MARCH 14- MARCH 20, 2021


4 OPINION EDITORIAL


Roll-out the vaccines


Negros Oriental has finally started vaccinating frontliners against the coronavirus disease. As of Friday, 1,067 frontliners received the Sinovac vaccine. This was taken from the first shipment of 5,000 vials of the vaccine that arrived two weekends ago. There are about 2,500 health workers


METROPOST


directly involved in managing COVID-19 cases in three of the major hospitals of Dumaguete who are in the priority list for vaccination. Health workers from other hospitals and district hospitals in Negros Oriental are also scheduled to receive their vaccines from the next batch that is expected to arrive soon. The doctors who received the vaccine are doing well, and look forward to their second dose next month.


ATTY. WHELMA SITON-YAP ECON 101


This is hoped to generate a lot of public interest in getting the vaccine, especially because we need to vaccinate at least 700,000 people in Negros Oriental in order to achieve herd immunity against the CoViD-19 virus.


experimental stage, and are not yet commercially-available. The vaccines have differing efficacy rates, and have different reviews. It is not surprising, therefore, that people prefer one type of vaccine over another. However, more and more doctors agree that the best vaccine is the one that is readily-available. For those who have received their jabs, they say the best vaccine is the one already in your arm.


herd immunity by next year, keeping in mind that the best vaccine is what we can get at that very moment. Have a COVID-free week!


So let’s all look forward to achieving All the vaccines are still in the whelmayap@yahoo.com


rights instruments, and has successfully enacted policies and laws for the protection and promotion of women’s rights. But a gap is apparent in the implementation of policies and programs.


T


is recognized, in almost all aspects of society, even taking leadership roles, including the Presidency of the republic. Women’s representation


in politics, though improving, continues to be low: less than 20 percent of the seats in Congress, and 13 percent in the Senate are occupied by women.


be done to support women’s rights. Almost all the women in political positions come from generations of politicians, or are related to male family members who are politicians. Per public data today, more than 10 million Filipino women continue to live in poverty, with rural and indigenous women being the most vulnerable.


More measures need to In Asia, the Filipino woman


he Philippines is a signatory to international human


Maternal mortality and access to reproductive health care services are among the most pressing concerns, as 11 women die every day due to pregnancy and childbirth- related causes.


According to a 2004-2010 Report on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, one in five Filipino women, or 4.6 million, have


experienced physical violence since age 15. The International Labor Organization reports that less than half (45.9 percent) of working age women are able to access decent and productive employment, compared to three in every four males (72.6 percent) of working age. In fact, more than half of


According to the HIV/AIDS Registry of the Department of Health, 24 percent of the reported 5,233 cases as of June 2010 are women. Gender disparities in education favor girls, with higher enrollment and completion rates than boys, which compromise the development of gender-equal education opportunities. While the nation struggles


Women empowerment


the women who are working as OFWs especially in the Middle East are domestic workers who are constantly exposed to all forms of abuses.


men receive 20 percent higher wages than women.


PONCIANO LIGUTOM BOW & ARROW pligutom@yahoo.com


Member, Philippine Press Institute


ALEX REY V. PAL Publisher & Editor-in-Chief (On-leave) IRMA FAITH B. PAL Managing Editor


JOEL V. PAL Online News/North America Editor RICHLI D. AVES Cartoonist


2018 National Awardee: Best in Photojournalism 2017 National Awardee: Best in Photojournalism 2017 Best in Visayas: Best in Photojournalism, Best Editorial Page, Best Edited Community Newspaper 2016 Best in Visayas: Best in Photojournalism, Best in Environment Reporting, Best Editorial Page, Best Edited Community Newspaper 2007 National Awardee: Best Editorial Page


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ground to a halt. He started to miss his work and felt uneasy doing nothing all day long. He tried landscaping and reading books but something in him wanted to do more. He started to reconnect with his friends but they were still at the peak of their careers and did not have much time for him. His self esteem dropped and was on the verge of depression.


A


Research shows that retired men are 40 percent more likely to experience depression than employed men


friend of mine recently retired. Suddenly his very busy lifestyle


tough adjustment. It may not scare us until we are actually there. This is an entirely new experience after working for decades and following a routine or patterns of doing things daily. Perhaps no other stage of life triggers such intense feelings of excitement and liberation on one hand,


Retirement is traditionally seen as a well- deserved rest/vacation after long years of hard work. The thought of retirement may be exciting for some, lonely, difficult, terrifying, riddled with health issues and worries over finances for others. It is a major transition that requires


but on the other, fear and anxiety. Yet, it is often taken for granted. Does our workplace prepare us for this stage? The Civil Service Commission has a program for retiring personnel but may not have been taken seriously by many government offices. It maybe safe to say that more people spend time planning a wedding than planning for retirement.


What is the best way to deal with challenges after you retire? Prepare! It is best


to know and understand the retirement landscape to avoid a retirement landslide. Instead of viewing it as the end of the book consider it a new or added chapter. What does successful retirement really look like? Keeping the right mindset and perspective on aging? Getting adequate funds to keep oneself going?


Retired but not tired...


While one needs money for retirement, equally important is finding personal purpose and social relevance. Lee Iacocca (former Ford Motor and Chrysler CEO) says that psychological preparation should come before the financial consideration. Meaning the financial and psychological portfolio go together.


In the agricultural sector,


towards the achievement of sustainable human development, the UN recognizes gender equality as a basic human right, and support is provided to governments and other stakeholders to include gender and human rights in policies and programs. The Magna Carta of


Women, translating the CEDAW into national policy, was signed into law in 2009, with support from the UN. It was a historic step forward in upholding women’s rights, promoting gender equality and ensuring the elimination of discrimination against women.


The law grants women, especially those in the marginalized sectors, the full enjoyment of their rights. In July 2010, the Philippine Commission on Women, in partnership with UN Development Program, launched the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the Magna Carta of Women, together with the UNDP 2010 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report on “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”.


This potent implementation mechanism leads the way for the advancement and economic empowerment of women, and calls, among other things, for gender balance in government positions within the next five years.


Closing these gaps would allow everyone to have equal footing, and women, in particular, would gain a more significant share of control over the material, human, intellectual, political and financial resources. More importantly, the political involvement of women “implies the decentralization of power and authority in the deprived, oppressed, and powerless people who have not been able to participate in the decision-making process and the implementation of policies and programs of both government and organizations as well as familial and societal matters”. As we say: If you want something done, ask a woman!


or longer. What activities, interests and lifestyle would be compatible? It is said that there are


five challenges in retirement that we underestimate: 1) What got you here won’t get you there; 2)Change is hard; 3)Transitions are even harder; 4) You’ll never have enough time; 5) Priorities won’t magically change. In relation to my own retirement I researched and found that there is no one- size-fits-all solution, but there are ways to carry the relevancy of work life into retirement. Co ns truc ting a framework for retirement should start at least three to five years before the planned date. Assessment and course correction occurs about a year before. A year or so after retirement, the honeymoon period will likely have waned; it’s time then to review how things are going. Give yourself another couple of years for retired life to become your new normal. That’s a six- to eight-year journey that will require flexibility and resilience.


In this anticipation stage, ask yourself how you’ll spend time in retirement, which could span 25 years


Once a person retires, he is past the imagination stage and its fantasies, hopes and


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