The Negros Occidental provincial government Gender and Development budget for 2021 has increased this year and support to health programs remains a top priority, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said today, January 14.
Lacson was the speaker at the end of the two-day Negros Occidental GAD Stakeholders Conference that was capped by an appreciation ceremony for “Champions and Companions of the 2020 Provincial Gender Journey” held at the Social Hall of the Capitol in Bacolod City today.
The Negros Occidental GAD budget in 2020 was P206,832,000 and has increased to P223,600,000 this year.
Aside from health programs that will include COVID-19 vaccines, Lacson said the fund will also be allocated for technical/vocational trainings and academic scholarships of various sectors, including persons with disabilities, indigenous people and children of non-returning Overseas Filipino Workers.
The provincial government will also prioritize the improvement of five Women and Children Protection Units in hospitals, the HIV-AIDS Control Program, livelihood programs and entrepreneurship, programs for migrant workers, including the establishment of the provincial migrant resource center, Lacson added.
“Challenges are supposed to bring out the best in most people, and I am just glad that this was our shared experience with regard to our GAD advocacy,” Lacson said, in explaining why an appreciation ceremony was being held.
Lacson, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, and Marie June Castro, Executive Assistant IV and Provincial GAD Focal Point System action officer, gave certificates of appreciation to 75 “Champions and Companions of the 2020 Provincial Gender Journey” at today’s rites.
“It is undeniable that COVID-19 made women more vulnerable due to existing gender inequalities and magnified some more gender-based concerns; but our champions and companions persevered and took the steps necessary to protect the Negrense women and children, in the furtherance of empowerment and justice,” he said.
“To all offices and to everyone who braved the pandemic and remained consistent in advancing the cause of women, to those who understood the additional threats and nuisances of the Negrense women brought by the COVID crisis, thank you. You give service to humanity a higher meaning,” Lacson added.*