Women changing landscape of road repairs in Cagayan

WOMEN workers prepare the highway pavement in Abulug town, Cagayan province, for painting. MICHAEL REY BIADO/CONTRIBUTOR

TUGUEGARAO CITY—Four weeks ago, Chinee Gaba, 23, got word that she was hired as a front desk staffer in one of the hotels in this capital city of Cagayan province.

She declined the offer and instead decided to take on a job that was traditionally performed by men: road maintenance worker.

Gaba is among the first batch of women workers who were hired by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under an employment program that accepts women to its roster.

“I believe it’s about time that we put into action our pronouncements about gender equality. [It’s] not just lip service,” said Melvin Navarro, DPWH Cagayan Valley regional director, who initiated the program to coincide with the worldwide celebration of International Women’s Month this March.

Under the program, women will be given priority in the hiring of DPWH job-order personnel who will be tapped for the marking and thermoplastic painting of Maharlika Highway, which traverses the region, Navarro said.

“I saw that job openings were available for [thermoplastic painters] and I realized, ‘Why don’t we hire women?’ Anyway, [we’re celebrating] International Women’s Day [in March]. So that started it,” he said.

Ten members, composed of four women and six men, comprise the team for the thermoplastic painting, said Joselito Arao, district engineer of the DPWH’s Cagayan second  engineering district office.

The DPWH pays each worker P405 a day, Cagayan Valley’s minimum wage, he said.

Gaba and her colleagues’ names were taken from a list given by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s local office, which keeps a record of indigents who are in search of jobs.

In a telephone interview, Gaba, a hotel and restaurant management graduate, said she grabbed the job offer because of the “better opportunity” it presented.

“The front desk job is quite attractive but some hotels in Tuguegarao pay lower than what was offered to me here. Besides, this is also a chance for me to try new experiences,” she said.

Save for having to work under the sun, her job of painting roads is not that difficult, Gaba said.

“The [kneading] machine is quite heavy but I can manage. We have to show that whatever men can do, we can [do], too,” she said.

Another worker, Aiza Bunagan, 21, said the work made no distinction whether one was male or female.

“In fact, passing motorists do not even notice that there are women in the team until they see the ‘Women at Work’ sign,” she said.

Before their deployment, the women workers underwent basic training at the DPWH district office in Abulug town, whose officials were the first to ask for the thermoplastic painting of roads and bridges in their area.

After their three-month stint with the Cagayan second district engineering office, the team will move to other DPWH districts in the region that need their services, said Navarro.

He said the road painting job was one of the reforms that Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson ordered.

Instead of giving out contracts, the DPWH bought the needed equipment and issued these to each regional office, Navarro said. Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon