UGDO Bulletin - June to December 2025

University Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point Committee

The Office of the President has appointed Dr. Socorro Perpetual F Esguerra-Escarez as a member of the University Gender and Development Focal Point Committee representing the Ateneo de Manila Junior High School (AJHS) from September 2025 to July 2026. 

The University Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Committee is a vital component of the University’s GAD Focal Point System, established to comply with CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 1-2015 on Policies and Guidelines on GAD in CHED and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This mandate is rooted in the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710) and the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act (RA 7877). The Committee works closely with the President’s Council and reports directly to the University President.

Gender Sensitivity Trainings and Onboarding Sessions

Update on the Gender Sensitivity Training (GST) and Onboarding Online Module

The University Gender and Development Office sent out a GST compliance report to Vice Presidents, Cluster Heads, and Heads of Offices for SY 2024-2025 last September 2025.

For SY 2026-2027, the University Gender and Development Office, together with the University Gender Hub and the University Decorum and Investigation Office, will launch a new set of GST and Onboarding online modules. This is in line with Section 45 of the Code and Rules, which requires all University personnel to undergo mandatory refresher training every 3 years. 

The monitoring and compliance reports acted as a precursor for onsite GST and Onboarding in the following offices and schools:

Research Grant on Women and Gender

The Research Grant on Women and Gender for SY 2025-2026 was awarded to Junix Jerald I. Delos Santos, PhD (Cand.), a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology student, and to Christelle Johanna T. Reganion, MA (Cand.), a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology student. Respectively, Delos Santos’ research investigates baklang kanal as a form of intersectional resistance against interlocking systems of oppression to inform gender-inclusive policies, while Reganion’s study analyzes paternal responses to child sexual abuse disclosure to enhance survivor healing and challenge traditional caregiving norms.

The third call for applications for the Research Grant on Women and Gender will be announced at the end of SY 2025-2026.

Ms. Nadine Ismael, the first recipient of the research grant, has also published her research, “Where Women Belong: An Analysis of the Paradigm Shift from State to Market Feminism in Sweden and Europe,” in PRISMA: Gender and Education e-journal of the Philippine Normal University. 

Ismael, N. (2025). Where women belong: An analysis of the paradigm shift from state to market feminism in Sweden and Europe. PRISMA: Gender and Education e-journal, 2(2). https://ejournalprisma.com/index.php/ojs/article/view/148/17

2025 One Big Pride Activities

In October 2025, Ateneo de Manila University celebrated Pride Month with the theme “Building Inclusive Communities of Love and Solidarity.” By recognizing our diverse identities and advocating for safe spaces, the University community continues to act with love and courage for persons of all SOGIESC. This year, we took a moment to commemorate courage and cultivate trust, renewing our commitment to a “faith that does justice for all.”

Throughout the month, the University Gender and Development Office supported university units in offering a wide selection of events, activities, workshops, and discussions as the university continues to build a safer and more inclusive space across our academic, research, and community interactions.

Mass of Welcome - 10 & 24 October 2025

The Department of Theology, in collaboration with the Office of Campus Ministry, University Gender Hub, and University Gender and Development Office, hosted a Mass of Welcome and fellowship to showcase the Catholic faith’s commitment to gender justice. The mass of welcome was held on the 10th and 24th of October and was presided over by Fr. Arnel Aquino, SJ. Members of the LGBTQ+ community will serve as sharers after the homily, lectors, commentators, altar servers, and choir.

The Department of Theology continues to organize the mass to create a space where LGBTQIA+ community members feel that they are included in church, demonstrating what Jesus's table fellowship and radical inclusion look like concretely, to encourage active participation of LGBTQIA+ persons in the liturgy, and to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ concerns and struggles through collective prayer and reflection.

Free HIV/STI Testing

The University Gender and Development Office and the University Gender Hub supported the free HIV/STI testing offered by LoveYourself Inc. to the Ateneo community. These services provide avenues to encourage better sexual health and discuss well-being among members of the community. 

One Big Pride Opening and Closing Night

The One Big Pride 2025 Opening and Closing Nights, organized by the Sanggunian Commission on Gender Equality,  were supported by the University Gender and Development Office and the University Gender Hub. These events focused on increasing awareness of the current issues and situation of the LGBTQIA+ community,  creating safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community, and providing a platform for the community to showcase their talents.

