Originally published in Gender-Responsive Local Governance: LGU Experiences in Using the GAD Budget with the permission of Hon. Jesse M. Robredo, Mayor, Naga City, 2004. This case study was written by Atty. Mila Raquid-Arroyo, Councilor, Naga City and author , Women Development Code of Naga City.

"In 1996, Naga City received the Habitat II 1996 Top 40 World Best Practices award for its "Kaantabay sa Kauswagan" Program – the City's program for the urban poor conferred in Istanbul, Turkey by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) ; in 1998 the City received the 1998 Top 10 Best Practices Award conferred by the UNCHS-Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment for its Naga City Participatory Planning Initiatives (NCPPI); in 1999, Asiaweek cited Naga City as one of the four most improved cities in Asia, in recognition of its participative processes, strong democratic traditions, and commitment to excellence; in 2001, the UNCHS selected Naga City as one of the 2001 Top 15 Most Inclusive Cities in the World; in 2002, the City received the 2002 CyberCity Award conferred by the UNDP-TUGI for its website and ICT initiatives; in March 2004, Naga City was awarded as one of the Three Most Gender-Responsive Local Governments in Asia-Pacific; and in June 2004, Naga City received the UN Public Service Award at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA."

Naga City has evolved a system of governance which has been recognized as a model in local government administration. The city has received more than fifty national and international awards for its innovative approaches to governance. At the core of these innovations is the policy that empowers its constituents to meaningfully and effectively participate in local governance. This case shows how the city government lives up to its commitment to people's empowerment through the implementation of gender-responsive programs and projects. For these efforts, the Naga City government was chosen by the United Nations – Habitat as one of the three Gender-Responsive Local Governments in Asia-Pacific.

Overview

A country's laws are the hallmark of its people's collective sense of justice. This is true especially when the laws become the touchstone by which inequities and inequalities in society are addressed and redressed. Many laws addressing the concerns of women in the Philippines have been passed, inspired by local issues and by such international developments as the World Conferences on Women, the International Conference on Population and Development, and the Conference on the Social Reform Agenda. Much has been accomplished in terms of policy and institutional responses to gender issues at the national level. However, the same cannot be said of the local level responses, primarily because of the tedious process involved before a law gets passed, and the existence of a gap between the legislative intent or spirit of the law, on the one hand, and the executive interpretation of the same law, on the other.

The passage of the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160) has, however, ushered in a new and revolutionary perspective in local governance, and presented local government units with tremendous opportunities for local action. For the Local Government of Naga City, the principles of decentralization and autonomy enshrined in the Local Government Code strengthened its resolve to "seize the day" and innovate on various aspects of local governance in order to accomplish better things for its constituents.

One such innovation is the institutionalization of the city government's partnership with the private sector through the passage of the Empowerment Ordinance (Ordinance No. 95-092) in 1995. This ordinance gave institutional identity to the Naga City People's Council (NCPC) and empowered it to directly participate as member of the different standing and special committees of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) and of the different committees, task forces, councils, and boards of the City Government. The NCPC is composed of the accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people's organizations (POs) in the city.

Independent women's organizations form part of the NCPC. As of 2003, there were 10 (out of 105) women NGOs/POs in the NCPC. Moreover, of the present NCPC PO/NGO members, 39 are women-led. In partnership with these organizations and its other constituents, the Naga City government has pursued innovations in addressing the concerns of women. Mechanisms and programs have been put in place, the most recent being the creation of the Naga City Council of Women in 2000, the formulation of the Women's Development Agenda in 2002, and the passage of the Women's Development Code in 2003. Naga City's progressive and innovative approach to gender-responsive governance recently earned for it the UN-Habitat Award as one of the three Gender Responsive Local Governments in Asia-Pacific. Some gender issues in Naga City Secondary and primary data on the situation of women in Naga point to the following gender issues in the city:

• Poverty, which afflicts 40% of the population, and women and men equally. However, women are more disadvantaged than men because household work hampers their (women's) full participation competency-based occupation, thus their lower labor force participation rate;
• Gender tracking for both college and vocational choices;
• Gender stereotyping, especially in the media, despite efforts of some women's groups (such as Women Information and Referral Exchange and AN Bikol Women) to address this;
• Inadequate access to health services among 38 – 42% of the women in the city. A related health issue is that 95% of the City Health Office's STD clients are women, mostly working as GROs and/or prostitutes;
• Incidence of violence against women, such as wife beating, marital conflict, physical maltreatment, inadequate financial/economic support, and rape. Victims claim violence is spurred by their partner's insecurity, such as when the women get a job or refuse to have sex; drunkenness; infidelity; or a mere sense of superior strength or power.

