out of my slow-mo mode when this female runner in blue tried to run pass me just a hundred meters to the finish. I outsprinted her and Joey and I crossed the finish line in 4:04 but still no children in sight.

Then right after I crossed, to my right I saw them, my two girls smiling, clapping standing in the rain in raincoats! I had requested that our host the Tokyo Metropolitan Government arrange to have my kids at the finish line, but I expected them somewhere up in the bleachers. I was blown away. I was so so happy to see them. This was my birthday gift good health and my family.

Joey Torres, me and my girls in raincoats at the finish

My kids were with Che (who did her first 10k, woohoo!) Usec Cesar Lacuna of MMDA who gave me beautiful pink flowers!!!!…and the people from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in their suits (reminding me of Men in Black) .. all of them standing in the rain in raincoats cheering for us.

Finish line with my kids and the rest — Finish line with my kids and our super supporters

After I hugged them, we lined up to get our goodies and then Joey and I did what we always do after a race. We ran again. Just 1km.. to celebrate life.

Oh and what does “I promise my goal” mean? Well, the Japanese refer to the finish line as the “goal.” So, I promise my goal, means to finish.. I guess we can say that we accomplished that. Meanwhile, I still have my under 4 hour marathon to work on. Maybe next birthday run.

My strawberry cream surprise birthday cake! — My strawberry cream surprise birthday cake awaiting me at the hotel!

n.b. I will write another article about the race course, race conditions and other details runners may want to know.

Filed under Sports

Women Who Run

by Pia March 22, 2009 Comments2

Lately, I am often asked are you running? I need to clarify that question before I can answer it. So, I ask, do you mean, what race am I joining soon? Or am I running as a candidate at the next election?

Funnily enough, half the time it turns out I am being asked the first question, the other half of the time, the other question.

You see, there are really two kinds of women who run:

– Women who put on running shoes and run recreationally or competitively,

Women Running at the 2008 Pinay in Action event

women who run for public office

Women Parliamentarians Unite Against Violence against Women and Children

I am a woman who runs, on both counts.

Sponsoring a bill at the Senate

Although these two kinds of running seem like they are worlds apart, in truth they are not. Both entail grit and determination, a commitment, support from family and friends and most apparent of all, both are male dominated.

Women have historically been side-lined when it comes to participation in the political process and in running as a sport.

In politics, women were not allowed to vote in many countries until decades after men were voting. Even then, women were not allowed to run for public office. Today, most countries allow women to run, but statistics show that women politicians are still in the minority.

A survey conducted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) shows that across the world, women make up about 18% of members of Parliament. In the Philippines, there are 4 female senators out of 23, and about 25% of the members of the lower house are women. But the number of women are even smaller at the local level.

Why is it important that there are more women in politics?

It is important because women bring a different perspective to governance. Women see things differently because of their experiences and background. True democracy and prosperity requires gender equality at all levels and all sectors of society.

Consider the following: Many women are joining the work-force because of economic hardships or the desire to find professional fulfillment. Many women continue to be full-time homemakers or work from their homes. Many ailments and diseases are specific to women or affect women differently. Women deal with consumer issues, the education of their children, housing issues and more.

All these require policies that are specific to women. Why then, are those making decisions mostly men? Shouldn’t women have an equal say on these matters? Who else can better promote policies that affect women then women themselves? But how can they, when they do not occupy political positions?

Again in a survey conducted by the IPU, women stated family responsibilities as the primary obstacle in pursuing a political career. But if you think about it, if men shared more of the family responsibilities, then women could participate more in politics.

As for women who run with their running shoes on, we take this for granted, but the reality is, women were not allowed to join marathons until the 70s. Kathrine Switzer is the first woman to officially run a marathon which she did in the Boston Marathon in 1967 disguised as a man! She was instrumental in getting the Olympics to finally include a marathon for women in 1984 which was won by American Joan Benoit Samuelson.

In most races, I join, I’m guessing from the looks of it, participation of women is about 10%. Just like politics, women are allowed to participate, in fact they are quite welcome, but there are still a lot of obstacles that prevent them from doing so. These include misconceptions on the effect of running on a woman’s body and health (including her ability to conceive), lack of training and insecurity about her ability to engage in physical activities, balancing family, work and running, and the lack of support from her family, particularly her spouse or partner.

When I run in a race, I proudly run on behalf of women. I run to empower women. I run to raise awareness that there is still a lot of discrimination and injustices against women in our country. I run because I know this will be a better place when women’s voices are heard as equally as men. Mostly, I run because I know a little girl is always watching from the sidelines and I hope to empower her, to inspire her to be a woman of substance and perhaps a woman who runs one day.

