×

Warning

JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 23522

The DILG-Olongapo City Field Office facilitated a Refresher Training on the Formulation of Gender and Development Plan and Budget (GPB), as requested by the City Government of Olongapo, to provide a capacity building intervention for its GAD Focal Point System (GFPS) members from all departments of the city government. This is prior to the finalization of the city's GPB for FY 2023. The activity was aimed at providing the GFPS members with adequate knowledge to be able to formulate their respective departments' FY 2023 GPB for consolidation, and finally formulate the city's GPB. This refresher training was a follow-through activity of the GPB orientation workshop conducted by the DILG way back in 2018. Thus, the need for the training was really relevant to refresh the knowledge of GFPS members who attended in the previous activity and at the same time, orient the new GFPS members.

 After the preliminaries, the program formally started with an opening remarks delivered by DILG Olongapo City Director Amada T. Dumagat. In her message, CD Dumagat emphasized the importance of the training, as well as how the conformity and commitment of the participants serve a crucial contribution in the formulation of the city's GPB.

DILG Pampanga's LGOO VII Lydia M. Baltazar, a member of the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW)-recognized pool of Gender and Development (GAD) experts, served as the resource person. Before she started the training proper, LGOO VII Baltazar gauged the depth of the participants' knowledge in GAD by asking their backgrounds on GAD to adjust the pacing of her discussion and set the participants on equal footing for the training. She conducted the training in four parts, comprised of the Gender Mainstreaming, Gender Analysis and Benefits, GAD Planning and Budgeting, and an Open Forum.

In the open forum, participants raised few issues and concerns which were immediately addressed and clarified by the resource person. These include the use of different GAD tools as a basis in crafting the GPB, institutionalization of gathering sex disaggregated data by all departments, identification of gender issues, inclusion of Personal Services (PS) in the GPB, format of GPB to be used, and realignment and crafting of supplemental GPB.

Throughout the training, LGOO VII Baltazar kept on reminding the participants of the following important points: 1) That they are not just mere GAD focal persons of their respective departments but are members of the city GFPS; 2) gender issues exist in almost all areas; 3) for the GPB to be responsive, gender issues must be identified prior to coming up with a project or intervention, and not the other way around; and 4) that the LGU has identified all the gender issues and correspondingly, the programs, projects and activities to address them, with the necessary funds, before coming up with a working GAD budget of at least 5% of the total LGU budget.

As pronounced by the City GAD Focal Person and HRMO Head, Ms. Imelda Abad, in her closing message, a follow through activity shall be conducted to review and critic the GPBs submitted by each department or office. She also asked for the continued commitment and support of the GFP's members throughout the crafting of the city GPB 2023.