The Social Development Committee (SDC) of the Regional Development Council 2 (RDC2) was recently named as the counterpart of the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) in localizing gender and development (GAD) practices in Region 02.

This designation for the SDC as the region’s GAD mainstreaming mechanism was formalized through Resolution No. 02-55-2014 which was signed by the RDC2 and its Advisory Committee during its joint meeting held on 13 October 2014 in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

On a national level, the PCW acts as the primary policy-making and coordinating body on women and gender equality concerns. This role was further expanded through RA 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women Act of 2009. The PCW is then mandated to capacitate all national government agencies and local government units to promote women’s human rights and eliminate gender-related discriminations.

To localize this mandate in the regions, the PCW taps the RDCs as the primary mechanism that would set the economic and social development agenda in the region.

For the RDC2, the SDC was recognized to best carry out the responsibility of being the region’s GAD mainstreaming mechanism. Acting on matters related to social development, the SDC is mostly composed of member-agencies that have mandates related to the fulfillment of women’s rights and elimination of gender discrimination in government systems, structures, policies, programs, processes, and procedures.

This role requires the SDC to mainstream GAD concepts in development initiatives in the region, institute monitoring mechanisms, elevate GAD-related issues and concerns for RDC2 action, and implement capacity-development programs towards providing technical assistance on GAD-related policies and concerns.

During the joint meeting, RDC2 Acting Chair NEDA Regional Director MaryAnne ER. Darauay said that putting GAD under the SDC will ensure the effective incorporation and monitoring of GAD concepts in the region’s development programs and projects. #