Handbook on nat’l action plan on women, peace, security launched

By Ma. Teresa Montemayor, Philippine News Agency

HANDBOOK. Philippine Commission on Women chair Ermelita Valdeavilla speaks at the launch of the Indicator Handbook for the Philippine National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2023-2033 on Wednesday (Oct. 30, 2024). She urged member agencies of the National Steering Committee on WPS to integrate the indicators in the monitoring and evaluation frameworks of their respective projects. (PNA photo by Ma. Teresa Montemayor)

MANILA – Accountability among stakeholders and continuous learning through data-driven analysis are vital in implementing the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda.

Philippine Commission on Women chair Ermelita Valdeavilla said this could be achieved with the Indicator Handbook for the Philippine Action Plan on WPS 2023 to 2033.

“The new plan and its indicators help us become effective custodians of the NAP (national action plan), WPS implementation process,” she said during the launch of the handbook on Wednesday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

“The MEAL (monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning) plan and indicators will have measures, instead of progress achieved, which informs stakeholders when their performance is strong or weak. This becomes the basis for corresponding decisions and actions by the National Steering Committee on WPS (NSCWPS),” she added.

The MEAL plan and indicator framework produce data and statistics drawn from women. These are expected to serve as evidence to transform women’s actions, ideas, and opinions into facts.

The enhanced monitoring plan will enable the NSCWPS to continuously track and assess the progress of WPS agenda implementation – ensuring that interventions are inclusive and responsive to the unique needs of women and girls in conflict-affected communities, she added.

“As we advance our WPS agenda, the PCW will ensure that these initiatives and milestones are reflected in the national reports submitted for international stocktaking,” she said.

The handbook launch falls part of the three-day International Conference on Women, Peace and Security 2024.

The conference provided a platform for the assessment of WPS agenda progress and resolution of current challenges to women’s significant participation in peace and security.