Women and gender equality are among the top issues to be discussed in the upcoming 2023 Regional Dagyaw Town Hall meeting on June 14.

Provincial director Farah Diba Gentuya of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Negros Oriental said in a Kapihan forum on Friday that around 1,000 participants from regional and national government agencies are expected to join the town hall meeting which will be held at the convention center in this capital city.

“It’s a blended activity (as) we will also have participants from the other provinces in Region 7 (who) will join us through Zoom or Facebook live,” Gentuya said.

Started in 2019, the Dagyaw town hall meetings aim to provide a safe space or neutral ground for CSOs (civil society organizations) and the community to discuss national and local issues.

The Dagyaw this year will focus on women empowerment and gender equality, with emphasis on the “AMUMA” sa Barangay program, the brainchild of DILG Region 7 Director Leocadio Trovela, and is one of the intervention’s in the government’s End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) program.

Amuma in the Cebuano dialect means nourishing and taking care.

The program involves organizing women in their localities to be independent and earning their own income with the DILG providing training on financial management, Gentuya said.

Banking institutions have been invited to the meeting for possible partnerships with AMUMA organizations for loans and other services.

Meanwhile, a Serbisyo Caravan will also be held alongside the Dagyaw town hall meeting with national government agencies and local government offices attending to the concerns and providing certain services to the participants. (PNA)