TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Baldo Garnace Jr., the chairperson of Men Opposing Violence Everywhere (MOVE), conducted an orientation on Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) and Financial Literacy among MOVE members on June 13, 2024.
According to Atty. Guillermo Lawagan during his talk on VAWC law, due to the alarming number of VAWC cases in the country with 12000 cases in 2021 and 5339 recorded cases in the first half of 2022, he emphasized the urgent need for the city government to adopt the MOVE initiative to show support for women and children.
Lawagan also emphasized that anyone can be a violator regardless of the gender. “Wrong diay impression nga VAWC can be committed only by men kasi pati babbai [whom the woman is dating] mabalin dakayo masaktan,” he said.
According to Lawagan, this simply means that VAWC protects women not just against their husbands, but also from their ex-husbands or anyone with whom a woman has a sexual involvement. “Nu nagsina kayo or agdi-date kayo pay lang ket sinaktam diay babai, that is still considered as VAWC,” he stated.
“Kasanu ngay nu agdi-date kayo pay laeng ket nadismaya ka, in-break mon, gapu idiay ket nabagtit diay babai? You’re still reliable of VAWC,” Lawagan added.
Hilda Adong from the City Health Services Office (CHSO) spoke about the mental health impact of VAWC, emphasizing the need for improved support services and more community awareness. The CHSO also provided MOVE members with check-ups during the orientation.
Meanwhile, to prepare the members for financial literacy, Engr. Ronald Ryan Jose offered practical tips to assist people handle their funds more successfully.
MOVE is presently recruiting city government members and charging a small membership fee to establish the group’s initial fund, as no government financing is available this year due to the group’s recent formation last month. By Rio Bassong