For  the other activities and information about Pride Month 2025, please visit https://www.ateneo.edu/news/2025/10/06/ugdo-bulletin-pride-month-2025-building-inclusive-communities-love-solidarity

2025 Campaign to End Sexual and Gender-based Harassment

Ending this year’s campaign activities on Gender and Development and promoting safe and inclusive spaces in the University, the Ateneo de Manila University, through the  University Gender and Development Office, joined the yearly campaign to End Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) with a theme “Making All Spaces Safe for All: Continuing University Efforts to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.” This year we uphold the commitments made through the University Code of Decorum and Administrative Rules on Sexual Harassment, Other Forms of Sexual Misconduct, and Inappropriate Behavior (Code and Rules), the Higher Education Policy Statement on Building a Gender Inclusive, Gender Responsive, and Gender Safe Community, Republic Act 11313: Safe Spaces Act, Republic Act 7877: Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, and Republic Act 9710: The Magna Carta of Women.

InTACT Gender Conversation

As part of this year’s Pride Month activities and Campaign to End SGBV, the INTACT program, in partnership with the University Decorum and Investigation System, held the third iteration of Gender Conversation. The goal of this plenary gender conversation is to onboard first-year students with the University’s Gender and Safe Spaces policies and discuss topics on how to create a safer and inclusive university.

For this year’s session, INTACT cohorts proposed and selected discussion topics from their classes. On November 5 and 12, five (5) thematic discussions were conducted in Leong Hall Auditorium.

• Consent & Boundaries
• Being an Ally, the Transgender Community, and Intersectionality
• Feminism in the Everyday: Young Women’s Bodies and Sexualities
• Critical Masculinity, SOGIE 101, and Intersectionality
• Bridging Cultural Divides in the University Space: Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) and Intersectionality Analysis and Mainstreaming

BPfA+30 Report Launch

The Women’s and Gender Studies Association of the Philippines, in partnership with the University Gender and Development Office and the Rosita G Leong School of Social Sciences, organized the launch of the  BPFA+30 CSO Report on 17 November 2025. The report provided a critical assessment of the Philippines' progress and gaps after 30 years of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). The report captures the collective analysis of CSOs, highlighting not only the state of the 12 critical areas of concern (Women and Poverty, Education and Training of Women, Women and Health, Violence Against Women, Women and Armed Conflict, Women and the Economy, Women in Power and Decision-Making, Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women, Human Rights of Women, Women and the Media, Women and the Environment, and The Girl Child) but also bringing to the forefront the urgent and often overlooked issues faced by: Women with diverse SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression, and Sex Characteristics); Muslim and Indigenous women; and Elderly women.

For more information about the event, please visit https://www.ateneo.edu/features/2025/11/ateneo-hosts-launch-philippine-ngo-so-beijing-30-report

For  the other activities and information about the 2025 Campaign to End Sexual and Gender-based Harassment, please visit https://www.ateneo.edu/news/2025/11/ugdo-bulletin-campaign-end-sgbv-making-all-spaces-safe-all-continuing-university

External Linkages

• The University Gender and Development Office was invited by FEU High School through Sibika Hub, a faculty-led civic organization, to discuss and share the University’s GAD-related programs, structure, and processes on 5 July 2025.
   
• Project Ka-ginhawa of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health - Center for Research and Innovation invited Dr. Maria Elissa J. Lao as reactor during their GEDSI Strategy discussion on 29 July 2025. This is to ensure that Project Ka-ginhawa aligns with the policies and directions of the Ateneo Gender and Development Office.
   
• The Office of Ombudsman - Field Investigation Office invited the University Gender and Development Office to conduct a gender-related forum discussing the role of inclusivity of women (and LGBTQIA+ community) in good governance, nation-building, and anti-corruption on 7 October 2025.

Partnerships and Other Events

• The University Gender and Development Office facilitated a specialized learning session on Gender Research for Institute of Philippine Culture interns last 11 August 2025, featuring Ms. Jeanne Illo as the guest speaker.

• The University Gender and Development Office supported and assisted in organizing the soft launch of “Difficult”, Etta Rosales’ Biography, on 12 December 2025.