I was eager to say goodbye to 2020 and was looking forward to 2021 with much hope and enthusiasm. But the non-stop rains since the early morning of Dec. 31, caused rivers and creeks to overflow and flooded many barangays of the Third District in northern Negros, specifically the cities of Victorias, Talisay, and Silay (where I live), and the municipality of E.B. Magalona (where I grew up).
My spirit for celebration was dampened when I thought about my friends and some relatives and the thousands of Negrenses who, instead of attending mass (face-to-face or online) then gathering for the family media noche, were either busy trying to secure their lives and properties they can save, or were being rescued by volunteers, while the flood waters subsided by midmorning of Jan. 1.
The following days in our barangay were still gloomy and rainy, and I was afraid that the flood would occur again if it continued to rain.
As reports on the extent of the damage of the flood were coming in, I could not help but feel the grief of the family of a young man who was missing and was later found dead in another barangay in Victorias, the pain of those whose homes were damaged and the losses suffered by business establishments on the very first day of the year because their stocks, either got wet and unusable, or unfit for consumption or were swept away by the rampaging waters.
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Late last year, in the wake of consecutive typhoons and other natural disasters and calamities, government agencies and various organizations responded by transporting relief goods and emergency kits to affected areas. The need for food and water, of course, is prioritized. However, there is one particular group of survivors who have specific needs related to their well-being.
My organization, Young Feminists Collective, included underwear, sanitary napkins and diapers as part of our relief donations to victims of Typhoon Ulysses in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela in Luzon. Very recently, we have also donated for some families in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
Another policy advocacy that we have started last year and wish to continue is advocating for the localization of the Safe Spaces Law in LGUs.
The Teenage Pregnancy Bill, or the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, is also pending at the Senate and House of Representatives. The measure aims to give teenagers full and comprehensive information that could help them prevent early and unintended pregnancies.
Some of our members who are with The Asia Foundation are working with the Emergency 911 National Office to include VAWC emergencies in the government’s existing, toll-free National Emergency 911 hotline. We are also looking at establishing a Gender-based Violence response mechanism in Local Government Units through the enactment of ordinances.
These are only some of the issues that we are working on or will work on for the year 2021. We wish to include more women and men, especially younger women and men to our advocacy. – NWI
