February

• Attended the 1st TBAM-REITI in preparation for the APEC 1st Senior Officials Meeting in Santiago, Chile. Among the matters discussed are as follows: multilateral trading system, Bogor Goals 2010/2020, advancing free trade area of the Asia Pacific, trade facilitation, global value chain, services trade, digital economy, and MSMEs. DTI-BITR also presented their concept note on Prospects for Trade in Herbal Medicine Best Practices Forum.

April

• Participated in the first preparatory meeting for the Philippines’ participation in the first PPWE meeting of 2019 to be held at Valparaiso, Chile. As a member of the PPWE Philippines Steering Committee, RGMS provided comments and suggestions for the Santiago Roadmap on Women and Inclusive Growth (2019-2030) which Chile will be introducing in the PPWE 1. The body also discussed concept note ideas for submission to the second round of project proposal in July. PCW and DTI-RGMS will come up with draft concept notes by May.

May

• Attended the 2nd TBAM REITI and DTI AIC Meeting and discussed updates on the participation of the PPWE Philippines Secretariat to the upcoming PPWE 1 Meeting during SOM 2 in Chile; and the PPWE Philippines co-sponsorship to the Chinese Taipei’s Project on “APEC GIFTS A+: Promoting Gender Inclusion in Smart Agriculture” where the Philippines is tasked to create a 5-minute video on “Role Models of Women Farmers in Smart Agriculture” to be exhibited during the Women and the Economy Forum in September in Chile.

June

• Provided inputs to their Philippine Case Study presentation that Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia will be presenting to the various APEC SME working groups during the APEC Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Week in September 2019.

July

• Discussed with DFA and PCW on 2 July 2019 the preparations for the Philippine’s participation to the Women and the Economy Forum (WEF) in Chile to be held in September 29-October 5, 2019. A PPWE Steering Committee Meeting was set in August 2019 to discuss the logistical and technical arrangements of the participation.

August

• Co-organized the 2nd Preparatory Meeting for the APEC WEF 2019. Together with the representatives from DFA, DILG, and DOT, the PPWE Steering Committee discussed the composition of the Philippine delegation, possible nominees for the APEC BEST Award and APEC BEST Top Manager Award, inputs to the relevant WEF documents, and the logistical and administrative matters of the event.

September

• Prepared DTI’s presentation about the Initiatives to Empower Women that was presented during the Dialogue with Women OFWs and Business Leaders in Santiago, Chile on 28 September 2019. Also facilitated the preparations for the Philippine Intervention on the PPWE Meeting in the Women and The Economy Forum (WEF) by briefing the DTI representative about the Boracay Action Agenda and the WEF event.
• Participated in the 3rd Preparatory Meeting for the WEF. The PPWE Steering Committee and Philippine Delegation discussed the final administrative arrangements and the participation to different WEF events, as well as the necessary inputs to the different meetings and important documents such as work plans, roadmaps, statements, agenda, etc. of the event.

December – October

• As member of the APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) Steering Committee, the RGMS in October 2019 participated in TBAM-REITI Meeting and provided updates regarding the Philippine delegation’s participation at the Women and the Economy Forum (WEF) in Chile last 30 September to 05 October where various awards were received by the Filipino Women representatives during the different competitions of the Forum. DTI, through Regional Director Asteria, met with Filipino women community leaders in Santiago, Chile to share about the department’s initiatives for women in terms of Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan. On a parallel meeting of the WEF, Director Aster Caberte reported updates on the implementation of the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs during the 2nd Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy Meeting.

Furthermore, in support of the DTI Secretary’s participation in the APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) on November 2019 in Santiago, Chile, RGMS provided DTI-BITR with references on DTI Initiatives for women to be used as briefing materials for the Secretary; and prepared inputs on the Joint Ministerial Statement for the AELM highlighting relevant points from the Women and the Economy Forum Statement. Furthermore, RGMS participated in the Capacity Building Workshop Series on APEC Einstrument Utilization: MSME Marketplace held on 30-31 Oct 2019 which aimed to explore the opportunities of the MSME Marketplace platform for the key stakeholders in fulfilling export tasks, as well as, to produce recommendations on how to enhance the content and functionality of the platform.

