Protecting women in media and film

Remember the television  commercial  showing  a “bilmoko” girl demanding that her boyfriend buy her this and that, and  â€œKinse,” which shows  male lusting over a 15-year- old?  Now, have you seen the TV commercial showing a horde of bikini-clad women furiously scaling and running down hills to follow the scent  of just one macho man promoting a deodorant?  And you’ve seen, of course, that seemingly hilarious episode  of a man painting over the face of a  termagant woman (his wife presumably?)  to shut her up!

Those commercials are examples of  media’s depiction of women and girls as whimsical, inferior beings and sex objects whose main purpose in life is pleasing men and —  advertising and press relations men and their clients who are likely to be men.

Commercials like the above will hopefully vanish from movie and TV screens, telenovelas and even comic strips — with the strict implementation of RA 9710, otherwise known as the  Magna Carta of Women  which mandates that women be protected from all forms of discrimination.

The task of  monitoring and evaluating  the implementation of gender equality guidelines, specifically Section 19 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of  the Magna Carta of Women, fell on the hands of a Gender Equality Committee, headed by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), with members as the Philippine Commission on Women and self-regulatory bodies involved in telecommunications, movie and television, and film production.

The Committee formulated three documents, namely, Gender Equality Guide, Code of Ethics for Media, and Guidelines to Protect Women from Discrimination in Media and Film. These documents will be integrated in the government and non-government-related organizations to ensure that women’s needs, issues and concerns in all forms of media, communication, information and dissemination and advertising, are appropriately presented.

The President, through Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr., issued Memorandum Circular No. 48, directing all concerned government agencies to adopt the Gender Equality Guidelines in the development of their respective media policies and implementing programs in order to promote gender mainstreaming.

Says  Secretary  Sonny Coloma, head of PCOO and Gender Equality Committee chair:  â€œMedia plays a vital and important role in our society. For most people, it serves as  a tool, not only for information, but also as a source of entertainment. It can also serve as an instrument where we can break stereotyping toward a gender-fair media. The government fully supports gender equality—and will continue to support programs to ensure that discrimination, particularly of women, will eventually be eliminated.”

Copies of the guidelines were released at a forum on Gender-fair Media, Tourism and Education at the Quezon City Hall  Friday.  Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista was the proper guy to give the opening remarks as his administration gives emphasis to gender equality.

Through the QC Gender and Development Resource  and Coordinating Office headed by Dr. Ruby Palma, it has made sure that the GAD budget is being used in government programs, created the city’s Film Commission, and  gives  awards to the most gender-sensitive commercial films shown during the Metro Manila Film Festivals since 2003.

The film judging,  originally handled by QCGDRCO, is now with the city’s film commission of which QC Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte Alimurung is chair, and Ruby is a commissioner.

The award is unique to Quezon  City , as it is cited as a model by the media and culture group of  President PNoy’s  plan for women called WEDGE,  Ruby told me.

Present at the press conference prior to the forum were film producers and directors,  Rochelle Monteverde of Regal Films and Ronnie Ricketts, chair of the Optical Media Board. Ronnie later told me his office is doing its best to run after smuggled and pornographic videos.

Forum resource person Betty Lou Penera of the Philippine Information Agency, speaking on gender issues in media, touched on protecting rape victims by not showing their pictures, not using sexist language, and appreciating women’s issues. The media, she said, can be a partner, a tool, or an adversary of women’s issues.

Women and committed media advocate  Anna Leah Sarabia pointed to injustices being tradition-practice-based. For example, the long-held belief is that if one is not a man, one is inferior. In telecommunications unspoken prejudices are manifested in relationships, e.g., man is  superior,  even if his boss is rich and educated. The man says, “Ikaw ay babae lang, mataas pa ako sa ‘yo.”

Anna Leah told the teachers attending the forum that removing gender discrimination is nipped in the bud  right  in the schools, where teachers teach gender-sensitivity among young pupils.  She asked a thought-provoking question: Do women try to look beautiful for their own satisfaction? Answer: No, they do it to attract men.  And this is reflected in the commercials and advertisements bombarding viewers.

So, even young girls start making themselves look beautiful for men, when in fact, they should be taught to aspire for  good performance and other positive values.

More than 50 per cent in the  tourism industry are women, said  Atty. Shangrila Quezon of the Department of Tourism.  But it’s in this area that women and girls experience exploitation. They can be touched or done some unseemly gestures, but they won’t complain because they might lose their jobs. Added to that is their receiving 10 to 15 per cent salaries lower than their male counterparts.

Accordingly, Attorney Quezon said, women need government support in the industry, by giving them loans and incentives so they can put up their own decent hospitality business.

Some of the guidelines to protect women from discrimination are the following:  portraying and representing women “with dignity”; they should be portrayed as decision makers and providers of the family, as significant contributors in the academe, business, social-political, cultural and religious fields;  media practitioners should not ridicule and stigmatize or give less importance to people, by reason of gender, sexual orientation and physical attributes.

In the matter of language, the Code of Ethics for media  says media must avoid language that is vulgar, indecent, promotes substance abuse, gender discrimination, racism, Satanism, violence or sexual perversion or demeans a member of any sector of society.

The forum, said Ruby, was  part of updating QC GAD focal persons regarding issues in gender and governance. This year, the focus is tourism and media. Some  300 persons from barangays, departments and other agencies, school, NGOS, and media organizations were in attendance.

For inquiries on the documents, contact Ronabel Novero, Presidential Communications Operations Office, at 733-8663 or 0917 803 7179.

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Land Transportation Office Assistant Secretary Virgie Torres and her team are, I believe, almost ready with the IRR on the law regarding drug tests for driver’s license applicants.  A Filipino from Las Vegas concurs with the law that no drug test  is needed for renewal and expired driver’s licenses.  However, he believes all new applicants for student and new driver’s licenses must secure and be required to take the drug test. These new applicants must deposit P500 prior to the test, and if found positive, the amount is forfeited in favor of the government, if found negative, the amount is refunded. This is to prevent drug users from applying for licenses.

Another suggestion from this reader is  that only accredited drug test facilities within the premises of authorized LTO licensing centers be allowed to administer the drug test. For example, an applicant in Pasay city should take the test in the city; this includes medical, eye  exams and blood pressure-taking.  This will prevent applicants and fixers from securing questionable  results (and most likely, “buy” false results) from other drug  test centers.

And, this is very important, applicants must personally appear, not assign somebody else,  at the licensing center.

My friend writes that having this ONE STOP SHOP is for the convenience of the public, and within LTO’s mandate to give “Service to the Public.”

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