52nd Engineers Pursues GAD Education Program, Conducts Various GAD Related Trainings

MANOLO FORTICH, Bukidnon - The office of Gender and Development, 52nd Engineer Brigade held a week-long Gender and Development related training attended by the GAD Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the Line Units and Companies at Camp Colonel Oscar F Natividad, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon on October 12-15, 2020.

The objective of the training is to produce a pool of personnel capable of educating their colleagues, and raise awareness on Gender and Development Programs of the government particularly in the AFP, its legal bases, and to upraise the Brigade’s future advocates on the Gender issues that may emerge in their workplace.

Among the topics that were undertaken include Gender Sensitivity Training (GST), GAD Training of Trainers (GAD TOT), Seminar on National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP-WPS), and Gender Peace and Security Seminar.

Mr. Rashid Bangcolongan, a subject matter expert from the National Commission on Women-National Gender Resource Pool was the resource speaker for the whole duration of training that left notable gender-transformative takeaways to the participants.

In her Message, Captain Khristiane Jo Hamid PA the Brigade’s Gender and Development Officer said “Culturally rooted gender norms are hard to break, but in the long run, with the intensified efforts of this Brigade in promoting gender equality, we will break the barrier of stereotyping women, because we believe that in order to achieve a lasting gender-transformative change, an organization must have to practice inclusivity regardless of gender.”

The participants were provided a copy of all the laws, mandates, and memoranda for ready reference that they may use in cascading and implementing Gender and Development Client-Centered or Organizational-Centered programs and Projects and Activities in their area of coverage.

Also, Colonel Francis Marlon S Wong PA, the Deputy Brigade Commander and the designated GAD Focal Point Committee Chairman of 52nd Engineer Brigade said “Gender and Equality is a shared responsibility between men and women, let us accept the fact that there are some capabilities that women distinctly have that we, men do not. Let us instead, compensate each other’s weaknesses in order to be productive in all our undertakings.”

Source: Civil-Military Operations Office, 52nd Engineer Brigade, Philippine Army