1. Feature: GREAT Women project creates positive change to women in Quezon
By Joselito M. Giron
Wednesday 10th of July 2013
As the Gender-Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of
Women (Great Women) Project ended its implementation in Quezon Province on May
30, it created unpredictable change to the lives of ordinary women.
The Great Women Project was started on 2008 in the towns of Real, Infanta, and General Nakar (ReINA), when the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), now Philippine Commission of Women (PCW), partnered with the provincial government of Quezon to provide an enabling environment for women’s economic empowerment (WEE) through local economic and enterprise development initiatives.
Quezon province, along with other seven provinces in the country, were picked by PCW to be the pilot areas of Great Women Project. The idea was to enhance women’s economic empowerment and provide economic access to women to productive resources such as training, technology, markets, among others to become-small and medium-scale enterprises.
Ofelia Palayan, head of Quezon Provincial Gender and Development (PGAD) office, said a baseline survey and consultation with the local chief executives in ReINA was conducted first to ensure that the needed information will be collected as bases for a more concrete planning and identification of WEE programs and services.
Palayan added that the partnership focused on building capabilities of the province for gender-responsive economic governance and gender-responsive micro-enterprises policy and program development. It was also for enhancing the province’s economic empowerment programs and services including related service delivery and monitoring and evaluation mechanism.
For almost five years, the provincial government of Quezon has implemented different programs for rural women to be more productive and become partners in countryside development.
Aside from the economic aspect, the provincial government assures the women about their opportunities according to the Gender and Development (GAD) Code in most of the municipalities. The installation of GAD resource center and the regular baseline data updating on annual basis has proved the province is highly equipped of being gender responsive.
On ensuring that women will be skilfully capable of handling economic enterprise, the Department of Trade and Industry supported the enhancement of handmade products like paper, soap, cookies, suman, herbal medicines, coco-jam, cassava chips, coco-vinegar and organically produced food products, while the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) provided new technology in upgrading these products.
Mercedita Adornado, a member of Happy Cookie Makers in Real, Quezon said the DOST trained them on good manufacturing practices on cookie making.
“Before, we earned a little that could contribute to our daily expenses, but when the DOST taught us to improve the taste and quality of our product, we are now doubling the production of cookies,” Adornado said.
PCW area local coordinator Conrado Vargas said the DTI also gave members of Happy Cookie Makers a skills training on business management. There were also provision of congressional funding from Quezon Representative Wilfrido Mark Enverga for the construction of common service facility for cookie making.
Vargas also said that the common service facility will provide the most convenient ways of cookie making and it ensures the cleanliness and quality of the product.
Because of this, most of the products of WME groups of Mauban, Quezon were elevated to product development and designing assisted by Enabling Community with Hope thru Sustainable Initiatives (ECHOsi) and they had been invited to join the Great Women Product Branding for display and selling at ECHO store in Makati and for orders by some international buyers.
Other beneficiaries of Great Women project with high gender responsive value chain development for women in small, medium economic enterprises (WSMEs) are Hardin ng Kalikasan Women’s Cooperative, Happy Cookie Makers, Bangus Debonairs (Real, Quezon); Infanta Suman Makers Association (Infanta, Quezon); KINIPAN makers of herbal medicines and organically produced foods/drinks (General Nakar, Quezon); Calauag Micro Enterprises, makers of coco jam, cassava chips, atsarang sili (pepper pickles) and coco vinegar (Calauag, Quezon); Boat Tart Makers Group, Gat-Uban Weavers and Danggit Makers (Mauban, Quezon); One Town-One Product, Rural Improvement Club (Lopez, Quezon); and Lucena Women’s Group (Lucena City).
"The GAD implementation is not only for the women, GAD is also for men and children. It’s all about opportunities, rights, and respect. But since the women are more vulnerable to violence and disrespect, they are the priority in uplifting their way of living. Strengthening of women’s economic empowerment is one of the priority programs of Quezon Governor David Suarez through capacity development and provision of livelihood training," Palayan said.
