TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Hundreds of Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina (KALIPI) members attended the 2024 National Women’s Month celebration at the Tabuk City People’s Gymnasium earlier today.
With the theme “LIPUNANG PATAS SA BAGONG PILIPINAS: Kakayahan ng Kababaihan, Patutunayan!”, said celebration was spearheaded by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), in partnership with the Society of Women in Action for Tabuk City (SWAT-C), City Environment and Natural Resources Office, and the City Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM).
Virginia Mangawit, a women advocate and representative of Igorot Warriors International, Inc., graced the occasion and presented her knowledge of women’s empowerment along with stories from her own advocacy work.
While serving as a superintendent for the correctional institution for women, Mangawit said she personally saw numerous women admitted to the penitentiary facility for women, even though they were innocent.
She narrated how she made the decision to become a social worker in order to assist these victims and be treated equally with males who have similar experiences.
She continued by expressing her wish that all occurrences of violence against women and their children (VOWC) will drastically decrease or possibly disappear in the city as a result of the persistent efforts of the KALIPI and the CSWDO.
Speaking to the women participants, Acting City Vice Mayor Lucretina Sarol encouraged them to always put God first in their activities in addition to the event’s primary goal of promoting women’s empowerment.
Sarol continued, saying that no matter what the women have received, they should never forget to pray to the Lord and be grateful.
She stated that women can be empowered by their divinely bestowed wisdom, not by attending the best institutions or even finishing their education, or by rising to positions of authority in public or private organizations.
“It’s not your ability nor what you know, it’s about entrusting everything, surrendering everything to God. That is the meaning of true empowerment. Always remember that to be empowered, you must know that God is with you and nothing can stand against you,” she ended. By Edward Joseph Gacuya
