FY 2014 Seminar for Gender Equality Officers andWomen Leaders in the Asia Pacific Region

Philippines Country Report
Vichel Rse E. Juguilon
Philippine Commission on Women (PCW)&Liza S. Garcia
Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA)

1. Country Overview
 Consists of 7,107 islands Capital city is Manila
 Approximately 300,000 square kilometers(115,831 sq mi) and the 64th largest country inthe world.
 With a population of at least 99 million people,
the Philippines is the 2nd most populated countryin South East Asia, 7th in Asia and the 12th in theworld.
 GDP: US$250.2 B (World Bank, 2012)
GDP per capita: US$2,587
Poverty line (% of pop’n): 25.2%
Unemployment rate: 7.2%
 Human Development Index: 114 (UNDP, 2013)2

2. Gender Equality Policy“The State recognizes the role of women in nationbuilding and shall ensure the fundamental
equality before the law of women and men.” (Art.
II, Sec. 14 of the Philippine Constitution) Ratified the United Nations Convention on theElimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) in 1980
 Passed into law RA 9710, otherwise known as“The Magna Carta of Women” which is the local
translation of CEDAWPhilippine Commission on Women is the primary policymaking and coordinating body of the women and genderequality concerns under the Office of the President

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2. Gender Equality Policy
Aside from RA 9710, the Philippines is implementing the following laws:
 RA 7192- Women in Nation Building and Development Act (1992)
 RA 7877- Anti-Sexual Harassment Act (1995)
 RA 8353 and 8505- Anti-Rape Law (1997) and Rape Victim Assistanceand Protection Act (1998)
 RA 9262- Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act (2004)
 RA 9775 - Anti-Child Pornography Act (2009)
 RA 9995 – Anti Photo and Video Voyeurism Act (2012)
 RA 10354-Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act(2012)
 RA 10364- Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (2012)
 RA 10398-National VAW Consciousness Day for the Elimination ofVAW (2013)4

3. Current Situation of Gender Equality in thecounty (statistics and salient features) In the World Economic

Forum’s Global Gender Gap
Report 2013, the Philippines
ranked 5th out of 136
countries, making it the only
Asian country to enter in thetop ten since 2006.
 The Philippines ranks number8 in the list of “Best Countries
for Women to Live In” and isalso dubbed as “The Best
Place in Asia for Women”

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3. Current Situation of Gender Equality in thecounty (statistics and salient features) The Philippines also had 2 women

Presidents and women now holdthe following positions: Chief Justiceof the Supreme Court, Secretary ofJustice, Presidential Adviser on thePeace Process, Commissioner ofAudit and Commissioner of InternalRevenue

63. Current Situation of Gender Equality in thecounty (statistics and salient features)
IndicatorWomen

MenFunctional Literacy Rate (%)(10-64 years old)

88.7

84.2

Basic Literacy Rate (%)(10 years and over)

96.1

95.1

Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100,000 live births)

221-Life Expectancy at Birth

73.2

67.6

Labor Force Participation Rate (%)

49.8

78.1

Unemployment Rate (%)

5.9

6.8

Proportion of Occupied Elective Positions (%)

20.0

80.0

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4. Overview of ICTs in the Philippines
 Internet penetration (2013): 33.6m of

population (based on 2012 est. of 92.3m)
 Penetration based on age
 15-24 years old (40%)
 25-34 years old (31%)
 35-44 years old (16%)
 45-54 years old (9%)

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4. Overview of ICTs in the Philippines
 Female share of the Internet population: 49%(ComScore, 2013)
 Women spend an average of 15.6 hours permonth on the internet. They are likely to visit
sites that relate to family, home and retail FB usage: 92.2%
 F : 51.9%; M : 48.1 (2010)

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4. Overview of ICTs ・Media and Genderin the country
Indicator
Own a cellular
phone

81.0

76.0

Use theinternet

61.0

57.0

Have an email
account55.0

49.0

56.0

50.0

Have a social
networkingaccount104. Overview of ICTs ・Media and Genderin the countryMagna Carta of Women Section 19
provides for Non-discriminatory and NonDerogatory Portrayal of Women in Mediaand Film
Gender Equality Guidelines: Guidelines toProtect Women against Discrimination inMedia and Film, and Code of Ethics forMedia was formulated by the Media andGender Equality Committee (MGEC)
The Women’s EDGE Plan 2013−2016 seeks
to address the persistent negative
portrayal of women in popular media,
especially in film, television, print, andInternet sites.

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5. Case Analysis: PCW
VAW Documentation System (VAW DocS)
The VAW Documentation System (VAW DocS) is a secure web-based documentation
system that facilitates and integrates the collection and standardization of informationfrom concerned government agencies and other service providers dealing with VAW.
VAW statistics which are systematically gathered can be used to guide nationalpolicies; e.g. lobbying for anti-VAW legislation
Data from the VAW DocS can also be used to gauge the magnitude of the problem
which is useful in programming and budgeting as well as improving service provision,i.e. in a locality.
When done regularly, it can be used as basis for monitoring the Philippine progress inaddressing VAW

125. Case Analysis: PCW
Gender Mainstreaming
Monitoring System (GMMS)
The GMMS is the system for
managing the GAD profiles,
GAD plan and accomplishment
report of the agencies and LGUs
and for generating related
reports.
The system is also intended to
be a tool for the technicalofficers of PCW in the provisionof technical assistance toagencies and LGUs.

