THE Naga City government’s advocacy for the promotion of women’s rights remains strong and will continue to be stronger as more gender-sensitive non-government organizations and international funding institutions are looking at city hall’s gender-related governance practices as replicable models that other LGUs should emulate.

        In an interview, Naga’s MetroPeso Manager Florencio ‘Jun’ Mongoso told the Bicol Mail that under the leadership of City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo, Naga City has been chosen by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), as one of only two pilot institutions in the country for the “Gender Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women”, or GREAT Women Project.

        The other pilot site is Palma Alliance based in Mindanao.

        The project, which has a portfolio of P240 million upon replication in six other areas or LGUs, is a microfinance initiative aimed not just at reducing income poverty but also at empowering women by enabling them to become both decision-makers and beneficiaries.

        In another interview, Mayor Robredo explained that GREAT Women was conceptualized to address the problem of lack of gender responsive enabling environment for micro-enterprises where most women are.

        The mayor stressed that women empowerment has been an integral part of Naga’s recent political history and advancement. He said that throughout his administration, women have been accorded reserved slots in his slate during every election, which at one time included a lady vice mayor. He noted that pursuance of women’s rights and interests has been passionately pursued by the lady legislators especially in the time of former City Councilors Miles Raquid-Arroyo, Nene De Asis and former Vice Mayor Lourdes Asence.

Economic empowerment
        The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) has estimated that in 2003, poverty incidence in the country stood at 24 percent, with the rural areas reflecting a higher poverty rate (40.3 percent) than urban areas (14.3 percent).

        Studies also indicate a “feminization of poverty” based on a wide inequality of income between the sexes, poor women shouldering more of the burden associated with poverty, stereotypical gender roles, and unequal relations.

        Mongoso said that even before the selection of Naga as a model LGU for the project, the city has been cited to have admirably demonstrated the mainstreaming of gender in local governance for economic empowerment.

        Home of the pacesetting Women Empowerment through Enterprise Development (WEED), Naga has been in the forefront of focusing on women in microeconomic development.

        For instance, he said, the city’s micro-enterprise development program since 1994 up to the present has appropriated the bulk of its funds to women by as much as 81% compared to only 19% for men. This amounts to over P44.0 million for women entrepreneurs compared to only P14.6 million lent to men over the past 14 years since 1994.

        Through Mayor Robredo’s endorsement, Naga entrepreneur Pura Caramat of Women Entrepreneurship Development and Advancement (WEDA), WEED’s implementing arm, has been chosen to sit as NGO representative to the Project Steering Committee of GREAT Women Project.

MetroPESO
        The MetroPeso extends its assistance to women entrepreneurs largely through WEED which is a one-stop shop that provides technical, financial, and marketing assistance to women entrepreneurs, particularly those who are considered “poor’, defined as a family with an annual income of P15,000 and below.

        Recent history will bear out that women, regardless of their status in life, political persuasion and beliefs, are a privileged sector in the city.

        In 2002, the Sangguniang Panglunsod passed the Welfare of Women Ordinance which created a tripartite mechanism that recommends policies and prepare a budget for women and monitor the implementation of laws and ordinances affecting women.

        This was followed by the Women Development Code passed in 2003 which translates into local legislation and local practices many provisions of the Women in Nation-Building Act, otherwise known as R.A 7192, and other gender related laws, including those on health, education and Violence against Women (VAW). The Code sets a GAD budget of 10 percent (higher than the national minimum provision of 5 percent) for women and development programs.

        The Code provides that: (a) all departments and agencies of the city government engaged in socio-economic programs shall ensure that at least 50% of their beneficiaries are women and implement programs and projects to further capacitate and empower them towards access to medium- and large-scale economic opportunities; (b) all banks, financial or lending institutions and cooperatives are enjoined to make available special lending windows for women, and; (c) that relevant agencies are enjoined to make available to women and the differently-abled access to science and women-friendly farming technology education and creative employment opportunities.

Women-friendly
        It is no wonder, then, that in 2004 the United Nations-Habitat and the United Nations Development Fund for Women honored Naga with an award as 2004 Women-Friendly City in its search for “Gender-Responsive Local Government in Asia-Pacific”.

        Mongoso said that expectedly this year, pending completion of documentation reports by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, the Naga City experience on women and women economic empowerment may be replicated in other LGUs in the country that would be identified by CIDA where they are adaptable.

        He said that Naga City is heavily involved in equity-building programs and projects with the private and other sectors as development partners. This, he said, is based on the principle that by giving the private sector an opportunity to practice corporate social responsibility, it will be able to address social issues which, in turn, is needed in building environment conducive to business.

        Notwithstanding Naga’s accomplishments, Mongoso admitted that there is still space to enhance gender mainstreaming.

        He disclosed that during meetings with the GREAT Women Project-CIDA design mission in November 2005, the women beneficiaries themselves underscored the continuing need for credit to help grow and expand their livelihood ventures, technology assistance to enhance their products, and support for the expansion of market linkages.

        Other perceived gaps discussed included insufficient opportunities for enterprise development, product development, market matching and common productivity facility, among others.

        Another issue that surfaced was the need to balance family responsibilities of women with their livelihood or work obligations.