ORTIGAS, PASIG CITY — Members of the National Steering Committee on Women, Peace and Security (NSCWPS) convened here on Wednesday, May 27, to discuss updates in advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda across all levels of implementation.

As the chair of the NSCWPS, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), spearheads the implementation and localization of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAPWPS) by virtue of the Executive Order 865.

In her welcome remarks, Executive Director of the Peace Sustainability Cluster and Women, Peace and Security Center of Excellence, Susana Guadalupe H. Marcaida reported on the recent milestones achieved in advancing the WPS Agenda through the Center of Excellence.

“Last March, we launched the Women, Peace and Security Center of Excellence and we want to thank all who were part of that ceremonious event…We have more significant work ahead of us. Because of that launch, we are able to start putting in more people to concentrate on the work,” Marcaida said.

She also shared that the Women, Peace and Security Center of Excellence is now fully operational and has started to implement initiatives and build partnerships with the OPAPRU’S various stakeholders.

“We have received word from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Kingdom (UK) that they are supporting the Center of Excellence in three areas of concern – strengthening the center in terms of coming up with its strategic directions,” Mercaida said.

“Second is the development of different modules…in terms of capacity building, and third, their support in establishing a Conflict Sensitive and Peace Promoting (CSPP) resource pool,” she added.

The WPS Center of Excellence is currently engaging educational institutions, particularly Miriam College through its Women & Gender Institute (WAGI), as well as the University of the Philippines (UP) under its UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), as part of OPAPRU’s efforts to rally support behind the WPS Agenda.

Collaboration for capacitation

During the NSCWPS 2nd Quarter meeting, member-agencies provided updates on the initiatives they are implementing to advance the WPS Agenda.

They also requested the OPAPRU and Philippine Commision on Women (PCW) to help provide Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who can capacitate their personnel on the WPS Agenda.

The participants also shared recommendations on how to better cascade the WPS at the local level.

Department of National Defense (DND) GAD Coordinator, Marlon Peralta emphasized the crucial role of the Regional GAD Committees (RGADC) in localizing the NAPWPS.

“Bawat region, bawat agency iba’t-iba ang karanasan,” Peralta pointed out.

Marcaida agreed with Peralta, noting that it is crucial for the WPS Agenda to be adopted by organizations across all sectors of society.

Helen Dayo, Consultant of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), emphasized the need for national line agencies to cascade the WPS agenda to their personnel at the regional and provincial levels.

According to Jocelyn Balanag, a representative from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the CHED is studying the possibility of integrating the WPS Agenda in the policy standards and guidelines of higher learning institutions.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Lieutenant Colonel Janice Corazon Aquino proposed the conduct of a trainor’s training for personnel who will be tasked to cascade the WPS Agenda.

“We make sure po na integrated ang topic on WPS. We invite resource persons from OPAPRU. We recommend po sana na magkaroon po ng training of trainers to simplify the presentation na maintindihan ng mga kapulisan down to the police stations, na relatable siya,” Aquino said.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Macario Jusayan, PCW Chief GAD Specialist, emphasized the critical role of communication in effectively cascading the NAPWPS across all levels of implementation.

“The NSCWPS paves way for collaboration and communication among various line agencies,” he said.

The NSCWPS is the institutional body responsible for the implementation of the NAPWPS. It is composed of the national government’s 26 member-agencies.###