SP Oks MOA with POPCOM for establishment of SPPAMC

THROUGH an ordinance, the 19th City Council headed by Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin V. Uy authorized Mayor Oscar Moreno to enter into and sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Commission on Population and Development – Region 10 (POPCOM-10).

This covers the collaboration of the parties in the establishment of a Social Protection Program for Adolescent Mothers and their Children (SPPAMC) intended to provide better and improved lives to the marginalized sector.

The SPPAMC program aims to protect and prevent the income of adolescent mothers and their families at their current income levels from declining due to various risk factors.

It also aims to expand opportunities for education, skills development, and employment among adolescent mothers through sound policies, income-generation expansion, and improved investments for their health, development, and well-being.

Under the MOA, POPCOM-10 will provide funding for the said program, training and technical assistance to the city, as well as design, development and evaluation tools for the program implementation.

POPCOM-10 shall also conduct advocacy to relevant local officials and stakeholders on the development and implementation of appropriate policies and strategies for the SPPAMC at the local level, and ensure linkage of local strategies to national and regional SPPAMC and other relevant population management program priorities.

For its part, the city of Cagayan de Oro shall designate an implementing team for the program from among relevant offices within the city to plan, coordinate, implement, monitor, and assess the implementation of appropriate interventions.

The city shall also ensure that a participatory process will be adopted involving stakeholders, including beneficiaries within the city, and with technical assistance from POPCOM, among others.

The legislation was sponsored by the committees on women and family relations and on laws and rules chaired by Councilors Edna Dahino and Ian Mark Q. Nacaya, respectively.