07/05/2026
CAUAYAN CITY UNDERGOES PCW VALIDATION FOR GAD LOCAL LEARNING HUB RECOGNITION, HIGHLIGHTS SYSTEMS-DRIVEN GENDER GOVERNANCE
CAUAYAN CITY, ISABELA — The City Government of Cauayan underwent a comprehensive three-day validation on May 4–6, 2026 as part of its bid to be recognized as a Gender and Development Local Learning Hub (GAD LLH) by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).
Held primarily at the Isabela Convention Center, the validation assessed the city’s capacity to serve as a model local government unit in gender-responsive governance, digital transformation, institutional innovation, and systems-based public service delivery under the Gender-Responsive LGU (GeRL) framework.
The activity gathered city officials, department heads, barangay representatives, technical working groups, frontline service providers, program implementers, and PCW validators for a full review of Cauayan City’s policies, mechanisms, digital platforms, service delivery systems, documentation, and community-based GAD initiatives.
Day 1: Cauayan City Presents Institutionalized GAD Systems, Policies, and Innovations
The validation formally opened on May 4, 2026, with the program preliminaries, including the invocation, singing of the Lupang Hinirang, introduction of participants, and presentation of the rationale of the activity. The opening program also featured the GADvocate Prayer and an audio-visual presentation highlighting Cauayan City’s journey toward institutionalized gender-responsive governance.
One of the highlights of the opening ceremony was the unveiling of two new digital governance platforms by Hon. Caesar S. Dy, Jr., City Mayor: the Programs and Services Management System (PSMS) and the Cauayan Job Portal.
In his welcome remarks, Mayor Dy emphasized that Cauayan City’s GAD implementation has evolved beyond traditional compliance and activity-based reporting. He underscored the importance of digitalization in strengthening public service delivery, institutional monitoring, inter-office coordination, and accountability across local government operations.
Following the opening program, Ms. Annrelyn M. Ombajin, Senior GAD Specialist and Team Leader of the PCW validation team, delivered a lecturette on the GAD Local Learning Hub framework. Her discussion centered on the standards, expectations, and criteria for LLH designation, emphasizing that a learning hub must demonstrate not only notable practices, but also sustainability, functionality, innovation, and replicability for other local government units.
The afternoon session featured the presentation of Cauayan City’s seven flagship GAD initiatives and institutional reforms:
Notable GAD Initiative
1. Institutionalization of Gender-Responsive Governance through Policy Integration Framework in the City Government of Cauayan Presenter: Atty. Jann Victor D. Fermin III, City Legal Officer
2. JCD GAD Connect: Gender and Development Knowledge Management System
Presenter: Jaymar B. Dela Cruz, Information Officer I; Jerico Pascual, Bookbinder I
3. Institutionalization and Implementation of Gender-Responsive Manuals of Operations
Presenter: Atty. Divina Joy Gonzales-Ventura, PESO Officer
4. Project S.U.N.S.H.I.N.E.
Presenter: Esem A. Galiza, GAD Associate
5. Institutionalization and Functionality of LCAT-VAWC
Presenter: Rodelyn A. Ancheta, CSWD Officer
6. Serbisyong Una Ka Dito: City Hall on Wheels
Presenter: Jaylord Dela Cruz, Executive Assistant III
7. Home-Grown School Feeding Program
Presenter: Sylvia P. Domingo, City Cooperative Officer
The presentations showed how Cauayan City has embedded gender responsiveness into local policies, planning systems, office operations, budgeting mechanisms, sex-disaggregated data management, digital governance, and frontline service delivery.
Rather than presenting GAD as a separate program, the city demonstrated a whole-of-government approach where gender mainstreaming is integrated into institutional systems, local policies, service manuals, monitoring tools, and community-based implementation.
Day 2: PCW Validators Conduct Technical Review, Beneficiary Interviews, and Field Validation
On May 5, 2026, the validation moved from formal presentations to technical assessment and field verification. Simultaneous breakout sessions were conducted to evaluate the actual implementation and operationalization of Cauayan City’s key GAD initiatives.
The PCW validation teams reviewed GAD Plans and Budgets, Manuals of Operations, accomplishment reports, monitoring systems, digital dashboards, operational guidelines, and other supporting evidence demonstrating institutional functionality and sustainability.
Project S.U.N.S.H.I.N.E. and LCAT-VAWC were validated with Ms. Karen G. Dagnalan-Dy, Supervising GAD Specialist, and Ms. Kristine Anne V. Lee, Senior GAD Specialist. Meanwhile, SUKD and the Home-Grown School Feeding Program were assessed with Ms. Annrelyn M. Ombajin, Senior GAD Specialist; Ms. Danielle Alexandria F. Anteola, GAD Specialist II; and Mr. Jerahmeel R. Cruz, GAD Specialist I.
For the Home-Grown School Feeding Program, PCW validators conducted onsite interviews with selected beneficiaries, kitchen volunteers, parents, teachers, cooks, and school personnel at Cauayan North Central School. The activity gathered direct insights on the program’s implementation, effectiveness, and impact on the nutritional status and well-being of learners.
