Naga receives newest award as G&D learning hub

NAGA CITY --- This city has been awarded anew by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) as a learning hub of pro-women empowerment innovations. The city first received the recognition in 2015 when two of its women empowerment programs, namely, Bantay Familia (founded and headed by Councilor Cecilia Veluz De Asis) and the GROW Negosyo program which City Mayor John Bongat started in 2010 and has since been implemented by MetroPESO headed by Reuel Oliver stood out as the country’s pro-women best practices. This year, aside from the two aforementioned sustained programs that have been recertified by the PCW, the city’s aggressive Breastfeeding Program, which is being implemented by the City Population and Nutrition Office (CPNO) headed by Baby del Castillo, emerged as another best practice. The women and men behind the success of the three best practices also include the officers of the Naga City Council for Women (NCWW) headed by Marivic Vargas Balane and all the Barangay Councils for Women (BCWs) members in the 27 barangays of Naga who help make and sustain the city as a more inclusive and gender-friendly community.