Are you a woman who runs? Or a woman who wants to or dreams of running? Join me at the Pinay in Action 10k, 5k and 1.6k fun run at the MOA on March 29, 2009 at 6 am. Registration is on-going at Maxiworks in High Street or Rockwell until March 25.

We need more women who run and more men who support women who run.

For more details on both kinds of running, visit my official website www.senatorpiacayetano.com and www.pinayinaction.com.

Filed under My Daily Race

Women: The Unpaid Worker

by Pia March 15, 2009 Comments3

All over the world, women perform unpaid work as homemakers and care-givers. Imagine this: Ms. A is a mother and takes care of her three kids and her elderly parents. She cannot work outside the home. Compare this to another woman, Ms. B who works outside her home. Ms. B cares for the children of another family. Ms. B is a paid worker for caring for other children. Her work is recognized. She will obtain benefits like medical insurance and retirement. Unlike Ms. A. who is invisible to the productive world, has no protection, no rights and benefits.

What can we do to uplift the plight of people, mostly women like Ms. A? This was the topic of the Inter Parliamentary Union’s conference, which I chaired at the United Nation’s last week. I summarized some of the key points of the speech I delivered at the session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Chairing the IPU-UN Session on Shared Responsibilities, March 4, 2009

We need to reduce the burden of unpaid work and promote equal sharing of responsibilities between men and women. Historically, women have been the homemakers and care-givers. But today, many women need or want to be part of the work force. This, men need to take on more responsibilities at home.

Many countries have ratified relevant labor conventions. But each country needs to review their national policies and legislation that relates to workers with family responsibilities, that recognize women as part of the labor force, that provide maternity protection, breast feeding support, reasonable hours of work, and so on.

In determining the right policies, we need to emphasis the importance of a gender balanced approach to care-giving (as opposed to focusing on the woman alone) and the need to develop measures to support a more active role of men in care-giving.

There needs to be a change in mind-set. Likewise, action needs to be taken to address gender stereotypes. This begins with education and promoting gender equality and addressing gender stereotypes in school curriculums and grassroots programs.

There also needs to be institutional changes, say in parliaments. We discussed the difficulties faced by women in politics. Parliament was historically a male only profession. Many of its traditions still endure, making it difficult for women to enter or survive (more on this in another blog).

We also noted that during time of economic uncertainty, governments may tend to reduce spending on social services. The consequences of this move would be tremendous. This would put more stress on an already over-burdened health and social services/welfare sector. Without reliable health care and social services, women again will bear the bigger burden “ a burden that will go unrecognized and unprotected.

Back in our respective parliaments, we need to look at the tools at our disposal to bring the value of unpaid care work to the fore. We need to question our national accounts systems, make use of time-use surveys and most importantly, use the national budgetary process to take into account the contribution of unpaid care work and provide support to those who perform it.

As an aside, I note that in the Philippines, there are a lot of families where the man is now the primary home-maker and care-giver. For more reason we need to address gender stereo-types. These stay-at-home dads, need the support and in many cases the training needed to be good home-maker and care-givers.

In conclusion, we need to to reassess how we view women’s unpaid work. We need to put in safeguards and protection for these women (and men). We need to recognize and reward women’s various contributions to the economy and promote a more gender balanced approach to the sharing of responsibilities.

n.b. this is part of a series of articles I am writing in connection with our observation of Womens month and the conferences/meetings I attended in New York.

Filed under Family IPU Laws Women Empowerment Women Issues

The New Gimmick

by Pia February 27, 2009 Comments4

Like many Sunday mornings, my friends and training partners, Ani, Joey and George wake up in the dark to get to a morning race. And each time we get there, we are always pleasantly surprised by the number of people who like us choose to spend their Sunday morning at a race.

During a conversation with my friend Gap Legaspi. a neuro surgeon, but in the good-ol-days, the captain of the UP track team, he said to me, wow, everyone seems to be running these days and getting a running coach.

Me: Yes, I have a few good friends who are running coaches.

Him: Really? What do they teach? How do you teach someone to run?

Me: Gap, not everyone is a gifted runner like you. A lot of people have never run. They don’t know how to swing their arms, how to land on their feet, how fast or how slow to go..

Gap: So, everyone is getting a running coach these days?

Me: A lot of people who want to get started do. I personally recommend it when people start asking me details on the right running form. It’s good to know that you’re training properly. And if you already know the basics of running and are comfortable running, a running coach can take you to the next level “ running and racing longer distance, racing faster, training wisely

Gap: so, its true, running coaches are the new DIs.