The Naga City government's initiatives for women empowerment and development

Women play a fairly active role in the Naga City government. They occupy about 41% of first level and 56% of second-level employees. Ten offices are headed by women, in the following sectors: law (PAO, RTC, and MTC), health (Hospital, and Population and Nutrition), finance (Audit and Accounting), information/education (Public Library and Civil Registry), and human resource management.

Of the city's 12 elective officials, three are women, all City Councilors. There are four women, out of 27 barangay captains; eight of 27 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairpersons; 10 of some 500 barangay peace and security officers or barangay police; seven of 127 personnel of the City PNP; and 14 of 63 personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection. The significant presence of women in the city government, the proliferation of independent women's organizations and NGOs providing services to women, and the city government's openness to people's participation provided a fertile ground for the crafting of the Women Development Code of Naga City, and the creation of structures and mechanisms needed for the implementation of the Code's Women Development Agenda.

The Women Development Code of Naga City (Ordinance No. 2003-045)

Naga City Ordinance No. 2003-045, otherwise known as the Women Development Code of Naga City is a product of the collaborative efforts of the Naga City Government, and women NGOs and (POs). The Code sought to institutionalize existing gender initiatives to ensure their sustainability even with the change in government administration. The 21-page ordinance, authored by SP member Atty. Mila Raquid-Arroyo, was finalized after series of consultations with concerned sectors to ensure that it would be truly comprehensive and that its provisions are implemented faithfully.

The Code includes two provisions that are critical to the implementation of the local women's development agenda and the sustainability of the GAD program:

• Assurance of resources for GAD. The Code provides for a GAD budget equivalent to 10% of the City's Annual Budget rather than the minimum 5% provided for in the General Appropriations Act;
• Institutionalization of the Naga City Council for Women (NCCW) and the other venues for direct women participation in governance. The NCCW was assured of membership in the Sangguniang Panglungsod's various committees and other committees/boards/councils in the City Government. The NCCW was thus strengthened as a tripartite mechanism to monitor and ensure compliance with the Code's provisions, thereby effectively institutionalizing it as a local version of the NCRFW.

The other salient provisions of the Code are:

• Clearer declaration of the GAD principles and policies that the city government will adhere to in the exercise of its powers;
• Clear declaration of women's rights that the city government upholds, and of mechanisms that will ensure enjoyment of the rights declared therein;
• Provision of greater protection not only for women but also for the youth; integration of a gender framework in the education curricula;
• Holding of the Annual Women's Summit to ensure that the Women Development Agenda is able to respond to the current and emerging needs of women in Naga City.

Enforcing the provisions of the Code took a big leap forward with the creation of Task Force SAGIP, a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral network of agencies against pornography and commodification of women. The Task Force is authorized to implement immediate measures to prevent or stop the publication of pornographic articles, and the public staging of indecent shows and those that promote commodification of women. It operates under the NCCW and is now headed by the representative of the Naga City People's Council (who is a staunch male advocate of women's rights) with the CSWDO as co-chair.

The Task Force had its baptism of fire during the recent Peñafrancia festivities, when it successfully prevented the staging of a show by a group called Viva Hot Babes on the grounds that it violates the provisions of the Code. This action led the City Mayor to issue an executive order defining the guidelines for the staging of live shows in Naga City.

Naga City's Women Development Agenda

In order to provide the City Government with a defined direction for women's development, the NCCW convened a Women's Summit in March 2002. The Summit identified several problems confronting the women's sector in the city: a) lack of comprehensive plan for women's development; b) lack of access to resources needed to implement women's programs due to poor linkages; c) insufficient data necessary to address women's concerns; d) lack of opportunities to harness women potentials, both economic and political; and e) limited participation of women in NCCW activities.

