Arroyo launches livelihood projects in time for Women’s Month

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo launched two programs aimed at providing livelihood to Filipino women Friday, a move that coincided with the worldwide celebration of Women’s Month. The programs are called HATAW (Harnessing Appropriate Technology to Assist Women) and POWER (Projects for Women Entrepreneurs). "It is an essential marker of human rights that all men and women be free and equal not just before God, but before the law and the judgment of society," she said in a speech. "Too often in poorer nations, women bear a double burden of economic immobility and political disenfranchisement. We are proud to say that political and economic parity is the cornerstone of the Philippine agenda." Mrs. Arroyo said HATAW aims to use technology to solve community-based problems and lack of economic opportunities. It will combine local knowledge systems with modern technology to create value added products and services out of available and abundant resources in the area. "HATAW is for bold, innovative and inventive women who will see the development through the prism of science. We have the means to bankroll their vision," the President said. Mrs. Arroyo noted that the government has P50 billion in loan facilities in various lending windows for micro, small and medium enterprises. On top of this is P43 million in the 2008 budget for Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for microfinance. "I now instruct the DOST (Department of Science and Technology) and DSWD to carve out from these funds the HATAW endowment facilities," she said. On the other hand, POWER seeks to help women entrepreneurs who need additional capital infusion. Mrs. Arroyo said launching a program that provides finances to women is a "wise investment" due to their credit discipline. "POWER can be used to start up Botika ng Barangays, of which we are planning to put up about 3,200 branches this year. Or it can underwrite the initial inventory requirements of a Tindahan Natin outlet, the number of which is programmed to reach 14,000 before December," she said. Botika ng Barangay and Tindahan Natin are government-licensed stores that sell lower-priced basic commodities and drugs, respectively. In an interview, DSWD Sec. Esperanza I. Cabral said agencies have yet to decide how much would be allocated to the two programs. "I will still have to meet with [DOST] Sec. [Estrella F.] Alabastro and [Presidential Management Staff Sec. Cerge] Remonde [M.] Remonde to determine how the programs would be implemented," she said. She, however, said providing capital to women and capacity-building programs might require more allocations. "We expect these programs to improve the livelihood of all Filipinos, not only the women so they could contribute to the development of our country," Ms. Cabral said. — Alexis Douglas B. Romero, BusinessWorld