Atty. Romeo Cabarde, Jr. speaks in front of the crowd during the Paglantaw sa Katungod Nila Tinyo og Tinya held last November 10. Photo by Gian Sam

Five faculty researchers presented their audit on Ateneo de Davao University’s (AdDU) appropriations of Gender and Human Rights Culture during the Paglantaw sa Katungod Nila Tinyo og Tinya last November 10, 2014 at F213.

The research aims “to determine AdDU’s appropriations of gender and human rights as well as identifying where and how these appropriations are concretized in policies, structures, mechanisms, systems, research, instruction and community engagement”.

The researchers involved in the audit were Atty. Romeo Cabarde, Jr., Dr. Pilariza Racho-Baldovino, Ms. Fil-Amor Tutor, Ms. Ma. Isabel Actub, and Ms. Tetchie Aquino. “The study is exploratory,” Atty. Cabarde said of the audit, which took two years to come up with sufficient findings and results.

The Ateneo Public Interest and Legal Advocacy (APILA) Center held a Research Dissemination Forum where the researchers were able to present the highlights of their study with its findings to members of the Ateneo community.

“The findings can serve as a challenge to all of us. It can help us reflect on what can be done and on what we can contribute in the area of human rights and gender,” said Dr. Christine Diaz, Political Science Dept. Chair.

The Audit Analysis Framework was based on Levy’s Web of Institutionalization which is composed of 13 elements – resources, mainstream location of responsibility, political commitment, policy planning, procedures, pressure of political constituencies, representative political structures, staff development, women and men’s experience and interpretation of reality, delivery of programs, methodology, research, and theory building. Ms. Actub presented each of the 13 elements’ positive side and the things that must be worked on relative to those elements.

“Strong political will cannot stand alone. It needs to support a very strong political constituency among the leaders, advocates, [and] support groups within the University in order to sustain the needs on gender and human rights,” Cabarde added.