TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Out of 46 cities nationwide, the Population Development Office of Tabuk City won 3rd place in the Kaunlarang Pantao Awards by the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) on June 23 for their unrelentless efforts in population and development integration amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The awards were categorized into the Philippine Population and Development Program’s (PPDP) three key strategies, of which the POPDEV Integration Category falls under the strategic utilization of population data as a response of the city during the heights of the pandemic.
During the 2022 Kaunlarang Pantao Awards, also known as the Rafael M. Salas POPDEV award, held in Manila, POPCOM executives personally handed out the award to City Population Development Officer Jonalyn G. Kiser together with the Population Program Officer Mary Irene Lugo on behalf of Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero.
According to Kiser, their office was given a prize of Php100,000.00 in cash which will be utilized in implementing various population development programs and services.
Kiser also underscored their office’s efforts in bagging the award, which include the stringent utilization of Database Population Data, the sustainability of barangay population coordinators, and their partnership and collaborative efforts with partner agencies such as the City Social Welfare and Development Office and City Health Office.
When asked about how they will sustain such a milestone, she said that, “We will maintain the support and collaboration with other offices because population issues cannot be solved with only one office; we need a multi-sectoral approach, and, of course, to be timely and innovative because we need to be able to adopt and make possible solutions to past, current, and future population problems.”
By Ruth Cupang
