Welfare and Self-Reliance Services - Laoag Philippines Stake

12/09/2026

12/09/2026

🎓 WSRS Graduation – Sept 5, 2026 ❤️
A wonderful celebration of learning, growth, and self-reliance as we honored our 114 graduates who completed EnglishConnect 1, Education for Better Work, Personal Finance, and the Starting My Business Pilot Project.

Congratulations to all our graduates! Your commitment to learning new skills is a step toward greater confidence, opportunity, and self-reliance. 🌱

We sincerely acknowledge and thank the Stake Presidency for their presence and support, especially Laoag Stake President, President Catubay, for accepting the graduates as part of the ceremony.

We also welcomed our new WSRS Area Manager, Brother Mark Dyquiangco, who presented the graduates during this special occasion.

A heartfelt thank you to our former Area Manager, Bro. Willie Estrada, for his leadership and valuable contribution to the success of the WSRS program. We were grateful to present him with a Certificate of Appreciation as he transitions to his new role in the Humanitarian Program. We wish him continued success in his new assignment! ❤️

And to all our facilitators, thank you for generously sharing your time, knowledge, and skills with our learners.

114 graduates, many new skills, and countless new possibilities. Congratulations! 🎓👏 May you continue to learn, grow, and become more self-reliant.

12/09/2026

🥩 A Little Late, But Worth Sharing! ❤️
Sharing some meaningful moments from our Meat Processing Activity held on June 27!

It was a wonderful opportunity to learn practical skills through hands-on preparation of embutido, luncheon meat, beef tapa, and tocino. More than just learning how to prepare and process meat, the activity reminded us of the importance of self-reliance, learning useful skills, and supporting one another.

A heartfelt thank you to Sister Agbayani, our resource speaker, for generously sharing her time, knowledge, skills, and experience with us. We truly appreciate your willingness to teach and patiently share what you know. The skills you shared are something we can bring home, practice with our families, and hopefully use as an opportunity for additional livelihood in the future.

We are also grateful to the Stake Presidency for their presence and support. Your presence made the activity even more meaningful and showed your love and encouragement for everyone involved. ❤️

Thank you as well to everyone who participated, learned, helped, and shared in making this activity a success. It was a beautiful reminder that when we learn together and share what we know, we can help one another become more capable, confident, and self-reliant.

A little late to post, but definitely worth remembering and celebrating! 😊

Learning together. Sharing what we know. Helping one another become more self-reliant. 🌱❤️

19/06/2026

Laoag WSRS was privileged to welcome a monitoring team from the Church Headquarters in Utah on June 14, 2026 for a monitoring visit of the Starting My Business Pilot Program.

During their visit, Bro. Brian and Sister Emma Allen had the opportunity to visit participants’ businesses, conduct individual interviews, and facilitate a group discussion to better understand the program’s impact and progress. They also met with the Laoag Stake Presidency, President Dennis Catubay, Stake President, President Winston Florese, First Counselor and President John Juster Cardenas, second counselor, to discuss the growth of the program and its positive influence on participants and their families.

Brother and Sister Allen were accompanied during their visits to participants’ businesses and their meeting by Pres Cardenas the second counselor in the Stake Presidency and Stake WSRS Chairman; Sister Lorwena Cardenas, Stake WSRS Specialist; Brother Willie Estrada, WSRS Manager, whose efforts helped bring this valuable program to the Laoag Stake.

We are grateful for their visit, guidance, and continued support as we work together to strengthen self-reliance and help members achieve greater success through entrepreneurship.

02/06/2026

Another successful skills training was conducted by the Welfare and Self-Reliance Services (WSRS) on May 23 for the Relief Society sisters of the Laoag Stake. The training focused on making Kimchi and Danmuji (pickled radish), two popular Korean side dishes.
Our resource person, Sister Joy Jean Cabanilla, willingly shared her expertise and practical techniques in preparing these dishes. Through this activity, the sisters gained valuable skills that they can use to provide nutritious food for their families and potentially create additional sources of income through small business opportunities.
We are grateful to Sister Joy for generously sharing her knowledge and helping strengthen self-reliance among the members.

12/05/2026

On May 2, we successfully conducted an ESL/VA Workshop for the Laoag Saints!
Led by President Cardenas, Chairman of the WSRS Laoag Stake, this training was organized with the vision of creating a strong ESL and VA group within the stake — opening doors to learning, employment opportunities, and personal growth for members of the community.
The workshop was created to help empower members by introducing opportunities in the ESL and Virtual Assistant industry. It was a meaningful and inspiring experience filled with learning, encouragement, and shared experiences.
We are especially grateful to Bishop Alfhie Agbayani — Recruitment and Registration Head, Finalization and Permitting Specialist, with years of experience in the VA and ESL industry — for unselfishly sharing his knowledge, expertise, and valuable insights with everyone. Your willingness to guide and inspire others is truly appreciated. 💙
This is just one of the programs that the Self-Reliance Specialized Group of Laoag is conducting to help members become more self-reliant, develop valuable skills, and create better opportunities for themselves and their families.





# self-reliance

29/04/2026

Mark Your Calendars! 📅✨

Exciting activities are coming your way! Check out our schedule of upcoming events and join us as we continue to strengthen, learn, and serve together.
We look forward to seeing everyone participate and make each activity meaningful!

29/04/2026

Basic Photography Training 📸

Last April 18, a Basic Photography Training was conducted to help participants enhance their photography skills and apply what they’ve learned both personally and in their respective units. This initiative also aims to build social media teams in each unit to further strengthen communication and storytelling efforts.

Our resource speaker, Sir Ronel Batangan—an active participant in Fujifilm photowalks, a photographer in various major and prestigious events in the region, a selected hobbyist photographer for the 2026 Panagbenga Festival, and a resident photographer for a BPO company in Ilocos Norte—generously shared his time, talent, and expertise with the Laoag Saints.
We are grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow together through this meaningful training.

29/04/2026

WSRS Training Meeting on Emotional Resilience 💙

On March 21, a special training meeting was held with Elder and Sister Wright from the Area Family Services Department, focusing on nurturing emotional resilience among Laoag Stake members. During the session, members were able to share real-life situations and gained practical skills to better handle personal concerns and challenges.
Sis. Rochelle and Sister Irene, together with the Laoag PEF specialist, also conducted PEF training, including one-on-one sessions for specialists to further strengthen their capacity to serve.
We sincerely thank Helpstart Foundation for awarding a laptop to BYU-Pathway students—your generosity continues to uplift and support their educational journey.

27/03/2026

The Starting My Business Pilot Class has come to its final lesson, yet this is only the beginning.

What was learned throughout the course now comes to life as each participant steps forward to build their businesses, grow in self-reliance, and create opportunities to serve others.

This journey is a reminder that true success is guided by faith,diligence and desire to uplift those around us.

May the Lord continue to bless their efforts, strengthen their faith and diligence, and guide their steps as they continue to grow, learn, and serve.