Over 85 development workers from the towns of Negros Oriental attended the Gender and Development Sensitivity Training of the Department of Social Welfare & Development in Dumaguete City recently.
The training was participated in by community facilitators, social engineers and area coordinators who have direct stake in the management of the on-going construction of various community projects of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan—Comprehensive & Integrated Delivery of Social Services, a poverty-reduction program which has gained international recognition for effectively addressing community needs.
“Mainstreaming GAD in Kalahi-CIDSS is important to minimize gender bias and essentially recognizing women’s point of view in the implementation of community projects. We encourage the inclusion of women during the construction of their projects and will have the same salary the men would have”, said Pamela Sullano, deputy regional project manager during the training.
Based on the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of DSWD, there are 7,849 women community volunteers versus 7,670 men community volunteers in Kalahi-CIDSS municipalities of Negros Oriental.
Comparing from Iloilo and Samar provinces, our areas in the region have the highest percentage of women volunteers.
During the training, the development workers gave their nod for the recall of the five percent annual budget allocation of their communities to be utilized for GAD activities which would make local governance more gender-responsive and participatory.
The GAD budget policy, which mandates all departments, bureaus, offices and agencies to set aside five percent of their total budget for gender and development concerns, was institutionalized in 1995 under the General Appropriations Act.
Executive Order 273 mandates government agencies, including local government unit to allocate funds for the implementation of a GAD plan.
As an offshoot of the training, the participants came up with a gender and development plan for 2013 which will be integrated into their implementation activities in their assigned areas.
The activity was funded by the Millennium Challenge Corp., a funding agency created by the US congress for development pursuits. MCC is committed to ensuring that gender is considered at all stages of its work with partner countries–from policy reform to project development and implementation.
“Believing in gender equality is recognizing the fact that the fullness of our being is realized with and through our opposites” said Rogelie Borbon from MCA-Philippines.
MCC is the same funding agency providing finance support to implement the 56 community projects currently being completed in the Province including farm-to-market roads, water systems, day care and barangay health centres, school-buildings, footbridges, flood-controls, and a rainwater harvester — all identified, prioritized and conceptualized by the communities themselves illustrating the technology of community-driven development. (PR)
