BENJAMIN D. DE LEON, PRESIDENT

I and my colleagues at the Forum for Family Planning Development attended Strategic Leadership and Management workshops held in Baltimore. Last year, we conducted three regional leadership workshops in the country under the Sixth Country Programme of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and with technical support from the Philippine Center for Communication Programs (PCCP).

Five members of the Forum's Board of Trustees are graduates of the Gates Leadership program. In addition to myself they are: Dr. Jaime Z. Galvez-Tan, Dr. Eden R. Divinagracia, Tomas M. Osias, and Jose Miguel R. de la Rosa. We are spearheading the implementation of the Forum program in the country, together with top-level family planning (FP) and RH experts. We also serve as the core faculty for the conduct of the workshop, together with the training experts in the PCCP.

In our strategic plan for 2007-2008, we have included a program to develop young leaders at the community level who will eventually manage the population and RH programs of the country. This move is in response to the dire situation in the country where there is no visible support from the national leadership for an effective population and RH program. We are left to fend for ourselves until 2010 when there is the opportunity to elect national leaders who will champion FP and RH in the country.

Our greatest recent achievement was the acceptance of former President Fidel V. Ramos as the Forum’s Eminent Person. He is held in high esteem in our country and abroad, and is now the No. 1 leader of our cause. His statements on our advocacy work will surely have a big influence and impact on the Filipino people from all walks of life.

BENJAMIN D. DE LEON
President