Full TEXT:

ORDINANCE NO. 2024-120

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE OF THE CITY OF NAGA, CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREOF:-

Author: Hon. Gilda Gayle R. Abonal-Gomez

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (PPGD) 1995-2025, approved and adopted through Executive Order No. 273, mandates agencies and local government units to institutionalize Gender and Development (GAD). This 30-year perspective plan outlines policies, strategies, and programs that would allow women to “participate in and benefit from national development.” Gender and Development Program is defined in the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710) as the development perspective and process that is participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of self-determination, and actualization of human potentials. The Magna Carta of Women pushes government’s action by adopting gender mainstreaming as a strategy to promote and fulfill women’s human rights and eliminate gender discrimination in government systems, structures, policies, programs, processes, and procedures. Through gender mainstreaming, it is ensured that the government pursues gender equality in all aspects of the development process.

In support, the Naga City government’s vision for 2030 aims for people-centered development “that promotes and protects the general welfare of Nagueños, especially the vulnerable, in building a more caring and sustainable society.” In effect, it calls for an empowered society that fully recognizes, respects and promotes gender equality to all its citizens, including women. Thus, through Ordinance No. 2000-012, the Naga City Council for Women (NCCW) was created to serve as a coordinating mechanism to harmonize efforts on women development. Consequently, the NCCW is recognized as the city’s Gender and Development Focal Point System (GFPS) through Executive Order 2017-010, as mandated by Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Budget and Finance (DBM) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2013-01 or the Guidelines on the Localization of the Magna Carta of Women.

Given this development through which the NCCW is entrusted not only with women concerns but gender as a whole, Section 36 of Ordinance No. 2019-037, or the Naga City Gender and Development Code, provides for the strengthening of the Naga City Council for Women to become the Naga City Gender and Development Council (NCGADC) to act as the lead in “catalyzing and accelerating gender mainstreaming efforts of the city government,” creating therein the NCGADC Secretariat to assist the NCGADC Board and Executive Committee in the performance of their functions.

Therefore, be it ordained by the Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Naga, that:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Ordinance shall be known as the “NAGA CITY GAD OFFICE.”

SECTION 2. PURPOSE. This ordinance is proposed to establish a formal office meant to oversee the gender and development program and service implementation in the LGU.

SECTION 3. DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES. The City Government of Naga adheres to the principle of equality across gender women, men and the LGBTQIA+, that all can contribute to nation-building, with shared responsibilities and benefits thereof.

SECTION 4. DEFINITION OF TERMS. As used in this ordinance, the following terms shall mean as follows:

4.1. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions, and identities of women, men, and gender-diverse people.
4.2. Gender and Development (GAD) – refers to the approach that recognizes that all development planning, policies, and projects must reflect gender sensitivity about and gender awareness of the different roles that women, men, and LGBTQIA+ play in societies, differences in their access to and control over resources and the differential impacts of the development process.
4.3. Gender Awareness – the ability to identify problems arising from gender inequality and discrimination, even if these are not evident on the surface and are “hidden” or are not part of the general and commonly accepted explanation of what and where the problem lies.
4.4. Gender Equality – refers to the principle asserting the equality of women, men, and LGBTQIA+ and their right to enjoy equal conditions, realizing their full human potential to contribute to and benefit from the results of development, and with the State recognizing that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights.
4.5. Gender Sensitivity – refers to the ability to understand and consider the sociocultural factors underlying gender-based discrimination, socialization of women, men, and LGBTQIA+ into certain behaviors or opportunities, power relations, as well as the different needs, problems, and levels of access to resources that they have.
4.6 GAD Focal Point System – an interacting and interdependent group of people in all government instrumentalities tasked to catalyze and accelerate gender mainstreaming. It is a mechanism established to ensure and advocate for, guide, coordinate, and monitor the development, implementation, review, and updating of GAD plans and GAD-related programs, activities, and projects (PAPS).
4.7 GAD Perspective – the ability to analyze the socio-economic, political, cultural, and psychological implications of an issue to understand how the difference between the sexes affects and is affected by policies, programs, and projects. It assesses how these factors relate to discrimination based on sex and how they impose obstacles to a person’s opportunities and self-development.
4.8 Gender Analysis – a framework to compare the relative advantages and disadvantages faced by women, men, and LGBTQIA+ in various spheres of life, including the family, workplace, school, community, and political system. It also takes into account how class, age, race, ethnicity, culture, social, and other factors interact with gender to produce discriminatory results.
4.9 Gender Issues – the problems and concerns that arise from the unequal status of women and men, including the differential characteristics, roles, and expectations attributed by society to women and men.
4.10 Gender Mainstreaming – the strategy for making concerns and experiences of women, men, and LGBTQIA+ an integral part of the design, implementation, and monitoring, and evaluation of policies programs in all political, economic, and societal spheres so that they can benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. It is the process of assessing the implications across gender of any planned action, including legislation, policies, or programs in all areas and at all levels.
4.11 Gender-Responsiveness – the consistent and systematic attention given to the differences among women, men, and LGBTQIA+ in society with a view to addressing structural constraints to gender equality or the capacity of individuals, groups, or institutions to substantively address gender-related issues, presumes capacity to do gender analysis, willingness to allocate resources for these issues, and the capacity to collect ad use sex-disaggregated data and gender-related information for gender analysis and tracking of results.
4.12 Sex-Disaggregated Data – the statistical information that differentiates among women, men and LGBTQIA+ and allows one to see where the gaps are in their position or condition or statistical information to allow differential impacts to be measured.