• Coordinated with APEC Secretariat in Singapore, Department of Foreign Affairs APEC Philippines National Secretariat, and DTI-Bureau of International Trade Relations on the turn-over of APEC Women and the Economy (WE) Chairship from DTI to Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), as well as the Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE)-Philippines Secretariat from DTI-Resource Generation and Management Service to PCW.
• Revised some information on the draft Philippines Individual Action Plan, particularly on the Women and Economy portion and submitted the same to DFA and DTI-BITR.
• Submitted to Technical Board on APEC Matters-Regional Economic Integration, Trade and Investment (TBAM-REITI) Secretariat of BITR the update on Women and the Economy in 2017 in relation to request for comments on the minutes of the last meeting in August 2017.
• Prepared updates on the RGMS programs/activities in support of the Boracay Action Agenda Implementation matrix and sent copy to the DTI-TBAM REITI Secretariat for appropriate action.
• Continued assistance to wrap up the APEC PPWE Philippines Project Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business by getting the printing services of a publishing house to come up with hard copies of the research and for submission to APEC Secretariat in Singapore and some government agencies; and finalizing the budget section of the Completion report.
• Provided technical assistance in the conduct of survey for the attendees of the September 2017 “APEC Seminar on Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business” held in Hue City, Vietnam.
• Provided inputs to the APEC PPWE Chinese Taipei’s Concept Note on “APEC GIFTS A+: Promoting Gender Inclusion in Smart Agriculture (GIFTS: Gendered Innovation for Technology and Science” for submission to PCW as PPWE Phil Secretariat which will eventually submit to APEC Secretariat in Singapore.
• Provided inputs on the first draft Statement of APEC 24th Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT).
• Attended the BITR’s forum on “Enhancing the Competitiveness of Women-led MSMEs in the Garment and Textile Sector thru Innovation and Entrepreneurship Best Practices”.
• Provided logistical support to the PPWE-Philippines Secretariat (PCW) during the 1st meeting of the PPWE-Philippines members.
• Updated the Boracay Action Agenda document particularly on the portion regarding women and related concerns and submitted to BITR for appropriate action. Also attended TBAM-REITI and apprised the body of the preparations of the Philippine Delegation to the PPWE1 meeting in mid-May in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
• Facilitated the communication exchanges of concerned DTI units and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Australia on the preparation for the APEC capacity building workshop on supporting women-led MSMEs export capacity and market access by:
• Managing the collection of the personal information sheets of the participants and submitted them to DFAT Australia and the APEC Study Centre
• Providing EMB with updates on the summary of the results of the training needs assessment, to be used as reference for creating a response to the TNA results
• Providing inputs on the design of the workshop program and the certificates
• Providing instructions to some of the participants to provide samples of their export products to be used during the target market selection and branding sessions of the workshop
• Participated in the APEC Capacity Building Workshop for DTI officers in collaboration with the Australia’s Department of Foreign and Trade (DFAT) to support Women Entrepreneurs in Enhancing their Export Readiness and Access to Global Markets.

• Conducted the third and final preparatory meeting of the APEC PPWE Steering Committee for the Philippine delegation’s participation in the Women and the Economy Forum (WEF) in Papua New Guinea on September 3-7, 2018. The Steering committee discussed the following.

• The Philippine delegation headed by Usec. Zenaida Maglaya and composed of DTI, PCW, Women Business Council, and Ms. Zarah Juan attended the APEC Women’s Economic Forum held at Papua New Guinea from 03-07 September. The delegation actively participated in the Policy Partnership for Women and the Economy (PPWE) meeting, Public-Private Dialogue for Women and the Economy (PPDWE), High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD), and several side events. The Philippines had a bilateral meeting with Chinese Taipei to discuss the Boracay Action Agenda implementation successes in the country, as well as the potential areas of partnership. Moreover, Ms. Zarah Juan, the Philippine candidate to the APEC BEST Award won in the Best Innovation category.

• Reported in the joint meeting of the TBAM-REITI and DTI-DTI APEC Implementing Committee (AIC) the highlights of the Women and the Economy Forum held in Papua New Guinea last September 3-7, 2018. The highlights included the inclusion of women agenda in the proposed ministerial and leader’s statement for the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders Meeting; and the success of the capacity-building workshop on Enhancing the Export Readiness and Access to Global Markets of Women Entrepreneurs as well as, the possibility of a follow-up workshop to be funded by DFAT Australia.
• Participated in the 4th TBAM meeting and discussed preparatory activities for the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM).