Me: haha, yes, I guess, you can say that.

We went on to discuss how thrilled we were that more people where discovering the joy of running, the joy of being healthy, of being outdoors and feeling strong. These days, there is a race almost every weekend. My triathlete friends and I meticulously plan our race calendar for the year. We combine run races and triathlons.

My running and racing has taken me so many places. I have seen different parts of the country and other countries on my feet. Every run is an experience. Just the other week in Batangas, at the Milo 21k run, Ani, Joey and I were running up endless hills. I was wondering when our misery would end. Suddenly, someone shouted, â€œMalapit na, dalawang barangay na lang!

My friends and I get high on being fit. We are conscious of the food we eat, the air we breathe. We are thankful for good health. For people like us, this is our gimmick every weekend. Instead of saan ang gimmick? We ask each other:

Saan ang karera (where is the race)?
What distance are you doing?
Who’s joining?
Where are we eating after?

On the eve of my birthday, I will not be going out. I will be sleeping in, because the next day I will do a birthday run “ a marathon! And after that I will celebrate the good life.

This is the life I choose. This is the life my friends and I live.

Filed under My Daily Race

Bike for Hope Davao

by Pia February 14, 2009 Comments1

Davao City to Tagum City I love Davao!

Davao City is so progressive. The first city with a Women’s Code. They also have an anti-smoking ordinance and a fire cracker ban. They are looking into establishing bike-lanes. And the most important part of this.. they implement their laws!

Meanwhile, Davao del Norte, is constructing a state-of-the-art sports complex in Tagum City. I saw the plans and was at the ground breaking on a previous visit. So very exciting. Ani del Leon, also conducted a Pinay in Action running clinic there. They are also pouring million of pesos into health care.

I was there for 3 days from January 29-31, 2009. My office and advocacy arm, Pinay in Action organized 25 seminars on health, breast feeding, immunization, women empowerment and running clinics for girls.

That was the tiring part and we couldn’t have pulled it off without my hard working and dedicated staff, the support of the local government units, particularly Davao City, thru the office of Mayor Rody Duterte and Davao del Norte Province, thru Governor Dolfo del Rosario, the NGOs and private sector.

The fun part was the 101 km bike ride from Davao City to Tagum City (where the provincial government of Davao del Norte is). There were also a lot of people who lined the streets to greet us, and as always many expressed shock to see women bikers.

We passed thru the beautiful banana plantation that just stretched on and on. It was a very calming bike ride, away from the heavy traffic, save for the aerial spray of fertilizer which flew right above us! There is actually a Davao City Ordinance banning this, but the case is currently pending in the Court of Appeals.

riding thru the banana plantation

For part of the ride, I rode and chatted with Fr. Amado Picardal

Riding with Fr. Amado Picardal

known as the Biking Priest. He bikes around the country for peace. His blog is full of interesting stories of his bike rides, his advocacies and his vocation as a priest and teacher.

An interesting side trip was the tour of the Nestle Experimental and Demo Farm for Coffee. I was told that it is the only experimental facility for coffee in the whole country! Farmers come from all over the country to learn about improving their coffee business. We used to be an exporter of coffee but today, we cannot even meet our local demand 🙁 Sadly, Vietnam’s yield per hectare is much higher than ours, according to the National Coffee Development Board, which only tells us there is so much more to do.

Another stop I made was Barangay Sasa in Davao City where our triathlon national champ George Vilog hails from. As a young boy, he enjoyed riding his bmx bike and swimming in Coaco Beach. At 16, he competed in his first triathlon . In 2002, he became our national champion. Today, he is the silver medalist of the SEA games.

George is a shining example of a young boy with very little means, who found his way to the top thru sports. George is currently developing local talents in Davao.

And so ended my Davao trip. Had to rush home to my girls after the ride and shift to mommy mode.

n.b. Bike for Hope is a project of The Companero Rene Cayetano foundation which was put up by my dad the former Senator Renato Cayetano years ago. When he pased away, we continued it in his memory. We are on our 8th leg having covered various provinces in Luzon Visayas and Mindanao. By God’s grace, I hope to bring Bike for Hope to other parts of the country to continue spreading our advocacies on health, women empowerment, protection of the environment and youth development programs.

Filed under My Daily Race

I Salute the Champ : Francis "Nino" Casey Alcantara

by Pia February 5, 2009 Comments4

Early Monday morning, just when I felt I needed inspiration, I got a text message from my training partner, partner are you up? I am just at Tito Rommie’s house chatting with him and Nino, text me when you are ready to train.

