Former UP Cebu professor named as PCW chief

CEBU, Philippines - President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Dr. Rhodora T. Masilang-Bucoy as Chairwo-man of the Philippine Commission on Women effective yesterday. She is set to take her oath of office before the Chief Executive today in Malacañan Palace, Manila.

"I am deeply honored to serve as Chairperson of the Commission that is mandated to lead in bringing about gender equality and empowerment of the Filipino woman," she said in a statement.

Bucoy served as PCW Commissioner representing the academe sector from August 2013 to June 2016. She is also a member of PCW's Gender and Development Resource Pool. As PCW Commissioner, she played an active role in proposing resolutions addressing the need for gender-fair curriculum in the K to 12 program of the Department of Education and the concerns of indigenous women.

"We warmly welcome Dr. Bucoy back in PCW, this time as our chairperson. We have been working with her in pushing for the women's agenda at various levels of governance for years, and we trust that she will be able to bring the Commission to new heights during her term," said Executive Director Emmeline L. Verzosa who heads the PCW Secretariat.

A retired Associate Professor of Political Science and Development, and Gender Studies at the University of the Philippines Cebu, Bucoy is a recognized GAD champion, human rights advocate and practitioner, and educator. She is among the pioneers in incorporating GAD in the university curriculum, which paved the way to the creation of gender-related courses in the university. She served as chairwoman of UP Cebu's Social Sciences Division from June 2005 to June 2011.

She currently sits as member of the Regional Development Council Sub-Committee on GAD and currently the vice president of the United Nations University Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development in Cebu.

She obtained her Political Science degree from Mindanao State University-Marawi, cum laude, and Master of Arts in Political Science and PhD in Philippine Studies with core concentration in Women and Development and Political Science from the University of the Philippines Diliman. (FREEMAN)