Dagupan creates local council for women

DAGUPAN CITY – To unite local women’s groups and institutionalize women empowerment, Dagupan has organized its Local Councils of Women (LCW) on June 2 in compliance with a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that mandates the creation of such group in all cities and municipalities nationwide.

Incumbent Barangay Kagawad and Federation of Parents Teachers Association (FPTCA) president Imelda Gonzales was elected president of the council during an organizational meeting led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) City Director Rhoderick M. Dawis.

Dawis said that with the creation of the LCW, the city can now join the Philippine Federation of Local Councils of Women (PFLCW), Inc., which will give vast opportunities for women to develop their entrepreneurial capabilities and remove all obstacles toward achieving self-reliance and independence.

The other officers elected were Josephine S. De Vera of the Katipunan ng Maykapansanan sa Pilipinas, Inc. (KAMPI) as vice-president; Melody Gonzales, Parents Teachers Association (PTA) member of  Bacayao Sur as secretary; Bona Mendoza, member of Samahan ng Kababaihan sa Dagupan (SAKADA),  as assistant secretary.

Lota Abenoja, Lapian ng mga Ingat Yaman ng Dagupan (LIYAB) president, as treasurer; Zenaida Sinlao of the Girl Scout of the Philippines-Dagupan, assistant treasurer; Vilma Camacho, Barangay Nutrition Scholars president,  auditor; Day Care Workers president Cathy Gonzales and Josephine Lopez of SAKADA Pantawid Pogo Grande, Press Relations Officers; and Jailyn Aquino from the Philippine National Police and Jyl Tirao of SAKADA Poblacion Oeste, business managers.

Mayor Belen T. Fernandez was elated with the creation of the LCW.

“It has been our dream to empower women in our city and become economically empowered and independent. Very soon we will be groundbreaking the city’s first women center which will respond to victims of rape, physical abuse and battered wives,” said Fernandez.  

The LCW recognizes what Fernandez has done to uplift the status of women in the city through the city-initiated livelihood program Project B.E.L.E.N. (Better Education for Livelihood and Employment Needs).

The council members asked Fernandez to continue fulfilling her commitments to the city as this is for everyone’s welfare and progress. (Joseph C. Bacani/CIO)