FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
First Regular Session 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Introduced by SENATOR COMPANERA PIA S. CAYETANO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
History has proven that it has been a long and tough struggle for women in their 
efforts to combat discrimination in all its forms. Undeniably, the system that persists in 
our society until today is somewhat patriarchal in nature -that men dominate and rule. 
Although, there have been triumphs achieved in terms of uplifting the status of women, 
women are still the usual victims of discrimination due to mere gender. As such, the 
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 
was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly lays down the 
international bill of rights for women to address this problem. 
The CEDAW has been in force for twenty six (26) years, since the Philippine Senate 
ratified it on 5 August 1981. Yet despite the ratification of the Convention, Filipino 
women continue to suffer from various forms of discrimination 'and unequal relations 
between men and women, stemming from the economic, political and social divide. 
In the Concluding Comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination 
Against Women (CEDAW) for the Philippines during its 3dh session held on 7 - 25 
August 2006, one of the principal areas of concerns raised was the lack of a definition of 
discrimination in line with Article I of the Convention and the lack of progress in 
enacting legislations on comprehensive legal framework on gender equality. 
Specifically, it recommended the passage of a Magna Carta Bill of Women that will 
strengthen the promotion of gender equality in the country. 
A Magna Carta is a piece of legislation that serves as a guarantee of basic rights. 
The CEDAW, usually referred also as the "international women's bill of rights" is the first 
major document that contains a ban on all forms of discrimination and recommends 
temporary special measures to immediately achieve equality in fact between men and 
women. 
When the Philippine government ratified the Convention, it gave the signal to 
policymakers to embody the spirit and letter of CEDAW in the laws and policies of the 
land, Two and a half decades of waiting for the fulfillment of this obligation is too long. 
The time has long been ripe for a comprehensive law that guarantees and recognizes 
women's basic human rights. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly requested, 


5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
I 1  
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
.:>\ ~. 
:: ;, r~ 1. i., 
::'Ti i [ 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
) 
Y 
E['' -4 i> 7 .,. > 
First Regular Session 
Introduced by SENATOR PIA S. CAYETANO 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
CHAPTER I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as "The Magna Carta of 
Women". 
SECTION 2.Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes the role of women in 
nation building and shall ensure the substantive equality of women and men. It shall 
promote the empowerment of women and pursue equal opportunities for men and 
women as well as ensure their equal access to resources and to development results 
and outcome. 
It condemns discrimination against women in all its forms and pursues by all 
appropriate means and without delay the policy of eliminating discrimination against 
women in keeping with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
Against Women (CEDAW) and other international instruments. The State shall accord 
to women the rights, protection, and opportunities available to every member of society. 
The State affirms women's rights as human rights and shall intensify its efforts to 
recognize, respect, protect, fulfill and promote all human rights and fundamental 
freedoms of women especially in the marginalized sectors of society to guarantee their 
economic, social and cultural well-being without distinction or discrimination on account 
of class, age, sex, gender, language, ethnicity, religion, ideology, disability, education 
and status. 
I 


1 
2 
The State shall provide the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the 
realization of women’s rights as well as adopt and undertake steps to include temporary 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
special measures which encompass a wide variety of legislative, executive, 
administrative and other regulatory instruments, policies and practices aimed at 
accelerating the equal participation of women in the political, economic, social, cultural, 
civil or any other field. Temporary special measures must be discontinued when their 
desired results have been achieved and sustained for a period of time. 
The State, in ensuring the full integration of women’s concerns in the mainstream 
of development, shall provide ample opportunities to enhance and develop their skills, 
acquire productive employment and contribute to their communities to the fullest of their 
capabilities. 
In pursuance of this policy, the State recognizes the right of women in all sectors 
to participate in policy formulation, planning, organization, implementation, management 
monitoring, and evaluation of all programs and projects. It shall support policies, 
researches, technology and training programs, and other support services such as 
financing, production and marketing to encourage active participation of women in 
national development. 
CHAPTER II 
DEFINITION OF TERMS 
SECTION 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall 
mean: 
(A) 
Empowerment refers to the provision, availability and accessibility of 
opportunities which enable women to actively participate and contribute to the political, 
economic, social, and cultural development of the nation as well as those which shall 
provide them equal access to ownership, management and control of production, and of 
material and informational resources and benefits in the family, community and society; 
(B) Discrimination Against Women refers to any gender-based distinction, 
exclusion or restriction which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the 
recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a 
basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the 
2 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
2% 
29 
30 
political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field; 
(C) Marginalization - a condition where a whole category of people is expelled 
from useful participation in political, economic, social and cultural life and is potentially 
subjected to severe material deprivation and even extermination, 
(0) 
The marginalized refer to the basic, disadvantaged, or vulnerable persons or 
groups who are mostly living in poverty and have little or no access to land and 
resources, basic social and economic services such as health care, education, water 
and sanitation, employment and livelihood opportunities, housing, social security, 
physical infrastructure and justice system. 
