ILOILO City – The Philippine Women Commission (PCW) has recertified Iloilo as a Gender and Development Local Learning Hub (GAD LLH) for 2023-2026, noting that the province promotes women’s economic empowerment.
PCW officer-in-charge Deputy Director for Management Services Honey M. Castro, together with Iloilo Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, led the unveiling of markers on June 29 at Casa Real de Iloilo.
They were joined by Board Member Carol-V S. Espinosa-Diaz, vice chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Women and Family Affairs; Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions (LEDIP) Center head Aulynn Yue Sin; and the members of the GAD Province of Iloilo Technical Working Group.
Castro stressed that the certification signifies another milestone for the provincial government towards the realization of gender equality and women empowerment in the entire province.
“This marker serves as a reminder that GAD efforts are maintained and must be sustained in the present and for the future generation,” Castro said.
The province’s Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Program, which is being implemented by the LEDIP, was also certified as a GAD LLH until 2026 for its role in expanding women’s economic opportunities through different collaborations with other stakeholders.
The WEE program strengthens the linkages between the public and private sectors to empower women entrepreneurs. It assisted women micro-entrepreneur associations such as the Cabayogan Women’s Loom Weaving Association Facility in the municipality of Badiangan in setting up their own common-service facility.
Banias, who represented Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., on the other hand, assured that the provincial government will continue to sustain, expand and improve GAD initiatives.
Iloilo was one of the first five local government units to earn a GAD LLH certification from the PCW in 2015-2018. The province was also cited for its program on Results Based Monitoring Evaluation Framework and System – a strategy in gender mainstreaming that maps out Iloilo’s short to long term GAD targets. (With reports form PIA-6 and Balita Halin sa Kapitolyo)/PN