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5. Case Analysis: PCW
Gender Mainstreaming Monitoring System-Profile each agency/Local Government Unit (LGU) which includes
among others the organizations vision, mission, description,
information available on GAD, including statistics, issuances related
to GAD, etc.
-Manage the GAD Plan/ AR submission of each agency and its
bureaus, regional offices and attached agencies, and LGUs
-Monitor agency/ LGU progress in gender mainstreaming ;-Monitor government compliance to the Magna Carta of Women,
CEDAW, BPfA, etc;
-Generate related reports.

145. Case Analysis: FMA

Take Back the Tech! campaign
 Calls on all ICT users,esp. women and girls,
to take control oftechnology andstrategically use any
ICT platform at hand for
ACTIVISM AGAINSTGENDER-BASEDVIOLENCE

6. Best Practices : How to make media gender-responsive andto enhance inclusion of women and girls in information society

GENDER EQUALITY GUIDELINES
Launched by the Gender Equality
Committee (GEC) for Media, this kit
contains three books which are: Code ofEthics for Media (Book 1); Guidelines toProtect Women from Discrimination inMedia and Film (Book 2); and Gender
Equality Guide (Book 3).

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6. Best Practices : How to make media gender-responsive andto enhance inclusion of women and girls in information society

MCW Mobile Application
A contest for college and university students
both public and private with support
from the Agencia Española deCooperación Internacional para elDesarrollo (AECID) to develop anAndroid-based mobile apps based on theRepublic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta ofWomen (MCW).
This aims to raise public awareness andpopularize the provisions of the MCW
and to promote women’s empowerment
and gender equality.

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7. Major Obstacles to overcome gender-bias in themedia
Stereotyping of women in media may it be in print,
photos, television and radio programs, advertisements
and films is still pervasive.
Low level of awareness and appreciation of media
practitioners to the problems related to the negative or
inequitable portrayal of women and men
The Internet as a means to perpetuate violence against
women is of increasing concern. It is utilized toaccelerate the sexual exploitation of women andchildren.
207. Major Obstacles to reduce gender gaps inaccess to ICTs
Physical infrastructure, connectivity

Lack of access and skills

Gender-blind ICT policy, and there is no clear
direction on how to address ICT genderrelated issues

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7. Major Obstacles to reduce gender gaps inaccess to ICTs
Gender and sexuality issues in relation to ICT,
specifically internet content regulation, monitoring,surveillance, and privacy which limit the rights tofreedom of expression, information and privacy on
the netIdentifying and defining ICT-related VAW within
national legislations, in clarifying issues of jurisdiction
and in terms of providing protection for women
against these forms violence.

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8. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations
Intensify monitoring of the implementation andcompliance of the Gender Equality Guidelines as well as
women-related laws especially those that perpetuate
VAW through ICTs (R.A. 995, R.A. 9775)
Media practitioners need to be capacitated to use gendersensitive language and images in print, photos, televisionand radio programs, advertisements and films.
Women should be represented in all decision-making
structures in the ICT sector in order to push for decisions
and innovative projects, policies and standards in the ICT
sector that will help empower women.

238. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations
Need to increase the level of understanding andawareness of the opportunities that ICTs could provide
for women as this will be one of the ways in bridging
the gender digital divide and towards transforming it
into digital opportunity.
Infrastructure development to address the digital
divide, and corollarily the gender divide
Education and human resource development topromote ICT awareness24

8. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations
Inclusion of women’s rights perspective for the developmentof internet and ICT policies; direct participation of women in
the development of the policy where the needs of the poorand the marginalized are heard.
Ensure women’s access to justice, not just offline but also
online, by not merely focusing on protectionism andcriminalization but through concrete programs to prevent
VAW in cyberspace.

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Sources and References
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Factsheet of women and men in the Philippines, National Statistical Authority,
March 28, 2014
Philippine Commission on Women website: pcw.gov.ph
PCW Filipino Women and Men Factsheet, February 2014
Image sources (Slide 8): http://tenminutes.ph/;
http://angbagongfilipino.wordpress.com/page/36/
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/13512/philippines-tops-asia-in-newsweekranking-of-best-places-to-be-a-woman
www.pcw.gov.ph
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines
Women’s Empowerment, Development and Gender Equality Plan 2014-2016,
March 01426

Sources and References
 ComScore. 2013 SEA Digital Future in Focus
 comScore. Women on the Web
 Intel. 2012. Women and the Web
 www.apc.org
 https://securityinabox.org/
 https://ssd.eff.org/risk/lessons
 www.itu.int

SALAMAT PO!

“National Machinery for the Advancement ofWomen”
www.pcw.gov.ph
facebook.com/philippine.commission.on.women
Twitter: @PCWgovph

www.fma.phfacebook.com/takebackthetechPH