Pangasinan Today

 By AUDREY D. HIDALGO

 Managing Editor

LINGAYEN – A 12,000-strong group of Pangasinenses is preparing to launch a program designed to lead women in participating into entrepreneural and livelihood activities.

The move forms part of the province’s participation in the celebration of the women’s month this March.

This year’s theme for the celebration is: CEDAW ng Bayan Yaman ng Kababaihan.

The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Descrimination Against Women (CEDAW), serves as an urgent call to raise the consciousness of women of their rights and empower them become strong and self- sufficient individual.

For its part, the provincial government of Pangasinan, through its provincial social welfare office, has organized a group called the provincial federation of Kalipunan ng Liping PIlipina (KALIPI) with a mission of encouraging women especially in the grassroot level to participate in the development efforts for their own advancement.

Provincial Social Welfare Officer Emilio P. Samson. Jr. said the KALIPI, which is now on its fifth year, has been organized in compliance with the provisions of Republic Act 7192 of the Local Government Code of 1991 or Women in Development and Nation Building Act.

The passage of RA 7192 aims to promote the integration of women as full and equal partners of men in nation building.

In response to the call to raise the consciousness of women about their rights and to empower them to become strong and self-sufficient individual, the KALIPI is doing its best to encourage women in Pangasinan to participate in socio-economic activities in the province.

The province’s KALIPI group led by all municipal social welfare development officers helps community- based women aged 18-59 years old involve themselves in entrepreneurial and livelihood activities.

Consolacion A. Penulliar from Mapandan is the newly-elected president of the KALIPI in Pangasinan.

Samson also added that the KALIPI is mebarking on “Program Edification for Best Practices” or lakbay Aral, as one of the activities for celebrating the women’s month for this year.

The activity aims to seek innovative practices on edification from other KALIPI group of other regions specially on various women empowerment programs.

Along with this, a seminar on resources generation, mobilization and micro- financing, shall also be conducted by the group.

Relative to this, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), the country’s lead agency, through its memorandum circular, has called on all local government units (LGUs) to focus on the need to generate resources to finance initiatives on gender equality and empowerment of women.