Remembering Ninoy

Former President Corazon Aquino is asking all Filipinos not to forget what the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. died for, and in their remembering, to re-commit themselves to helping one another and their country. The Aquino family – consisting of Cory, Congressman and Deputy Speaker for Central and Northern Luzon "Noynoy" Aquino, Ballsy, Pinky, Viel and Kris – for its part will be at the gravesite of Ninoy at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque on Saturday, August 21, for the mass marking the 21st anniversary of the hero’s assassination. Fr. Catalino Arevalo, S.J., will officiate.

Incidentally, the commemorative gold and silver coins honoring Ninoy as the sixth in a collector’s line of "Champions for Peace" are available again through the Spirit of EDSA at the launch price. Call 807-4061 for Chris Carrion.

The other "Champions for Peace" are Pope John Paul II, Mahatma Gandhi, Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy and Mother Teresa. These were minted by the prestigious Meyer’s Mint of Germany and released by Goldquest International. Ninoy was honored for his aspirations for freedom and peace which "inspired Filipinos to seek and act toward attaining democracy."

Incidentally, Cory will come on "live" this noon at 12:30 on the talk show Dee’s Day on RPN-9 hosted by newspaperwoman Deedee Siytangco. She will be interviewed by two students, Katrina Coo from UP and Aiden Gonzales from Bangkok. Thailand. Cory will be inter-acting with volunteers from NGOs that the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation will be citing for their social development work.

Winners of Cecile and Sonny Alvarez’s competition for the best in original Ninoy essays and songs will also be featured in the show. If you miss the live show, watch the two replays at 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. tomorrow.

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We congratulate the Quezon City Council for passing the Gender and Development Code through Ordinance No. SP-1401 S-2004. The passage of the ordinance is attributed to the lobbying efforts of the Quezon City Gender and Development Resource and Coordinating Office and Sentro ng Manggagawang Pilipina.

The Code stresses that "Women shall be recognized as full and equal partners of men in development and nation-building and men shall share equally with all forms of productive and reproductive activities." Along this line, the city government’s development efforts should realize "the rights of women, enhance women’s full potentials, uplift their status and lead to the improvement of the quality of lives of women, their families, and communities."

To attain the above policy, all government departments, offices and instrumentalities shall ensure that women and girls benefit equally and participate directly in the development programs and projects of said departments, specifically those funded under official foreign development assistant, to ensure the full participation and involvement of women in the development process, pursuant to RA 7192, or the Women in Development and Nation Building Act.

Local governments should have copies of the Code as they prepare their own GAD policies.

Of particular interest to women worried about the impact of high-technology information developments is Article VII which covers culture and media. The city government obliges all media institutions to portray women in a positive light, and encourages and supports gender-sensitivity workshop training of local media practitioners. It also regulates "the media coverage of entertainment establishment raid operations for the prevention of exploitation of women and men entertainers and their unnecessary body public exposure and humiliation."

Section 56 calls for the regulation of internet cafes and computer shops "to curb and prevent the proliferation of access of cyber sex pornography for minors."

At a meeting called by the Ugnayan ng Kababaihan sa Pulitika (UKP) and the Asian women’s Network on Gender and Development the other day, cybersex was brought up as blatantly exploitative of women’s and children’s bodies.

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