Media, gender equality body reconstituted for gender mainstreaming

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos, Philippine News Agency

GENDER FAIRNESS. The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) organizes the first-ever UniComm Gender and Development (GAD) at the Kalayaan Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday (Aug. 29, 2024). During the event, the members of the reconstituted Media and Gender Equality Committee (MGEC) – (from left) Janice Joyce Sison from the Optical Media Board, Divina Daquiaog from the National Telecommunications Commission, Philippine Commission on Women chairperson Ermelita Valdeavilla, Julie Abante from the Film Development Council of the Philippines, PCO Undersecretary Emerald Ridao, and Jesusa Lorenzo from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) signed the commitment wall. (PCO Photo)

MANILA – The Media and Gender Equality Committee (MGEC) has been reconstituted to promote gender fairness in and within the media, Malacañang said Friday.

In a statement, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said her office led the MGEC’s reconstitution during the first-ever UniCOMM Gender and Development (GAD) event at the Press Briefing Room in Kalayaan Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday.

Garafil said the event was attended by GAD chairpersons and focal persons from various government agencies.

“The MGEC is an inter-agency committee tasked with promoting gender mainstreaming and formulating guidelines and a code of ethics for media. Its member-agencies lead the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of media-related projects,” she said.

“The event also aimed to foster network-building, benchmark projects and best practices, share GAD accomplishments and strategies, and cascade GAD projects and events, among other government initiatives,” Garafil added.

Garafil said the PCO, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and the Optical Media Board (OMB) signed the MGEC Commitment Wall.

PCW Chairperson Ermelita Valdeavilla said the MGEC Commitment Wall is a representation of member-agencies’ collective promise to “challenge stereotypes, promote diverse voices, and ensure the representation and empowerment of women in the media landscape”.

“As we add our commitments, let this wall inspire us to follow through and support one another. Thank you for being part of this meaningful moment. Let’s continue to create a space where everyone’s stories are valued and heard,” Valdeavilla said, as quoted by the PCO.

PCO Undersecretary for Digital Media Services Emerald Anne Ridao assured member agencies of the PCO’s unwavering commitment to promote and lead the committee’s activities to ensure gender equality in the media.

Ridao also stressed the importance of conducting annual sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) seminars, as well as helping employees through self-defense training.

She likewise cited the need to promote health and wellness projects “to give women the time to take care of themselves”.

Ridao said the PCO would also help teachers embed Media and Information Literacy Campaign (MILC) in their daily teaching “as opposed to having it as a different and separate course”.

“[We will also] increase the youth’s awareness about the difference between misinformation and fact-verified information … develop critical thinking to differentiate fake news from real facts in their everyday lives,” she said.