NSCWPS convenes to advance WPS agenda

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MEMBERS of the National Steering Committee on Women, Peace and Security (NSCWPS) convened to discuss updates in advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda across all levels of implementation in Pasig City on May 27, 2025.

With national government 26 member-agencies, the National Steering Committee on Women, Peace and Security convenes to discuss updates in advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda across all levels of implementation in Pasig City on May 27, 2025. OPAPRU PHOTOS

As the chair of the NSCWPS, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru) spearheads the implementation and localization of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAPWPS) by virtue of Executive Order 865.

In her welcome remarks, Susana Guadalupe Marcaida, executive director of the Peace Sustainability Cluster and Women, Peace and Security Center of Excellence, reported on the recent milestones achieved in advancing the WPS agenda through the Center of Excellence.

"Last March, we launched the Women, Peace and Security Center of Excellence, and we want to thank all who were part of that ceremonial event. We have more significant work ahead of us. Because of that launch, we are able to start putting in more people to concentrate on the work," Marcaida said.

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She also shared that the Women, Peace, and Security Center of Excellence is now fully operational and has started implementing initiatives and building partnerships with Opapru's various stakeholders.

"We have received word from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Kingdom (UK) that they are supporting the Center of Excellence in three areas of concern – strengthening the center in terms of coming up with its strategic directions," Mercaida said.

"Second is the development of different modules in terms of capacity building, and third, their support in establishing a Conflict Sensitive and Peace Promoting (CSPP) resource pool," she added.

The WPS Center of Excellence is currently engaging educational institutions, particularly Miriam College through its Women and Gender Institute (WAGI), as well as the University of the Philippines (UP) under its UP Center for Women's and Gender Studies (UPCWGS), as part of Opapru's efforts to rally support behind the WPS Agenda.

During the NSCWPS second quarter meeting, member-agencies provided updates on the initiatives they are implementing to advance the WPS Agenda.

They also requested Opapru and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) to help provide subject matter experts (SMEs) who can capacitate their personnel on the WPS agenda.

The participants also shared recommendations on how to better cascade the WPS at the local level.

Department of National Defense (DND) GAD coordinator Marlon Peralta emphasized the crucial role of the Regional GAD Committees (RGADC) in localizing the NAPWPS.

Helen Dayo, consultant of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), emphasized the need for national line agencies to cascade the WPS agenda to their personnel at the regional and provincial levels.

According to Jocelyn Balanag, a representative from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the commission is studying the possibility of integrating the WPS agenda in the policy standards and guidelines of higher learning institutions.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Lieutenant Colonel Janice Corazon Aquino proposed the conduct of a trainor's training for personnel who will be tasked to cascade the agenda.

NSCWPS is the institutional body responsible for the implementation of the NAPWPS. It is composed of the national government's 26 member-agencies.

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