SECTION 5. STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION. The GAD Office will be a division under the City Mayor’s Office and will have the following composition:

1. Supervising Administrative Officer assists the Executive Department in the planning, development, and implementation of gender-responsive programs and services among the different departments/offices in the LGU in accordance with the provisions of the Magna Carta of Women and the Naga City Gender and Development Code; with bachelor’s degree, has three (3) years of relevant experience, knowledgeable of Gender and Development (GAD) or related programs, advocacies and services; Career Service Professional/Second Level eligibility and with compensation not lower than Salary Grade (SG) 22.
2. Project Development Officer II assists the IGDO in the development, design, and implementation of programs and services for the LGU and provides guidance to the barangays in their own development and implementation of gender-responsive programs and services; with Bachelor’s degree relevant to the job, one (1) year relevant experience, knowledgeable of Gender and Development (GAD) or related programs, advocacies and services; Career Service Professional/Second Level eligibility and with compensation not lower than Salary Grade (SG) 15.
3. Administrative Officer I attends to the management of the office, including its personnel concerns and records, with bachelor’s degree, Career Service Professional/Second Level eligibility, and with compensation not lower than Salary Grade (SG) 10.
4. Administrative Aide IV assists the Administrative Officer in the operations of the office, with completed two (2) years of study in college, Career Service Sub-Professional/First Level eligibility, and with compensation not lower than Salary Grade (SG) 4.

SECTION 6. FUNCTIONS OF THE GAD OFFICE. The GAD Office takes a lead role in ensuring the city’s gender-responsiveness across its plans, programs, and services. Specifically, it shall:

1. Lead the assessment of the gender-responsiveness of policies, plans, programs, and services of the city and ensure its implementation.
2. Monitor the effective implementation of the GAD Code, GAD plans, programs and activities both from barangay and city level.
3. Conduct capacity-building activities aimed towards GAD mainstreaming, such as, but not limited to, gender sensitivity training, gender-responsive planning, and budgeting, and conduct a gender analysis of issues and concerns both from city and barangay levels.
4. Establish GAD Focal Point systems and mechanisms in each department within the city government and in barangays for better coordination and monitoring of its efforts to integrate GAD perspectives in all its systems and processes.
5. Lead the generation of GAD database to serve as basis for gender-responsive planning and budgeting.
6. Lead the conduct of advocacy activities and development of information, education and communication materials on GAD.
7. Spearhead the preparation of the city government’s annual GAD Plan and Budget in response to women and gender issues.
8. Lead the preparation of the annual city GAD Accomplishment Report, GAD Database report, Violence Against Women report and other related reports for submission to DILG, PCW and COA.
9. It will serve as the secretariat of the Naga City Gender and Development Council.

SECTION 7. FUNDING. The budgetary requirements necessary for the effective implementation of this ordinance will be charged against the Gender and Development fund.

SECTION 8. REPEALING CLAUSE. All ordinances, resolutions, memorandum circulars, rules, and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 9. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 10. EFFECTIVITY. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

ENACTED: October 8, 2024

WE HEREBY CERTIFY to the correctness of the foregoing ordinance.

GIL A. DE LA TORRE
Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

CECILIA B. VELOZ-DE ASIS
City Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

GLORIA SF. COROD
Senior Citizen Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

JOSEFA B. RUSTIA
City Senior Citizen Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

APPROVED:

NELSON S. LEGACION
City Mayor

CORAZON S. ABESA
City Senior Citizen Mayor