‘Domestic violence persists’

A JAPANESE woman’s murder at the hands of her Filipino  husband in Lapu-Lapu City last Monday is yet another tragic example of  domestic violence in the country, Cebu officials said yesterday.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia mentioned the case in yesterday’s opening of the Women’s Congress at the Cebu International Convention Center.

“Some women would rather hide their pain to keep their family intact,” she said, adding that  domestic violence remains one of the key concerns of the Provincial Women’s Commission (PWC).

During the annual conference, towns of  Oslob and Balamban  were awarded trophies and  P100,000 checks  as the most gender-responsive local government units in Cebu province.

Delefates also  signed a large tarpaulin committing to support a micro-finance program under r the Grameen for Women Empowerment Now program that has a seed capital of P5 million.

Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, who co-chairs the PWC and the Provincial Council for the Welfare of Children, said she is concerned about the couple’s 9-month-old baby in Lapu-Lapu city..

“It was very brutal. Domestic violence doesn’t recognize nationalities. We will provide assistance to Lapu-Lapu City social workers if they ask for it,” she said.

Women police officers  female officials and mayors attended the 12th Women’s Congress, which carried the theme “Bag-ong Salaod, Kaakohan sa Katilingban.”

Governor Garcia also announced that a Provincial Women’s Center would rise in Sudlon, barangay Lahug,  near the provincial police office.

The location will no longer be the Cebu City Zoo.

Garcia said she hopes to have the groundbreaking in May and complete construction in six months.

The center will be staffed by child psychologists and “situated in a secluded area but surrounded by different law enforcing agencies, like the Cebu Provincial Police Office, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Bureau of Investigation,” she said.

The guest speaker of the congress urged women to get involved in issues  of  climate change, disaster risk reduction and management and sustainable development.

“It is wrong to ask how to integrate women in development because women are already in development. Women are the heart of development,”  said PCW chairperson Remedios Ignacio-Rikken said.

An exhibit of Women Trailblazers were also displayed during the event at CICC. Correspondents Carmel Loise Matus and Fe Marie Dumaboc and UP Intern Sean Timothy Salvador