LGUs with ideal PopDev programs to be awarded

CEBU, Philippines - The Population Commission-7 will award tomorrow local government units, chief executives and institutions or individuals with outstanding contributions in the field of population and development.

The awarding of the winners of the 2014 Rafael M. Salas Population and Development Award (RMSPDA) is designed to continue the legacy of Rafael M. Salas, the first executive director of the United Nations Population Fund.

Salas’ efforts to create global awareness and consensus about the importance of population to social and economic development earned him the title of “Mr. Population” by the international community.

Lawyer Bruce Ragas, POPCOM-7 regional director, said the RMSPDA aims to showcase outstanding population and development-oriented cities and municipalities, as well as recognize excellence and innovation of PopDev programs in local government units.

Through the RMSPDA, Ragas said they also hope to encourage cities and municipalities to heighten implementation of PopDev programs.

In a statement, POPCOM-7 said that six local government units in Central Visayas are winners of the 2014 RMSPDA under the City and Municipality Categories, based on the scores earned from the LGU scorecards of both the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Health.  It added that two of the awardees will vie for the national award later this year.

Apart from the award, Rafael M. Salas’ legacy is honored through the establishment by UNFPA of the Rafael M. Salas Memorial Lecture series, which provides a unique forum on population and development.

From 1962 to 1969, Salas was a member of Philippines delegations to international conferences and to the United Nations General Assembly.  He headed the Philippines delegation and was vice president of the International Conference on Human Rights, held in Teheran in April to May 1968.   Salas was born in Bago, Negros Occidental on August 7, 1928. He died on March 3, 1987 in Washington, D.C. while serving as UNFPA executive director.  (FREEMAN)