• Coordinated with Department of Health (DOH) Point Person on the Healthy Women Healthy Economy (HWHE) Policy Toolkit implementation, and with the Philippine Statistics Authority on the update on gender disaggregated data collection for inclusion in the Boracay Action Agenda update. Also, represented the Department of Trade and Industry- Resource Generation and Management Services (DTI-RGMS) to the 1st Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA-TBAM) Meeting on 23 January 2017.
• Prepared the inputs of DTI-RGMS to the Concept Note on “Enhancing the Competitiveness of Women led Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through Innovation and Entrepreneurship” and BAA Implementation Plan which were submitted to Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR) APEC Desk on 27 January 2017.
• Prepared the inputs of DTI-RGMS to the APEC Tasking Statement for 2017 specifically on Women and the Economy and submitted to DFA APEC National Secretariat on 9 January 2017.
• Coordinated with Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) for the finalization of the Philippines’ Individual Action Plan for the enhancement of the ratio of Women’s representation in leadership and submitted to Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation- Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (APEC-PPWE) Japan.
• In relation to the APEC Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business Project and as instructed by Dir. Guevarra as the Project Overseer, coordinated and sought approval from the APEC Secretariat on the changes in the Work Plan particularly on the replacement of additional economies to be contacted for the survey. Viet Nam and Peru were replaced by Chile and Japan.
• Prepared the Project Monitoring Report of the APEC Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business Project which was submitted to the APEC Secretariat on 23 February 2017.
• Attended and reported on the APEC Women and the Economy matters at the DTI Technical Board on APEC Matters-Regional Economic Integration, Trade and Investment (TBAM-REITI) Cluster Meeting held on 3 February 2017 at the DTI International Building.
• In relation to the APEC Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business Project, submitted to the APEC Secretariat the re-programmed financial plan, revised work plan, and updated contractor’s milestone payment schedule on 17 April 2017; and coordinated with the APEC Secretariat to obtain funding approval on the participation of the researcher to the APEC PPWE 1 Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• Coordinated with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), and Department of Health (DOH) to include DTI nomination to the Philippine delegation to the APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies: Sharing Implementation Experiences Workshop on 12 May 2017 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• Represented the DTI in the Philippine Delegation to the HWHE Workshop on May 11, 2017 held at the Convention Center, Hanoi, Vietnam; and prepared and submitted to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) the summary report on highlights of the APEC HWHE Workshop: Sharing Implementation Experiences. Prior to that, participated in the inter-agency meeting which discussed the Healthy Women, Healthy Economy (HWHE) Project overview, and status of the toolkit implementation and drafting of presentation materials.
• Provided secretariat support to the APEC WEF Philippine Delegation meeting which focused on the final delegation representatives and identification of Philippine delegate to attend each side event and meeting of the APEC WEF 2017 that was held at Hue City, Vietnam on 26-29 September 2017.
• Finalized the research study on APEC Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business, following the APEC Publication Guidelines, and as approved by the APEC Publication Communications and Public Affairs Unit (CPAU); and prepared the completion report of the PPWE 02 2016A Project for submission to the APEC Secretariat.
• Prepared the Summary Report for the 2017 APEC Seminar on Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business held on 26 September 2017 in Hue City, Viet Nam.
• Provided inputs on the following:
  • Draft Discussion Guide on Digital Trade for Negotiators, particularly on the Participation of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Women which was submitted to the BITR APEC Desk on 02 February 2017. Also coordinated with IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IT-BPAP) to request supplemental data on women in the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industries which was submitted to the BITR APEC Desk on 15 February 2017.
  • Philippines’ Individual Action Plan for the enhancement of the ratio of women’s representation in leadership which was submitted to PPWE-Japan on 07 February 2017.
  • DTI Communications Plan for the ASEAN Women events on 22 February 2017.
  • Press Release on the STEAM AHEAD Forum which was posted on the DTI and Women Business Council websites and other social media sites.
  • Write-up for the Press Release on the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between DTI, PCW, and Women Business Council held on 01 February 2017 which was posted at the DTI Website.
  • APEC Joint Ministerial Statement (JMS) and APEC Economic Leaders’ Declaration (LD), and the updates/report on the APEC Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business Project which were submitted to the DTI-BITR APEC Desk and the Department of Foreign Affairs APEC National Secretariat on 16 October 2017. Updated inputs on the JMS and LD were submitted on 26 October 2017.
  • Women and the Economy portion of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting which was submitted to the BITR APEC Desk for consideration on 28 April 2017.
  • PPWE Strategic Plan 2015-2018 which were submitted to the PPWE Chair on 02 June 2017.
  • Domestic Implementation matrix of the Boracay Action Agenda, specifically on women and the economy which was submitted on 21 June 2017 to BITR APEC Desk.

