Senator Loren Legarda joined the women of Occidental Mindoro for the celebration of Women’s Month and led the opening of the 2018 MIMAROPA Regional Athletics Association (RAA) Meet on Monday, March 12, 2018.
During the Women’s Month celebration in San Jose, Legarda stressed the important role of women in homes and in the society as a whole as she shared the laws that have been enacted to protect the rights and welfare of women including the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, Magna Carta of Women, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and Domestic Workers Act.
“In my three terms as senator, I have authored laws to help protect women, such as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act that aims to prevent human trafficking, which usually victimizes women and children. We amended this in 2012 to punish even acts of attempted trafficking and expand coverage of protection for trafficked victims,” said Legarda, stressing that human trafficking now happens via cyberspace and trafficking modes continue to evolve over time as perpetrators of the crime seek to outflank policies and regulations of government.
Moreover, the Senator also explained laws she authored that will support female entrepreneurs, such as the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the Barangay Kabuhayan Law.
“These two laws complement each other since recipients of the livelihood and skills training programs in the centers established under the Barangay Kabuhayan Law may well avail of the funding and technical support that are now available under the MSMEs Act. These laws can help us in our goal to empower women to participate in economic activities,” she said.
The Magna Carta for MSMEs (R.A. 9501) provides more assistance to MSMEs through increased loan allocation for micro and small businesses, access to new technologies, and regular entrepreneurship training programs for workers as well as a comprehensive development plan that would ensure the viability and growth of MSMEs in the country.
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The Barangay Kabuhayan Law (R.A. 9509) mandates the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide support to all 4th, 5th and 6th class municipalities in formulating and conducting livelihood programs for their poor constituents.
Legarda said that for 2018, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has a budget of one billion pesos for the Shared Service Facilities (SSF), which aims to improve the competitiveness of MSMEs by providing them with machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills and knowledge under a shared system.
The Senator also shared the highlights of the 2018 budget that will benefit Filipinos, including women and children, such as the free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs), and state-run technical vocational institutions; free access to healthcare services in all government hospitals even those not enrolled in PhilHealth; increasing the chalk allowance of public school teachers; increasing the salary of police and military personnel to better our communities, among many others.
Meanwhile, Legarda also led the opening of the MIMAROPA Regional Athletic Association (RAA) Meet of more than 6,000 delegates comprising mainly of the athletes, trainers, coaches, and local government officials from the five provinces in the region.
The MIMAROPA RAA Meet is a yearly regional sports competition. This is an avenue to select the set of athletes and players who shall comprise the Region’s delegation to Palarong Pambansa come this April 2018.
In addressing the participants, Legarda said, “I salute our athletes because of your determination and hard work. The trainings you need to go through are not easy. I know that all of you are determined to win. In the end, whether you win or lose, the more important thing is to give your best and allow the experience to make you a better person. Be grateful for the opportunity.”
Legarda stressed that the RAA Meet, as well as other similar events, is not only geared towards sports development but is also a venue for instilling the values of self-discipline, respect for law and order, sportsmanship and camaraderie. It prepares the youth for life’s greater challenges and to become responsible citizens and future leaders. –Marinduquenews.com