In response to these problems, the summit formulated the Women Development Agenda which tackles such problems as poverty, prostitution, and violence against women, and identifies concomitant activities to support income generating activities, information generation and dissemination efforts, and capability-building initiatives. The agenda focuses on women whose income falls below the poverty line, with the disadvantaged (physically handicapped women and commercial sex workers) and abused women as primary targets.

The NCCW prioritized a set of strategies to address the identified issues, which include:

• Establishment of a data bank on available women skills and services for women;
• Consolidation of past and previous efforts of all women's groups to facilitate monitoring and periodic evaluation of women's activities for complementation and optimum participation;
• Capability-building through continuing information dissemination and education, and skills training;
• Encouraging wider participation of women within the NCCW structure, especially the differently-abled and disadvantaged women; and
• Establishment of mechanisms that will further institutionalize women's participation in governance.

The Naga City Council for Women (NCCW, Ordinance Nos. 2000-012 and 2002-053)

In 1999, the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Women initiated a meeting of 13 NGOs and community-based women's organizations to brainstorm on what the City government should do to address women's concerns. The meeting highlighted women's need and potentials to go beyond their traditional roles. It also recognized the efforts of the government and NGOs to respond to gender issues; it was pointed out, however, that there is a need for a mechanism that will coordinate and maximize their delivery of services. The results of this meeting provided the inputs to Ordinance No. 2000-012, which was approved on Women's Day (March 8, 2000), creating the Naga City Council of Women (NCCW). NCCW's vision is to see "women as partners of men to help improve the city through equal access to resources and opportunities, a peaceful family and community, and a development framework sustainable enough to uplift the conditions of the marginal sectors of the community."

The Ordinance was revised and strengthened after the series of consultations and organizational meetings held to formulate the Women Development Agenda. The meetings surfaced the need for wider participation and involvement of other women's groups, and for increased institutional and financial support from the city government. The revised Ordinance (2002-053) categorized the Council members based on the areas of concern they address, and mandated the Council membership of government offices/agencies whose programs and services cater to women. This mandate was envisioned to promote effective coordination and efficient resource complementation among the various stakeholders on women's issues.

The revised Ordinance enabled the NCCW to function as the mechanism for the consolidation and coordination of all efforts, public and private, towards the achievement of the Women Development Agenda. The NCCW also effectively became a planning and policy recommendatory body, as well as a feedback mechanism to ensure the expeditious formulation and effective implementation of responses to women's issues.

The NCCW is headed by the Mayor and the SP Chairperson of the Committee on Women. It is a quasi-government body whose lead role is to coordinate with national and local government agencies for sector-specific services. It is politically supported by, and is in consultative status with 41 sector-based NGOs and POs, 18 government support services, and three ex-officio members, the latter ensuring support from barangays and for legislation. The NCCW Board recommends, formulates, and monitors the implementation of policies; ensures resources for GAD activities; and promotes the participation of all Council members.

Gender responsive community action

Consistent with its commitment to empower the people towards meaningful and effective participation in governance, the Naga City government strongly facilitates and supports, through policies and budget, various private sector initiatives in response to the concerns of women. Two such initiatives are the:

• Naga City Home Care Center, an NGO facility that serves as a half-way house/shelter for women/children victims of violence. It is funded by the Naga City Government.
• Naga City Bantay Familia, Inc., a mechanism by which the delivery of all public- and private-sector services to women and children victims of violence – from the city down to the barangay levels – are effectively organized and coordinated. As such, these services are delivered in the most expeditious way, at the time when they are needed, and in the right manner. Consequently, there is greater assurance that utmost care is exercised in the treatment of a particular problem, and that proper protection and assistance are extended to the victims so that they can cope with, and survive, their ordeal.

The city government also provides and facilitates access to various forms of financial assistance for the implementation of the NGOs'/POs' programs and projects for women, particularly those pertaining to livelihood and income-generation through TESDA and the City's MetroPeso, the social credit, microfinance, and manpower development and placement office of the City Government.

