Pasay: The Philippine and United States governments have formalized an agreement to establish a regional hub dedicated to advancing the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda within the country. This significant development was marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the newly formed ‘Center of Excellence for WPS’ will function as a platform where experts and stakeholders can collaborate to share best practices and discussions on peace and security issues. Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. emphasized the ambition of transforming the Philippines into a regional hub promoting the WPS agenda across Southeast Asia. He outlined the center’s objectives, which include engaging in local and national policy development, standardizing approaches for national action plan creation, and connecting existing WPS communities.
The MOU was signed by Deputy Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Undersecretary Isidro
Purisima and Senior Official to the State Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) Katrina Fotovat. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 2024 International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security (ICWPS) held in Pasay City, and was witnessed by Galvez and US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson.
The WPS Centers of Excellence initiative was launched by S/GWI last year, amid a growing demand for governments to enhance their capacity to implement the WPS agenda across local, national, and regional contexts. In her address, Fotovat announced that the US has allocated at least USD2 million to support this initiative, underscoring the importance of this MOU signing as a pivotal moment not just for the Philippines and the US, but for the global WPS agenda. She highlighted the initiative as a progressive movement towards leveraging women, peace, and security for effective policy development and tangible implementation.
Apart from the Philippine WPS center, two other similar hubs have
been established in Kosovo and Colombia.