Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte will lead the kick-off ceremony for the city's celebration of the National Women’s Month at the Risen Garden, Quezon City Hall on Wednesday, March 8. Belmonte will give her State of the Women Address (SOWA) during the ceremony to reiterate her commitment to eliminating violence against women (VAW) through the city's programs. The city government's departments and City Council will also conduct a "zumba" session and medical mission, including ultrasound, on the same day. For the entire month of March, the Quezon City Protection Center (QCPC) said it will provide free pap smear testing (Papanicolaou test) or cervical screening every Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the Quezon City General Hospital (QCGH). The Small Business and Cooperatives Development and Promotions Office (SBCDPO) will also organize a women's bazaar at the Quezon City Hall grounds, which seeks to provide livelihood training for women entrepreneurs. With the theme “Gender Equality for an Inclusive Society,” the Gender and Development (GAD) office prepared seminars on sexual harassment, women’s rights, and mental health. The QC Public Affairs and Information Services Department (PAISD) said it will hold a photo contest, while the Gender and Development (GAD) office will hold essay writing and poster-making contests in the city's public schools. The QC Public Library will also provide free coffee for its first 500 women visitors starting March 26 to 31, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Belmonte also announced its partnership with the Philippine Cancer Society for the "Act Now Prime Care for Breast Cancer" program, where 20,000 women will receive free breast cancer assessment and laboratory tests at its office in Barangay Commonwealth. At the same time, the mayor recalled her program in 2021, particularly the deployment of officers for the VAWC desk and the opening of the QCPC or the one-stop-shop crisis center that she plans to construct in every district in the city. The local chief executive also recognized the 600 bicycles distributed by the local government to women workers, particularly female ambulant vendors, lady guards, and Barangay Service Point Officers (BSPOs) in November 2022. She said the bicycle distribution sought to encourage women workers to utilize cycling as an alternative transportation, as it enables them to save money and help reduce carbon emission that causes climate change. The city government recorded 17,000 women in the city who were diagnosed with hypertension and received free laboratory testing, maintenance medicines, blood pressure monitoring, and aftercare services from the barangay health centers.

CASH ASSISTANCE

More than 18,000 women were also given cash assistance worth P20,000 under Small Income Generating Assistance (SIGA) program to help them start their own small businesses. Around 2,700 single mothers, who were victims of abuse, were given sari-sari stores each through the “Tindahan ni Ate Joy” program, while 13,000 women farmers profited from the QC urban farming program. Through the city’s “No Woman Left Behind” and “Batang Ina” programs, Belmonte also assured that the welfare of Women  Deprived of Liberty (WDL) and teenage mothers are on top priority. Batang Ina is a program implemented by the local government for teenage mothers in the city to guide them and give them livelihood assistance. No Woman Left Behind is a campaign developed by Belmonte to improve the lives of WDL while being imprisoned and after imprisonment. Meanwhile, Belmonte advised the women in the city to visit the local government's Facebook page to stay posted on the public announcements and program invitations.