The PCW has recognized the replication of four LGUs of Calauag, Mauban, Lopez, and Lucena City on the bases of their strategic position, level of interest, acceptance and appreciation of gender development, local economic development and women economic empowerment and readiness of the LGU. The same project for women have also been implemented 11 towns.
To make the province more gender responsive, Quezon Governor David Suarez strengthened and renamed the provincial inter-agency committee against trafficking in persons and violence against women and children (PIACAT-VAWC) to provincial committee on anti-trafficking and violence against women and their children (PCAT-VAWC).
Suarez issued Executive Order No. 18 to ensure that PCAT-VAWC will institute policies and programs to protect women and children victims of trafficking and violence by formulating local ordinances and resolutions. The PCAT-VAWC will create and establish systems on surveillance, investigation and rescue to ensure effective and efficient coordination among the local government units.
The PCAT-VAWC will monitor and oversee the strict implementation of Republic Act 9208 (anti-trafficking in persons act), Republic Act 9262 (anti-violence against women and their children act) and other related laws for the protection of women and children.
Currently, the PGAD council has created "anti-trafficking referral network" composed of Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Provincial Employment Service Office, Technical Education Skills and Development Authority, Department of Education, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, and PGAD office to monitor and assist victims of human trafficking.
To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of GAD mainstreaming in the province, the PGAD council launched and implemented the provincial search for outstanding city/municipal gender and development councils (MGADCs).
For this year, the LGUs of Lopez, Quezon, and Quezon, Quezon won the major awards as outstanding local government units (LGUs) with high profile of programs in gender mainstreaming in their towns and have the comprehensive programs and projects on gender equality and women empowerment.
“One of the visions of Suarez is to empower the women economically and to protect them from violence and harassment so that they could have a good living conditions,” Palayan said.
On the other side, the organization of Men Opposed to Violence against women Everywhere (MOVE) in many towns in the province will help to lessen or eliminate violence incidence among women.
There is no more ordinary women in the province after they learned so much from the Great Women Project and they are free from any violence. (CPG/JMG/PIA4A, Quezon)
The Great Women Project was started on 2008 in the towns of Real, Infanta, and General Nakar (ReINA), when the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), now Philippine Commission of Women (PCW), partnered with the provincial government of Quezon to provide an enabling environment for women’s economic empowerment (WEE) through local economic and enterprise development initiatives.
Quezon province, along with other seven provinces in the country, were picked by PCW to be the pilot areas of Great Women Project. The idea was to enhance women’s economic empowerment and provide economic access to women to productive resources such as training, technology, markets, among others to become-small and medium-scale enterprises.
Ofelia Palayan, head of Quezon Provincial Gender and Development (PGAD) office, said a baseline survey and consultation with the local chief executives in ReINA was conducted first to ensure that the needed information will be collected as bases for a more concrete planning and identification of WEE programs and services.
Palayan added that the partnership focused on building capabilities of the province for gender-responsive economic governance and gender-responsive micro-enterprises policy and program development. It was also for enhancing the province’s economic empowerment programs and services including related service delivery and monitoring and evaluation mechanism.
For almost five years, the provincial government of Quezon has implemented different programs for rural women to be more productive and become partners in countryside development.
Aside from the economic aspect, the provincial government assures the women about their opportunities according to the Gender and Development (GAD) Code in most of the municipalities. The installation of GAD resource center and the regular baseline data updating on annual basis has proved the province is highly equipped of being gender responsive.
On ensuring that women will be skilfully capable of handling economic enterprise, the Department of Trade and Industry supported the enhancement of handmade products like paper, soap, cookies, suman, herbal medicines, coco-jam, cassava chips, coco-vinegar and organically produced food products, while the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) provided new technology in upgrading these products.
Mercedita Adornado, a member of Happy Cookie Makers in Real, Quezon said the DOST trained them on good manufacturing practices on cookie making.
