The Gender and Development Focal Point System – Technical Working Group (GFPS-TWG) conducted a meeting on May 30, 2025, in the Ituy Function Room of the Patricio Dumlao Sr. Executive Building, Capitol Compound, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

The meeting was presided over by the Population Division of the Governor’s Office, led by Population Program Officer Elvira G. Tongson, who is also the focal person of the Gender and Development Committee and Chairperson of the TWG. The agenda of the meeting included the presentation of a Monitoring and Evaluation Tool and a memorandum on an audit observation, feedback on the use of the GeRL assessment tool, and a discussion on the revised guidelines of the Magna Carta of Women.

While some topics were covered during an earlier meeting of the Gender and Development Executive Committee (GAD-EXECOM), the mandate of the GAD across the many agencies of the PLGU were front and center in the discussion. In connection with this, the Monitoring and Evaluation tool formulated by the Population Division was presented to the TWG for their initial assessment. The Monitoring and Evaluation tool is intended to be an online quarterly report adapted from the Local Budgeting Accountability (LBAC) form, meant for the reporting of every agency of their accomplishments and projects in GAD-related areas. This is meant to ease the tracking of the Population Division of the GAD accomplishments within the provincial government, especially if they are adherent to their targets and budget. The tool is still considered under discussion before it will be approved by the EXECOM and made available for practical use in the provincial government.

The discussion about the Audit Observation Memorandum centered on the use of the Harmonized Gender and Development Guide and also included the findings from recent talks among the Provincial Administration (PA), the Commission on Audit (COA), and the Department of Interior Local Government (DILG). The TWG expressed many instances of the difficulties in the reporting across offices of GAD-related work and the use of the Harmonized Gender and Development Guide. The finer points of how GAD is enacted, implemented, and reported came under discussion, as the group debated the need for a ‘fixed amount’ of projects in every agency to meet or exceed GAD standards and whether the reported projects had been assessed through the Harmonized Gender and Development Guide. Prospective solutions of benchmarking other government units and even the GAD Population Office in San Manuel, Isabela, for learning opportunities were proposed.

Ms. Tongson made a point of the fact that guidelines on a GAD Agenda on the provincial level was of yet nonexistent, and put forth the challenge of being the first province in Region 2 to create one. Ms. Tongson pointed out that some LGUs have already ‘gone the extra mile’ to create their own GAD Agenda guidelines in collaboration with the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) and DILG. The GAD Agenda itself would be good for three years for the provincial local government unit. It is wholly reliant upon the GFPS-TWG to formulate the GAD Agenda for the province.

As for the Gender Responsive Local Government Unit (GeRL) assessment tool, the Population Offfice relayed a recent regional meeting during which the gender responsiveness efforts of a recently-launched Smart City in Cauayan, Isabela, was a topic. The GeRL assessment tool, provided by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), is designed to help local government units (LGUs) gather information, monitor organizations, and identify gaps in gender and development (GAD)- related practices and mainstreaming through self-reporting. Ms. Tongson believes that there are many GAD-related projects and policies that would fit with the GeRL assessment tool and garner the PLGU more recognition.

While the GAD-TWG and the provincial government are willing to accept help and support from the relevant national agencies and stakeholders, they are also as willing to put in the work and accept the challenge of making Nueva Vizcaya a premier gender-responsive and -equal province. /igmb

[This article was initially created on Facebook – Vizcaya Reporter. For PLGU-Nueva Vizcaya updates, visit: https://www.facebook.com/vizcayareporter]