Tanauan, Leyte -- The Municipality of Tanauan, Leyte has been chosen as one of the four pilot municipalities and city for the implementation of the Gender Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project, Mayor Roque A. Tiu informed.

Mayor Tiu welcomed this development even as he thanked Governor Petilla for considering the inclusion of Tanauan, saying that the project which aims to create a more favorable environment for women's economic empowerment especially in the countryside, will surely benefit not only the women micro-enterprise operators and workers but also their families.

This is related to the town's continuous efforts to provide an atmosphere that is business-friendly so that investors will be attracted to engage in economic activities in the municipality, Mayor Tiu said. The project will surely help towards the creation of a gender-responsive economic governance for the economic empowerment of the local women, he added.

Asked on why his municipality was chosen, Mayor Tiu said it must be because it has met the same criteria used in choosing Leyte to be one of the pilot provinces for the implementation of GREAT Women Project.

The province of Leyte together with the provinces of Iloilo, Ifugao, Quezon, Bohol, and Davao del Sur were chosen as members of the second batch of LGU partners on the basis of their high potentials for development, presence of women entrepreneurs, convergence of partner-agencies, poverty level, support for gender and development, and peace and order.

The first batch of LGU partners includes Naga City and eight municipalities under the Metro Naga cluster in Camarines Sur, and five municipalities under the PALMA Alliance in North Cotabato, where capacity-building efforts are now being done by NCRFW.

The Province of Leyte in partnership with the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will be spearheading the implementation of the Gender Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project in the municipalities of Tanauan, Capoocan, Barugo and Baybay City.

As an initial activity, the Provincial Point Person for the GREAT Women Project has set up an Orientation on GREAT Women Project with the Tanauan Municipal Technical Working Group to include the GAD Focal Person, on September 10, 2008 at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon. This is in preparation for the two-day planning workshop that will be conducted by NCRFW to the technical working group of the province and to the three pilot municipalities and one pilot city.