My training partner (former tennis lover, now iron fool) Joey Torres with Nino

I suddenly was no longer sleepy. I texted him right back and said, pick me up. I quickly dressed, grabbed yesterday’s newspaper that had Nino’s picture on it, my sign pen and my new flip. I wanted to congratulate a champion and get his autograph for my daughters who both play tennis.

And that’s how I met 16 year old, Francis Casey Alcantara. He looked like any other high school kid to be honest, except that he happened to be the 2009 Australian Open Junior Boys Doubles Champion – – the first Filipino to win a Championship in a Grand Slam Tennis Tournament.

What makes a champ? Is it genes and talent? Hours of training? Discipline? Commitment? Support? I think its all of the above.

Ask any coach and they will tell you they’ve seen lots of talents come and go. But without commitment and training, the athlete won’t get that far.

Rommie Chan, one of Philippine tennis long time sincere supporters, relates how he spotted this kid many years ago. He says he saw potential, but from experience he knew that it required major commitment and hours of training for this boy to move up.

Rommie Chan, me and Nino

When Nino was 13, Rommie Chan asked him how serious he was, desedido ka ba na ituloy-tuloy ito? Imagine at the tender age of 13, when most kids his age are just worrying about what to wear the next day, he was being asked to decide about his future.

And at 13, this young boy made a choice that he would forego normal things teen-agers do. He would practice every day after school and do whatever it took to succeed.

And this is where his mentors, supporters and coaches came in. Because Nino wanted to stay in school, Rommie Chan had to send his coaches to train him in his home town in Cagayan de Oro. During the summers and school breaks he came to Manila to train. His supporters funded his travels around the world so he could compete and hone his skills. Today, he is a high school senior in Xavier University, the only juniors player in the world’s top 30 junior tennis player who is still in school.

A few days ago he made history. He became the first every Filipino to win a grand slam tennis tournament (junior boys doubles).

But it doesn’t stop there. Being a junior’s champ is not enough for him and for all the people who saw him get this far. He dreams to compete on the center court of the grand slam tournaments, where the big boys play. And once again this teenager, at 16, has committed to put in long hours and do whatever it takes to get him to the next level.

What spirit this boy has – a Philippine icon at the age of 16. To honor him, I filed and sponsored Senate Resolution no. 860 commending him for his hard work and accomplishments.

I salute you Nino, and all those who made this happen “ your parents (his dad sadly passed away a few years ago), your mentors and coaches.

Galingan mo pa, maraming naniniwala at humahanga sa iyo.

Filed under Filipino Pride My Daily Race Senate Sports

Solar Power, Mushrooms and Clean Water in Cagayan de Oro

by Pia December 15, 2008 Comments1

During my trip to Cagayan de Oro a few months ago, I visited the CEPALCO Solar Power Plant, the largest solar power plant in Southeast Asia. It currently serves 900 households in the area. I was surprised how simple it all seemed. As you can see in the pictures, it is simply a large number of solar panels laid out on 2 hectares of land. The sunlight that hits the solar panels are immediately converted into AC voltage and then transmitted to the power grid for distribution.

The Renewable Energy Bill is one of the priority measures in Congress. I am one of the authors and as such, I have been studying different kinds of renewable energy.
Solar power, like other renewable energy is great because it is environmentally friendly. The problem is the high cost involved. Because of this, solar power is either subsidized or users have to pay a premium. Many are of the view that it is well worth the price, given the savings in environmental and health costs associated with the use of fossil fuel.

At the end of the day, energy planning is all about maximizing our indigenous sources of energy such as natural gas and oil fields in Palawan (so we reduce our dependence on imported fuel), geothermal energy which is abundant in the Philippines and investing in infrastructure and tapping new technology to developing renewable energy coming from wind, solar, ocean/waves and hydro ( I visited the site of Bangui Windmills last year during a trip to Ilocos Norte. More on this another blog)

My staff along with Mother Earth Foundation held a solid waste management in Barangay Carmen. Participants came from different sectors ”barangay officials, students, business establishments etc. I arrived in time to give a pep talk, answer a few questions and witness the action plan signing wherein each group/sector commited to carry thru the action plan they had written out. Their enthusiasm was contagious. I told them I hoped to see their plans materialize the next time I visit CDO.

The surprise of this working visit was a stop at the Asian Business Cooperative Academy where I learned about one of the livelihood projects of the students “ the flurutus mushroom which are grown in cylindrical shaped containers filled with sawdust. All one has to do is sprinkle them with water a couple of times a day, wait for them to grow and harvest them. The next batch automatically grows back. I took home some and am hoping they we can harvest our mushrooms soon!