• Prepared and submitted to APEC Secretariat in Singapore for endorsement/circulation and co-sponsorship the Philippine Concept Note on “Women as Prime Movers for Inclusive Business”
• Provided inputs/comments on:
  • APEC documents (draft Free Trade Area of the Asia and the Pacific; APEC Disaster Risk Reduction Framework Proposed Action Plan)
  • 7 Concept Notes of proponent APEC economies based on the criteria provided by the APEC Secretariat in Singapore
  • Draft Services Competitiveness Roadmap circulated by the Department of Foreign Affairs APEC National Secretariat.
  • Domestic Implementation Plan of Boracay Action Agenda
  • APEC HWHE Policy Toolkit scorecard
  • draft APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap Outline
  • APEC WE Philippine Report
  • APEC Individual Action Plan of the Philippines (IAP)
  • draft statement on the status of the pilot implementation of Healthy Women, Healthy Economies (HWHE) Policy Toolkit
  • UN Women’s HeforShe Campaign documents of PCW
  • Draft Department Order on the Establishment of the DTI APEC Trade Repository Working Group
  • PPWE-Russia’s Terms of Reference (TOR) on APEC Best Award of SME women entrepreneurs
  • APEC DRR Framework Proposed Action Plan Revised
  • Healthy Women Healthy Economy (HWHE) Policy Toolkit implementation in PEZA economic zones for information of DTI APEC Task Force and DFA TBAM
  • Accomplished the APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) Efficiency and Effectiveness Survey
  • Updates on the Implementation of the Boracay Action Agenda (BAA)
  • TBAM Directory and Focal Persons submitted to DFA APEC National Secretariat
  • Draft APEC SME Ministerial Statement submitted to BITR APEC Desk on 5 September 2016
  • Streamlining APEC’s Project Approval and Management Procedures submitted to DFA APEC National Secretariat on 22 September 2016
  • Inputs to the Implementation Plan of Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs specifically on women and the economy section which was submitted to BITR APEC Desk on 06 October 2016;
  • Inputs to the APEC Ministerial Meeting Joint Statement submitted to BITR on 11 October 2016;
  • Accomplished matrix of Philippine initiatives under APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) and Women and the Economy Forum which was submitted to DFA APEC National Secretariat on 06 October 2016
  • Inputs on the APEC Economic Leaders Declaration to DFA APEC National Secretariat on 24 October 2016 as cleared by Dir. Guevarra;
  • Inputs to OSEC for Sec. Lopez’s Dialogue Session on Ayala Sustainability Summit on 11 October 2016; and
  • On behalf of PPWE-Philippines, submitted comments on PPWE-Papua New Guinea’s Concept Note on their self-funded Project “Women’s Access to Financial Services – Data in the APEC Region” on 26 October 2016
  • Australia’s Concept Note on ‘Workshop on improving quality employment opportunities for women’ which were submitted on 7 September 2016; and
  • Draft APEC PPWE Assessment Report by Ms. Louisa Minney as Independent Assessor which were submitted on 16 September 2016
• Prepared the following reports/documents:
  • Philippine Delegation Work Plan for 2016 in preparation for the country’s participation to the APEC WEF 2016 on 27-30 June in Lima, Peru.
  • APEC WE report to the Technical Board on APEC Matters (TBAM) Meeting
  • Report of the Philippine delegation’s participation to the APEC Women and the Economy Forum (WEF) 2016 in Lima, Peru.
  • News article on APEC Women and the Economy 2015 Fora Outcomes for posting in the apecphil website
  • Project Proposal on Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business
  • Materials for Asec. Lantayona as the Philippine HOD to APEC WEF 2016 and the Philippine delegation
  • Draft Terms of Reference for the hiring of Consultant for the APEC Women as Prime Movers of Inclusive Business Project of the Philippines
  • Short study on “Empowering Women for Economic Growth: The Smart Choice for the G20.” It focused on how W20 could learn from past and existing efforts in the UN Women and APEC.  Then, it zoomed into the policies and replicable programs of the Republic of the Philippines in expanding opportunities for women in order to achieve an inclusive economy and inclusive society.  The document was shared with PTIC-London.
  • Concept Paper on ASEAN Women’s Business Conference 2017 which will be used for dissemination to the stakeholders and dialogue partners
• Provided technical support to the following:
  • APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) Efficiency and Effectiveness Survey
  • Terrado’s engagement as moderator and speaker to the APEC Conclusion Meeting on 7-8 September 2016 in Chinese Taipei
  • APEC Women in STEM Forum: A Forum for Learning, Dialogue and Action on 2 October 2016 in Lima, Peru
  • APEC Conclusion Meeting on Women and Economic Development on 7-8 September 2016 in Chinese Taipei
  • WomenBizPH “Women Mentoring Women (W2W) Talks on Disruptive Moves, Lifestyles and Transformations in the 21st Century” on 21 October 2016
  • APEC Workshop on Successful Cases of Women-owned SMEs in Foreign Trade held on 9-11 November 2016 in Santiago, Chile
  • ASEAN Women Entrepreneurship Network (AWEN) Business Conference 2017 Preparatory Meetings on 04 and 17 November 2016
  • AWEN Steering Committee Meetings on 14 December 2016