“Before, we earned a little that could contribute to our daily expenses, but when the DOST taught us to improve the taste and quality of our product, we are now doubling the production of cookies,” Adornado said.
PCW area local coordinator Conrado Vargas said the DTI also gave members of Happy Cookie Makers a skills training on business management. There were also provision of congressional funding from Quezon Representative Wilfrido Mark Enverga for the construction of common service facility for cookie making.
Vargas also said that the common service facility will provide the most convenient ways of cookie making and it ensures the cleanliness and quality of the product.
Because of this, most of the products of WME groups of Mauban, Quezon were elevated to product development and designing assisted by Enabling Community with Hope thru Sustainable Initiatives (ECHOsi) and they had been invited to join the Great Women Product Branding for display and selling at ECHO store in Makati and for orders by some international buyers.
Other beneficiaries of Great Women project with high gender responsive value chain development for women in small, medium economic enterprises (WSMEs) are Hardin ng Kalikasan Women’s Cooperative, Happy Cookie Makers, Bangus Debonairs (Real, Quezon); Infanta Suman Makers Association (Infanta, Quezon); KINIPAN makers of herbal medicines and organically produced foods/drinks (General Nakar, Quezon); Calauag Micro Enterprises, makers of coco jam, cassava chips, atsarang sili (pepper pickles) and coco vinegar (Calauag, Quezon); Boat Tart Makers Group, Gat-Uban Weavers and Danggit Makers (Mauban, Quezon); One Town-One Product, Rural Improvement Club (Lopez, Quezon); and Lucena Women’s Group (Lucena City).
"The GAD implementation is not only for the women, GAD is also for men and children. It’s all about opportunities, rights, and respect. But since the women are more vulnerable to violence and disrespect, they are the priority in uplifting their way of living. Strengthening of women’s economic empowerment is one of the priority programs of Quezon Governor David Suarez through capacity development and provision of livelihood training," Palayan said.
The PCW has recognized the replication of four LGUs of Calauag, Mauban, Lopez, and Lucena City on the bases of their strategic position, level of interest, acceptance and appreciation of gender development, local economic development and women economic empowerment and readiness of the LGU. The same project for women have also been implemented 11 towns.
To make the province more gender responsive, Quezon Governor David Suarez strengthened and renamed the provincial inter-agency committee against trafficking in persons and violence against women and children (PIACAT-VAWC) to provincial committee on anti-trafficking and violence against women and their children (PCAT-VAWC).
Suarez issued Executive Order No. 18 to ensure that PCAT-VAWC will institute policies and programs to protect women and children victims of trafficking and violence by formulating local ordinances and resolutions. The PCAT-VAWC will create and establish systems on surveillance, investigation and rescue to ensure effective and efficient coordination among the local government units.
The PCAT-VAWC will monitor and oversee the strict implementation of Republic Act 9208 (anti-trafficking in persons act), Republic Act 9262 (anti-violence against women and their children act) and other related laws for the protection of women and children.
Currently, the PGAD council has created "anti-trafficking referral network" composed of Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Provincial Employment Service Office, Technical Education Skills and Development Authority, Department of Education, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, and PGAD office to monitor and assist victims of human trafficking.
To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of GAD mainstreaming in the province, the PGAD council launched and implemented the provincial search for outstanding city/municipal gender and development councils (MGADCs).
For this year, the LGUs of Lopez, Quezon, and Quezon, Quezon won the major awards as outstanding local government units (LGUs) with high profile of programs in gender mainstreaming in their towns and have the comprehensive programs and projects on gender equality and women empowerment.
“One of the visions of Suarez is to empower the women economically and to protect them from violence and harassment so that they could have a good living conditions,” Palayan said.
On the other side, the organization of Men Opposed to Violence against women Everywhere (MOVE) in many towns in the province will help to lessen or eliminate violence incidence among women.
There is no more ordinary women in the province after they learned so much from the Great Women Project and they are free from any violence. (CPG/JMG/PIA4A, Quezon)
