Bandar Seri Begawan, 13 March 2022- Overseas Filipinas joined the Philippine Embassy in Brunei Darussalam in the world-wide celebration of International Women’s Month with a webinar titled “Babae Ako: I am Healthy, Lively and Empowered!” on 13 March 2022. The commemoration focused on empowering Filipinas in the care of their bodies towards better health.

The Philippine’s National Women’s Celebration theme this year, “Agenda ng Kababaihan Tungo sa Kaunlaran” emphasizes health as an important agenda and concern of women. The webinar was organized in collaboration with the Philippine Nurses Association - Brunei Chapter (PNA-Brunei) and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) to raise awareness and impart knowledge on women health issues, particularly on breast and cervical cancer, as well as aging and menopause.

In her message to the webinar participants, Philippine Ambassador Marian Jocelyn Tirol-Ignacio, highlighted the importance of women’s health especially during the global pandemic. “Women take on multiple roles: she is a mother, a wife, a caregiver and at the same time, she works to provide income for her family. Women play a vital role in the family, in her household, in the workplace, in the community and in nation-building. With these multiple roles, women set aside their health issues.” the Ambassador also stated. “It is important to provide women platforms and opportunities to understand their health and their bodies.” she added.

The speaker during the webinar, Dr. Tessa May E. Treñas, is an expert in the field of women’s health with over 18 years of medical experience. Dr. Treñas, a Filipino and an obstetrician-gynecologist, is a Medical Officer from the Maternal Health Services Department of the Ministry of Health, specializing in antenatal, postnatal, obstetrics and well-women medical care.

Dra. Treñas delivered a presentation on the prevention, causes, symptoms, and methods of detection of breast and cervical cancer. She also provided guidance on how to perform breast self examination, do a Kegel exercise, and spoke on the impact of aging and menopause in the life cycle of women.

The webinar was a platform for the women-participants to freely express their health concerns particularly on their reproductive health. The participants in the webinar were composed mostly of Filipina professionals and household service workers.

The webinar is part of the Embassy’s regular Gender and Development (GAD) activities that promote gender and development issues for the benefit of Filipinos in Brunei, particularly for their empowerment and enhanced productivity. It was streamed live at the Embassy’s official Facebook page to make it available to OFWs who were not able to register for the event. END