Beneficiaries shared how the daily provision of nutritious meals contributed to improved attendance, better focus in class, and enhanced health. Parents also expressed appreciation for the program, noting that it helps ease their financial burden while ensuring that their children receive proper nutrition.
Validators also inspected the feeding facility, including the kitchen and food preparation area, to assess the actual operational conditions of the program. Additional interviews were conducted with women suppliers involved in food sourcing and program support, highlighting the program’s contribution not only to learner welfare but also to women’s economic empowerment and community-based enterprise development.
At the Mengal Women Center in Echague, validators interviewed women beneficiaries, assigned social workers, and facility personnel. The team also conducted a walkthrough inspection of the facility to assess accessibility, safety measures, operational procedures, and support systems available to women clients.
The discussions focused on the center’s role in women’s empowerment, psychosocial recovery, livelihood support, reintegration, and access to safe community-based services.
For the validation of the Local Committee on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and Children (LCAT-VAWC), the PCW team visited the Barangay VAWC Office and inspected the actual VAWC facility and operations room. Interviews were conducted with the barangay chairperson, VAWC Desk personnel, barangay officials, and frontline responders to assess local protection mechanisms, case management procedures, documentation practices, referral pathways, and coordination systems.
The validators also conducted an onsite validation at Barangay District 2 for Serbisyong Una Ka Dito: City Hall on Wheels. Selected beneficiaries shared their experiences on the accessibility of services, efficiency of the process, and positive impact of the program on their daily lives.
Through documentary review, technical discussions, field visits, facility walkthroughs, and direct interviews with beneficiaries and implementers, the validators were able to observe how Cauayan City translates policies, manuals, digital systems, and institutional commitments into actual service delivery at the grassroots level.
Day 3: Cauayan City Demonstrates JCD GAD Connect and Digital Governance Platforms
On May 6, 2026, the third and final day of validation focused on JCD GAD Connect: Gender and Development Knowledge Management System, Cauayan City’s integrated digital governance platform.
The system currently brings together 13 interconnected digital platforms supporting planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, case management, data management, and service delivery operations across the city government.
During the demonstration, validators examined real-time dashboards, digital reporting mechanisms, integrated monitoring systems, and interlinked modules designed to support the entire governance cycle — from planning and budgeting to implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
The presentation highlighted how JCD GAD Connect strengthens inter-office coordination, improves records management, supports evidence-based decision-making, institutionalizes the use of sex-disaggregated data, and enables real-time monitoring of GAD initiatives.
As part of the third-day validation, the PCW validation team also conducted an actual systems demonstration of Cauayan SafeLine 922 at the BGD Command Center. The activity allowed validators to observe how emergency reports, citizen concerns, and protection-related incidents are received, monitored, mapped, coordinated, and acted upon through the city’s command and response system.
Command center personnel presented the platform’s digital interface, including its mapping features, incident monitoring tools, and coordination mechanisms with concerned response offices. Validators examined how SafeLine 922 supports real-time reporting, referral, and response, especially in situations involving public safety, disaster risk reduction, gender-based violence, violence against women and children, and other urgent community concerns.
The demonstration showed that JCD GAD Connect is not merely a data storage or reporting platform. It functions as an operational governance system that links technology, public safety, protection services, monitoring, and gender-responsive decision-making.
Systems-Based Gender Governance in Action
The three-day validation concluded with a closing program where the PCW validation team provided initial observations on Cauayan City’s institutional readiness and governance performance.
The Philippine Commission on Women commended the city for its strong institutional mechanisms, integrated governance systems, innovative digital platforms, and community-based implementation of gender-responsive programs.
Validators particularly noted Cauayan City’s ability to connect policy, operations, technology, monitoring systems, and frontline services into a unified governance approach. This systems-based model was seen as a strong foundation for sustainability and continuity beyond leadership transitions.
City officials emphasized that Cauayan City’s GAD direction goes beyond compliance-driven reporting. Its model is anchored on institutionalization, policy integration, digital transformation, evidence-based planning, and community participation.
Toward GAD Local Learning Hub Certification
The validation forms part of the official process for Cauayan City’s possible designation as a GAD Local Learning Hub — a recognition granted to local government units capable of mentoring and assisting other LGUs in gender mainstreaming, institutional GAD implementation, and gender-responsive governance innovation.
Based on the three-day assessment, Cauayan City demonstrated strong evidence of institutionalized gender-responsive policies, functional service delivery systems, strong sex-disaggregated data utilization, digital governance innovation, community-based implementation, replicable program models, and sustainable governance mechanisms.
The final results of the validation will determine Cauayan City’s inclusion in the next batch of officially recognized GAD Local Learning Hubs nationwide.
For Cauayan City, however, the validation already affirmed one clear direction: gender-responsive governance is no longer treated as an added requirement. It has become part of the city’s systems, its services, its data, and its way of governing.