Naga City's gender and development budget

From 1999 to 2003, the City's budget for women, excluding the budget items under the different departments with female beneficiaries, was provided under the item called Kababaihan Katuwang sa Kauswagan (Women Partners in Development) in the City's Annual Budget. Based on the City's budget record, between 2001 and 2003, both the budget under the Kababaihan Katuwang sa Kauswagan item and the budget for NCCW operations decreased. However, this decrease did not mean lower or lesser budget for women. The decrease was only a consequence of the city government's decision to incorporate the GAD budget into the budget of offices charged with programs addressing women's concerns. Besides, the NCCW is not a program implementor (hence, it does not require budget for program implementation) but a policyformulation and monitoring body tasked to recommend policies to improve the delivery of services of the City's line offices.

In addition to the NCCW budget and the budget for mainstream programs, other expenses charged against the GAD budget (10% of the city's annual budget, as provided for in the Code) are the financial assistance to private groups for the implementation of specific programs for women, and the yearly allocation for the Kababaihan Katuwang sa Kauswagan. The NCCW practices the "bottom-up" budgeting process in identifying the priority items for the Kababaihan Katuwang sa Kauswagan budget, i.e., it holds consultations with the concerned sectors before submitting the budget proposal to the City Mayor's Office.

Results and challenges

Local legislation in the form of ordinances, executive orders, and resolutions directed more attention to gender issues and enabled the implementation of programs and projects to address them. The increased coordination of efforts by concerned GOs and NGOs within the NCCW structure improved the implementation of gender-responsive programs. The efficiency and effectiveness of inter-agency cooperation has maximized the results achieved, especially in the form of a more coordinated response to violence against women. The availability of a regular GAD budget and the presence of the necessary implementing mechanisms have enhanced the sustainability of women's programs in the city.

In particular, the GAD Budget has become a means of coordinating the activities of all City Government offices addressing women's concerns. However, the NCCW is yet to devise a yardstick to measure performance of these agencies and against which the annual planning/review mandated under the Women Development Code will be made. Moreover, sex-disaggregated data are not yet available, and this hampers cost-benefit analysis of the entire GAD budget.

The GAD Budget has also become a means of ensuring the implementation of gender-responsive programs faithful to the gender-responsive policies already in place. However, the NCCW still has to establish clear standards of performance and benchmark for the City Government, the NGOs, and the POs. The fact that the GAD budget is spread in practically all programs under the local development fund levels a heavy expectation on NCCW, as coordinator and monitoring body for programs, to ensure that the fund truly benefits women.

The NCCW enjoys the support of women leaders in Naga City. However, a good communication system needs to be installed to encourage participation, particularly from the base membership of its member-organizations and from the unorganized portion of the women populace. Along this line, the City's i-Governance Program, which facilitates governance participation by individuals through www.naga.gov and the Citizen's Charter, is just waiting to be tapped and maximized.

Finally, both the NCCW and its base organizations and aggrupations need to develop second-line leadership within their ranks. This requires continuing capacity- and capability-building for the members of the different women organizations to prepare and enable them to take on leadership roles in order that leadership will not be concentrated only to a few, thereby ensuring institutional, rather than personal, capability within these organizations.

Conclusions

Women's empowerment is indispensable in community development; however, it can only be achieved if there is first economic empowerment. Economic empowerment is an indispensable strategy for ushering in women's effective, meaningful, and sustainable action for a genderresponsive community. With the increasing participation of women both in the political and economic affairs of Naga City, and the concomitant openness and initiative of the City Government, the path towards economic empowerment becomes wider everyday.

Addressing the needs of women as a disadvantaged sector requires efficient and effective mechanisms and interventions supported by gender-responsive legislation and budget commitment. These are all in place in Naga City; they just need to be consistently actualized. Moreover, given the ever-increasing needs vis-à-vis limited resources, it is imperative to set priorities in the right direction and to forge a strong partnership with the private sector. Continually engaging the constituency to directly participate in development work may be a tedious and complicated task for both government and civil society, but it is the way out of poverty and powerlessness. It is truly encouraging to note that in Naga City there are strong and manifest agreement and efforts towards this direction in the government and civil society, both independently and as partners.

ACRONYMS