FDAI welcomes Ma. Lilibeth Lalangan and Keanice Bless Matres to its Board of Trustees, bringing the voices of women and children into organizational decision making.
On September 29, 2026, the Foundation for the Development of Agusanons, Inc. (FDAI) marked its 22nd Founding Anniversary with more than a celebration of the organization’s journey. It also marked a meaningful moment in its continuing commitment to inclusive leadership. During the Board of Trustees Annual Meeting cum 22nd Founding Anniversary, Ma. Lilibeth T. Lalangan, representing the Women’s Sector, and Keanice Bless F. Matres, representing the Child and Youth Sector, were officially welcomed as members of the FDAI Board of Trustees.
Welcomed by the members of the Board and led by BOT Chairperson Hon. Elizabeth D. Gilot, their inclusion brings two important sectoral voices into the organization’s highest decision making body. Their membership reflects a deliberate step by FDAI to ensure that women and children are not only reached through its programs and initiatives, but are also given meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions that shape the organization itself.
For Lilibeth and Keanice, the journey to the Board did not begin in a meeting room.
It began in their communities.
Ma. Lilibeth Lalangan comes to the Board carrying years of experience in community participation, livelihood development, and advocacy for women and children. An active member of the KASKO Federation, Lilibeth has been involved in livelihood initiatives in Barangay Caimpugan, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. Together with members of Self Help Groups, Cluster Level Association, and other community members, she has been part of efforts that turn water hyacinth, an environmental challenge in the community, into an opportunity for livelihood through the creation of handicrafts. Behind every handcrafted product is a story of community cooperation. It is a story of women learning skills, working together, creating opportunities, and contributing to their families and communities.
But Lilibeth’s work does not stop with livelihood.
She is also active in advocating for women’s and children’s rights, giving her a close understanding of the issues and concerns faced by the sectors she now represents at the organizational level.
Her new role on the Board gives these experiences a wider space.
As the Women’s Sector representative, Lilibeth can bring the perspectives of women from the community into discussions on FDAI’s priorities, directions, and organizational decisions. Her membership creates a direct link between community experience and Board level deliberations. From helping women create opportunities through livelihood to helping ensure that women’s concerns have a place in organizational decisions, her leadership now takes another step forward.
Beside the voice of the Women’s Sector is a voice from a younger generation.
Keanice Bless Matres, representing the Child and Youth Sector, is an active child leader from Barangay San Martin, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. Her experience demonstrates that children’s participation can extend beyond simply being consulted. Keanice has helped create spaces where children can express their views, listen to one another, and participate in conversations about issues affecting their lives.
Through Usapang Digital Safety, she took part in a child led discussion on online safety, working alongside other children to raise awareness about how young people can stay safer in the digital world.
She has also participated in children’s consultations where the experiences, concerns, and ideas of her fellow children are gathered and considered. Together with other children, she has contributed to advocacy efforts focused on ending violence against children, helping transform children’s concerns into collective messages for families, communities, and stakeholders. These experiences now become part of what she brings to the FDAI Board.
Her membership represents more than having a young person present in a formal organizational setting. It creates an opportunity for children’s perspectives to enter conversations where organizational priorities and directions are shaped. Keanice’s presence also reinforces an important principle of child participation: children should not only be spoken about. They should be given appropriate and meaningful opportunities to speak, participate, and contribute.
The inclusion of Lilibeth and Keanice in the Board of Trustees gives deeper meaning to FDAI’s commitment to participation.
Women and children have long been at the heart of community development work. They are participants, beneficiaries, advocates, organizers, and partners. Yet meaningful participation becomes stronger when their voices are also present where decisions are made.
This is what FDAI seeks to advance.
FDAI aims to ensure that women and children have meaningful participation in decision making processes, particularly at the organizational level. Their membership in the Board of Trustees provides a concrete expression of that commitment.
Lilibeth brings the perspective of women who are actively organizing, building livelihoods, and advocating for rights within their communities. Keanice brings the perspective of children who are learning to express their views, listen to their peers, raise concerns, and participate in advocacy.
Their experiences are different, but their roles share a common purpose: to ensure that the voices they represent have a place in shaping decisions.
Board membership carries responsibility.
For Lilibeth and Keanice, it also carries representation.
They enter the Boardroom carrying more than their individual experiences. They carry the stories of the communities they come from, the concerns of the sectors they represent, and the experiences of women and children who have participated in FDAI’s work.
Their presence also sends a message to other women and children in the communities: leadership is not limited by age or sector. Opportunities to participate can grow from the community level and reach the highest levels of organizational decision-making.
For FDAI, their inclusion is therefore not simply an organizational change. It is part of an ongoing effort to make participation more meaningful, more inclusive, and more reflective of the people at the center of its work.
The 22nd Founding Anniversary offered FDAI an opportunity to look back at its journey. The welcoming of Lilibeth and Keanice offered an opportunity to look ahead. Their membership signals a Board that is making room for perspectives that matter. A woman who has helped turn water hyacinth into livelihood. A young leader who has helped children speak about online safety and ending violence. Two community voices now sitting alongside other members of the Board of Trustees.
Their journey reminds us that representation is not simply about being present in the room. It is about having the opportunity to contribute once you are there. At FDAI, the table is becoming a place where women and children are not only invited to speak.
They are now part of the conversation, part of the decision, and part of shaping what comes next.
