The Ministry of Human Settlements and Development joined the Technical Review on Gender and Development (GAD) Programming in the BARMM, hosted by the Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC) in partnership with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) at Seda Hotel, Davao City on March 10-13, 2022.

The four-day activity served as venue for the ministries to review their GAD Program and Budget (GPB) 2022 and rechecked the GAD priorities of their respective agencies to better address gender issues based on the Harmonized GAD Guidelines (HGDG) with the guidance of key resource speakers Helen Rojas, Chief of Staff from the Office of MP Bainon G. Karon, and Bea Almoite, WFD Gender Consultant.

Juwairiyah bint Emran Mohamad, Information Officer I, presented the proposed GAD Agenda of the MHSD that is to mainstream GAD within the ministry and provide gender-sensitive service delivery.

Presented during the training that facilitated the ministries’ review were the Salient Achievements and Shortcomings of GAD in the BARMM, the WFD Scoping Report to ensure efficient data collection for future adherence to GAD Code, and the GPB Practical Guidelines.

BWC Chairperson and Parliament Member Bainon G. Karon enjoined the participants during her keynote message to keep the GAD Program in mind and heart.

She also expressed her gratitude to the audience for their participation to the activity, and looked forward to further collaborations between and among the ministries and offices.

The program formally began with opening message from Cynthia Guerra, WFD Bangsamoro Representative, and ended with identification of ways forward facilitated by the BWC, with open discussions and plenary sharing in-between presentations.

Recalibrated GAD Plans are subject to the approval and endorsement of the BWC before their actual implementation.