DOF, LANDBANK push inclusive leadership in finance

The Department of Finance and LANDBANK capped the 2026 National Women’s Month celebration by convening leaders and advocates for the Gender and Development Forum, “SHE INSPIRES: Visionary LeadHERship in Action,” on March 23, 2026, at LANDBANK Plaza in Malate, Manila.

LANDBANK President and CEO Lynette V. Ortiz, Solicitor General Darlene Marie B. Berberabe, Finance Undersecretary Atty. Krystal Lyn T. Uy, and other officials said inclusive leadership and gender-responsive institutions are vital to national development, particularly in expanding access to finance for sectors long underserved by the formal banking system.

“More than profit, LANDBANK exists to make the financial system reach Filipinos who have been left outside of it. These are the farmers, fisherfolk, small entrepreneurs, and communities in the countryside that commercial banks find too small or too remote to bother with. The mission of reaching those overlooked by the system is at its core a gender equality mission,” Berberabe said in her keynote address.

Berberabe said access to credit is not merely financial support but also a form of institutional trust, and she called for deliberate efforts to widen pathways for women through concrete access to education, mentorship, leadership pipelines, appointments, safety, respect, and recognition of competence.

“When one woman rises, the question is never only whether she has succeeded. The deeper question is whether the path behind her remains narrow or whether it widens for others. So, let us widen it together. Let us widen it with opportunity. Let us widen it with institutional courage. Para dumating ang araw na ang pamumuno ng kababaihan sa bansang ito ay hindi na ituturing na pambihira, kundi bilang tama, nararapat, at matagal ng dapat,” Berberabe said.