Police Staff Sergeant Roel Nuñez Andaya (front) teaches the basics of arnis. (Photo by Janna Pineda/PIA-NCR)

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- Female employees of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) central office in Quezon City on Wednesday, March 13, joined a basic self-defense training facilitated by the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

This initiative is part of the agency’s National Women’s Month Celebration (NWMC) with the goal of equipping women with skills that will capacitate them to attend to their personal safety when placed in dangerous situations. 

The PIA National Capital Region (PIA-NCR), in close collaboration with the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), facilitated the training towards the goal of reducing, if not eliminating, violence against women (VAW). 

The 2024 NWMC is anchored on the theme “Lipunang Patas sa Bagong Pilipinas: Kakayahan ng Kababaihan, Patutunayan!,” which calls for the transformation of gender roles where women are given the equitable opportunity to harness, realize, and showcase their full potentials. 

According to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), there were 8,399 reported cases of physical violence, 1,791 of rape, and 1,505 of acts of lasciviousness in 2021. The numbers strongly suggest the persistence of VAW despite the continuous efforts to address the social issue. 

By learning easy-to-learn self-defense techniques, women cannot only protect themselves but also help curb the instances of gender-based violence in the country. 

“There are three reasons why crime exists: opportunity, motive, and instrumentality,” QCPD Police Station 15 commander Lt. Col. Richard Mepania explained.

Police Chief Master Sergeant (PCMS) Pamela Zalariaga cited that the most valuable way in which a woman can be empowered is to teach them to protect themselves. 

“Unang una, importante sa babae na kaya niyang alagaan ang sarili niya. By way of that, kailangan may mga basic skills siyang nalalaman kung paano niya aalagaan ang sarili niya at isa na dito kung paano niya depensahan ang sarili niya sa mga imminent danger,” said Zalariaga. 

(First and foremost, it is important for a woman to know how to take care of herself. By way of that, she needs to be equipped with basic skills to protect herself and one of these is the means through which she can defend herself from imminent danger.) 

“You have the power as a woman. We are empowered because we can take care of ourselves and we have that power to protect ourselves from all kinds of harm,” she added. 

The participants were able to learn the practice of self-defense using both armed and unarmed techniques. These include basic martial arts such as taekwondo and arnis, knife-fighting skills, and gun self-defense. 

Police Staff Sergeant Roel Nuñez Andaya (left) and John Darius Cabale (right) of the Philippine National Police Taekwondo Association do a demonstration of basic knife-fighting techniques and gun self-defense. (Photo by Janna Pineda/PIA-NCR)

Ana Marie Dayag, administrative assistant at the PIA Financial Management Division and one of the training participants, underscored the strong need for women to learn self-defense as a way of preventing, resisting, and escaping violent attacks. 

Female employees actively participate in self-defense training. (Photo by: Janna Pineda/PIA-NCR) 

“Importante po ito, lalo na sa mga kababaihan. Since prone po tayo sa criminal accidents, need natin kahit na kaunting knowledge tungkol sa self-defense. At least, kahit papaano, mapro-proteksyunan po natin ‘yung sarili natin bilang babae,” said Dayag. 

(This is important, especially for women. Since we are prone to criminal accidents, we need to have essential knowledge on self-defense. At least, in our own little way, we can protect ourselves.) 

Meanwhile, Hannah Dyrlee Borbon, information officer at the PIA Planning and Communications Research Division,  highlighted the significance of the self-defense training in the further promotion of empowerment and development of physical and mental resilience. 

“The self-defense class was empowering for me because it trained us with invaluable and necessary life skills, making us feel safer and more capable in any situation, especially in times that we need it. It is essential for promoting personal safety,” Borbon noted. 

“Ang dami po namin natutunan, medyo nakaka-build po ng confidence, sana meron pa pong next pa na training (We learned a lot, it builds a bit of confidence, I hope there will be a next training),” Jumalynne Doctolero, an information officer at the PIA-NCR, said. (JMP/PIA-NCR)