On Clean Water

Clean water is a big problem in our country. Based on a survey of NSO, only about 80% of Filipino households have access to clean water. This means, 17 million Filipinos use and drink water that could make them sick.

Thus,it was with great excitement that I visited the Rio Verde Water facility. Amazing to see how dirty river water that flows
from Mt. Kanlaon is purified through a few touches of the computer. They walked me thru the whole process of receiving the water, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and finally — clear water ready for distribution. I am told that this meets the WHO standards for drinking water. We hope to see more programs like this.

Filed under Environment Rnewable Energy

Say no to violence against women

by Pia December 11, 2008 Comments2

1 out of 3 women have been victims of some form of violence, according to gender-based studies from the United Nations Population Fund. The abuser is usually known to her – a husband, boyfriend, father, brother, relative or some other person in her life.

Violence does not distinguish between economic class, culture or religion. In a World Bank study on selected risk factors facing women between 15-44, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war ans facing women in this age group, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria.

The say no to violence is an internet-based campaign initiated by UNIFEM. In today’s meeting, the women parliamentarians committed to join this campaign to put an end to violence in our respective countries.

This is a simple signature campaign. Just visit the website at www.saynotoviolence.org and sign up by adding your name. That simple.

Sign up, learn more about it and spread the word. End violence now. Dont wait for your sister, daughter or friend to be a victim.

My office conducts seminars around the country. If you need more info, let me know. Drop me a line if you sign up. It will encourage others to do so as well. God bless

Filed under Women Issues

Rain, Worms and Women Power in Dumaguete

by Pia June 24, 2008 Comments1

Worms were not part of my agenda in going to Dumaguete. But it found its way into my schedule after City Mayor Agustin Perdices and Governor Emilio Macias III, each told me how they are using worms to create organic fertilizer. The process is fairly simple: Mix manure, organic products like leaves and a handful of worms in a big sack. The worms eat and excrete and in a few weeks, voila, you have organic fertilizer. The goal is to get more farmers to make their own organic fertilizer instead of buying commercial fertilizers which are much more expensive and have chemical ingredients.

But I jump ahead of my trip.

My staff actually had been there for the last three days conducting seminars on breast feeding and women empowerment.

I arrived on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Aren’t rainy Saturday afternoons just perfect for going to sleep? But this was a working Saturday for me and I was scheduled to meet the governor and get a tour of the provincial hospital.

The governor, it turns out is a PGH trained surgeon, a passionate healthcare advocate who shared a lot of his ideas about devolved health care, its problems and possible solutions. It was great to meet him and the medical staff of the hospital. I hope to use their experiences in reviewing our health care policies.

From health care Negros Oriental style, I got a taste of women power, Siliman University style. I met their student council, headed by SC President Stacy Danika Sia Alcantara. Wow! What an energetic talented group of young women, to say the least. They proudly told me that their school is very gender sensitive and has always had a strong women studies department, that the young men who enter the University are soon enough indoctrinated into a lifestyle that is gender equal in all aspects. More power girls. I promised to write a future entry on women empowerment and the girls promised to contribute?

Later that evening, I met with Green Alert Negros, who expressed their concern about the plans to cut thousand of trees and develop part of Mt Kanlaon as a source of geothermal energy. I actually climed Mt Kanlaon years ago and was quite familiar with the affected area. But more importantly Mt. Kanlaon is a natural park protected by law, rich in biodiversity and is home to many endemic species.

Next day, I woke up to a dark morning, with tree branches swaying from the strong winds.. It looked like rain was inevitable, but in fact, shortly after 5 am, the sky started to lighten up.. Ani and I ran straight from our hotel to the starting line where we joined thousands of runners who like us, got up at dawn for the fun of running in one of the 3 distances of the Milo Maratthon series –3k, 5k and 21k.

I joined the 21k run which took us along Rizal Boulevard, right by the Tanon Strait which was a beautiful site. Then we turned into a side road and went thru very pleasant countryside, where the locals lined the streets to watch us go by.

The exciting part of every run for me is seeing the strong women runners race. We had a chance to chat after the awarding ceremonies. They come from all backgrounds, mothers, students, teens and women in their 40s, all fast runners who outrun most men!

In just about 24 hours from the time I got to Dumaguete, I was homebound. I didn’t get much of a chance to explore the beautiful city, but thanks to the local government officials, the locals, my staff and everyone who gave us some of their valuable time, we had a productive and fulfilling trip.

Filed under Environment Health Care Sports Women Empowerment Women Issues