ILOILO City – Local governments across Western Visayas were honored for their leadership in advancing reproductive health and youth empowerment, as the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) Region 6 celebrated World Population Day 2025 with the awarding of the prestigious Rafael M. Salas Kaunlarang Pantao Award (RMSKPA).
Iloilo province and Iloilo City were named top winners in their respective categories, earning first place in the regional competition for most outstanding efforts in localizing the Population and Development (POPDEV) agenda. They will represent Region 6 in the national RMSKPA, along with Pontevedra, Capiz, which won first place in the municipal category.
The awards recognize the commitment of local government units (LGUs) to implementing evidence-based programs on reproductive health, responsible parenthood, and youth development, aligned with the Philippine Population and Development Plan of Action 2023–2028.
We celebrate not just the World Population Day but the actual people comprising the populace — especially our young people, who deserve to make informed choices and decisions for their future,
said Harold Alfred Marshall, regional director of CPD-6, and this means creating a society where their reproductive rights to accurate and timely information are protected, policies are data-driven, and anchored on the real needs of the youth.
This year’s celebration carried the theme “Empowering Young People to Create the Families They Want in a Fair and Hopeful World”, drawn from the 2025 State of World Population Report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The theme underscores the importance of reliable, inclusive data in shaping policies that reflect the aspirations of young people.
The celebration also served as a platform to spotlight pressing issues in the region, particularly the rise of adolescent pregnancy among girls aged 10 to 14, and the continued lack of access to youth-friendly reproductive health services.
CPD-6 emphasized that local population offices play a critical role as frontline implementers of the POPDEV agenda, translating national plans into localized actions that directly impact communities.
Here are the complete RMSKPA 2025 regional winners:
Province Category
* First Place — Iloilo
* Second Place — Antique
* Third Place — Capiz
City Category
* First Place — Iloilo City
* Second Place — Passi City, Iloilo
* Third Place — Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental
Municipal Category
* First Place — Pontevedra, Capiz
* Second Place — Pavia, Iloilo
* Third Place — Dueñas, Iloilo
The RMSKPA remains the highest recognition for LGUs and population officers who champion the rights and well-being of people, especially youth, through innovative and effective population and development strategies./PN
