CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) -- Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) were recognized by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) for their gender and development (GAD) initiatives.
 
The GADchievement Award and Outstanding Regional Gender and Development Committee (RGADC) Secretariat Award were conferred to RDC and NEDA, respectively during the 2nd Gender and Development Transformation & Institutionalization through Mainstreaming of Programs, Agenda, Linkages & Advocacies (GADtimpala) for Regional GAD Mechanisms Awarding Ceremony. 
 
During the awarding, PCW Deputy Executive Director for Operations Maria Kristine Josefina Balmes said the awards are a result of the GAD advocates’ relentless hard work, unwavering dedication, and commitment in upholding the rights of women, championing gender equality, and ensuring the full integration of gender mainstreaming at the regional and local levels. 
 
“What makes this awards extra special is that, most of the major accomplishments that we evaluated were demonstrated during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic or from 2020-2022. This clearly shows that our RGADCs continue to demonstrate resilience and dedication during those challenging circumstances. Despite the unprecedented changes to our daily life, our RGADCs also continue to take positive changes by introducing innovations, at the same time, advancing gender mainstreaming at the local levels,” she stressed. 
 
Meanwhile, PCW OIC Deputy Executive Director for Management Services Honey Castro urged the awardees to embrace this moment of recognition as a call to action and a call to redouble their efforts and strive for even bigger impact. 
 
“While you have made significant strides as a regional GAD mechanism or individually as dedicated GAD champions, influencing processes, policies, programs, and values as gender-sensitive or gender-responsive, there is still much more to that. Your accomplishment has made a solid foundation but they also come with responsibility to continue pushing boundaries, effecting positive change, and advancing gender equality and women's empowerment,” she said. 
 
RDC was feted with the GADchievement Award for championing exceptional policies and resolutions that exemplify its unwavering support and dedication to advancing gender equality and cultivating inclusive development. 
 
“Ultimately, our initiatives will all boil down to what we want in terms of the outcome, which is gender equality. We have very good laws passed and what is needed is to make sure that these laws and policies will be implemented and redound to gender equality,” NEDA Regional Director Nerissa Esguerra said. 
 
NEDA, on the other hand, received the Outstanding RGADC Secretariat Award for exceptionally providing effective and efficient technical and administrative support to RGADC which results in the successful implementation of its plans, projects, and activities; and playing a pivotal role in enabling the committee to perform its roles and functions. 
 
This award serves as a validation of our relentless effort to sustain programs and activities related to GAD, and accomplish all these flourishingly. The world is evolving, and so should our advocacy strategies. We will continue to innovate. We will continue to collaborate. The RGADC will never waver to continue reaching greater heights on GAD,” RGADC Chairperson and Commission on Higher Education OIC Regional Director Lora Yusi said. 
 
The GADtimpala for Regional GAD Mechanisms is anchored on PCW’s GADtimpala and aims to recognize the efforts and contributions of regional GAD mechanisms in advancing gender mainstreaming at the regional and local levels and acknowledge individuals for championing and catalyzing gender mainstreaming at the local level. 
 
It is pursuant to Republic Act No. 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women which mandated PCW to establish an incentives and awards system to recognize deserving entities, national government agencies, local government units, and other government instrumentalities for their outstanding achievement and/or performance in upholding the rights of women and effective implementation of gender-responsive programs. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)