ILOILO — Iloilo Province’s comprehensive approach to teenage pregnancy, mental health and other challenges confronting young Ilonggos has earned national recognition after its flagship youth development program advanced to the finals of the prestigious 2026 Galing Pook Awards.
The province’s Tib-ong Kabataan: Total Adolescent and Youth Health Development for MoRProGRes Iloilo successfully passed the national validation stage and was selected as one of the finalists for this year’s awards.
Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) chief Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon said the provincial government, headed by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., received a letter from the 2026 Galing Pook Awards Committee on October 2 informing the province of the program’s selection.
“(It) has successfully passed the validation stage and has been selected as one of the finalists in the 2026 Galing Pook Award,” the letter addressed to Defensor and Quiñon stated.
The recognition puts Iloilo within striking distance of another Galing Pook Award, three years after the province won in 2023 for its “Zero to Limpyo Iloilo: Movement for a Province-Wide Zero Open Defecation” program.
Tib-ong Kabataan, led by the IPHO in partnership with various provincial government departments, seeks to address critical issues affecting young people, particularly teenage pregnancy and mental health, through an integrated province-wide approach.
The program employs five major strategies: capacity-building for service providers and adolescents; certification of adolescent-friendly health facilities; establishment of Teen Centers and Family and Youth Development Centers through the Iloilo Provincial Population Office; delivery of integrated adolescent health services in schools and communities; and strengthening partnerships and institutionalizing adolescent health and development programs across the province.
Quiñon said the recognition reflects Iloilo’s continuing commitment to empowering adolescents and young people through inclusive, responsive and transformative interventions that promote their well-being, leadership and development.
The province will face the final stage of the Galing Pook selection process on October 20 in Pasay City, Metro Manila, when representatives will make their final presentation before the national selection committee.
Provincial Administrator Dr. Raul Banias earlier led the presentation of Iloilo’s two entries before the Galing Pook National Selection Committee headed by Marco Alfino V. Miranda and Monette Montemayor at the Governor’s Boardroom.
The province’s other entry, BES BASA: POC Localization, did not advance to the finals. The program seeks to improve reading proficiency through a localized Proof of Concept approach involving the provincial government, Department of Education-Iloilo, local government units, school leaders, teachers and other partners.
Banias, however, said undergoing the rigorous national validation process was itself an achievement for the provincial government.
“As a team that firmly advocates for evidence-based, data-driven public administration, undergoing this national validation process is already a huge victory and milestone for us. Whether or not we make it to the top national winners, we are deeply grateful, fulfilled, and happy knowing that our hard work directly impacts the lives of our youth,” Banias said.
He said the province was honored to present how Iloilo transformed adolescent health and youth development from what had been a reactive, hospital-centered approach into a proactive, data-driven and whole-of-province system./PN