These include women in the following: 
I. Small Farmers and Rural Workers. - refer to those who are engaged directly 
or indirectly in small farms and forest areas, workers in commercial farms and 
plantations, whether paid or unpaid, regular or season-bound. These shall include but 
not limited to (a) small farmers who own or are still amortizing for lands that is not more 
than three (3) hectares, tenants, leaseholders, and stewards; (b) rural workers who are 
either wage earners, self-employed, unpaid family workers directly & personally 
engaged in agriculture, small scale mining handicrafts and other related on-farm/off- 
farm activities 
2. Fishers. - refer to those directly or indirectly engaged in taking, culturing or 
processing fishery or aquatic resources. These include, but should not be limited to, 
women engaged in fishing in municipal waters and coastal areas, women workers in 
commercial fishing and aquaculture, vendors and processors of fish and coastal 
products, and subsistence producers such as shell-gatherers, managers and producers 
of mangrove resources and other related producers. 
3. Urban Poor - natural person/s residing in urban and urbanizable slum or 
blighted areas, with or without the benefit of security of tenure, where the income of 
the head of the family cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide for the family the 
minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other essential amenities 
in life. 
4. Workers in the Formal Economy - refer to those who are employed by any 
3 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an 
employee and shall include the Government and all its branches, subdivision and 
instrumentalities, all government-owned or controlled corporations and institutions, or as 
well as non-profit private institutions, or organizations. 
5. Workers in the lnformal Economy. - shall refer to self-employed and all those 
without employer - employee relationship. 
6. Migrant workers. - shall refer to Filipinos who are to be engaged, are 
engaged or have been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which they are 
not legal residents whether documented or undocumented. 
7. lndigenous Peoples. - refer to those who are members of any indigenous 
peoples/indigenous cultural communities of the Philippines as defined under Section 
3(h), Chapter II of Republic Act No. 8371 otherwise known as “The lndigenous People’s 
Rights Act of 1997” (IPRA of 1997). 
8. Moro - refer to indigenous peoples that historically inhabited Mindanao, 
Palawan and Sulu. and who are of the Islamic faith. 
9. Children. - shall refer to children below eighteen (18) years of age or those 18 
and over but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from 
abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental 
disability or condition. 
10. Senior Citizens - shall refer to those sixty (60) years of age and above 
I?. Persons with Disabilities. - shall refer to those who are suffering from 
restriction or different abilities, as a result of a mental, physical or sensory impairment to 
perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human 
being. 
12. Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender - 
Lesbians and Gays refer to those who are sexually and affectionally attracted to 
the same sex . 
Bisexuals refer to those who are sexually and affectionally attracted to either sex. 
Transgender refer to people whose biological and gender identity or expression may not 
be the same. It is an umbrella term that includes anyone whose gender identity or 
4 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
I 1  
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
expression differs from the sex of their birth -whether they have surgery or not. 
13. Solo Parents. - shall refer to those who fall under the category of a solo 
parent defined under Republic Act No. 8972, otherwise known as the "Solo Parents 
Welfare Act of 2000". 
(E) Gender - refers to the socially differentiated roles, characteristics and 
expectations attributed by culture to women and men. It is created, produced, 
reproduced and maintained by social institutions. 
Gender roles and attributes are not natural nor biologically given. 
(F) Gender Equality indicates that men and women enjoy the same status; have 
equal conditions for realizing their full human potentials to contribute to and benefit from 
the results of development 
(G) Gender and Development (GAD) refers to the development perspective and 
process that are participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from 
violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of self-determination and actualization 
of human potentials. It seeks to achieve gender equality as a fundamental value that 
should be reflected in development choices; seeks to transform society's social, 
economic and political structures and questions the validity of the gender roles they 
ascribed to women and men; contends that women are active agents of development 
and not just passive recipients of development assistance, and stresses the need of 
women to organize themselves and participate in political processes to strengthen their 
legal rights; 
(H) Gender Mainsfreaming is the process of assessing the implications for 
women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, in all 
areas and at all levels, It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns 
and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and 
evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres so 
that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. 
(I) Violence againsf Women refers to any act of gender-based violence that 
results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to 
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, 
5 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
whether occurring in public or in private life. It shall be understood to encompass, but 
not be limited to, the following: 
1. physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence occurring in the family, 
including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related 
violence, marital rape, and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal 
violence and violence related to exploitation; 
2. physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general 
community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, 
in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and prostitution; 
3. physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the 
state, wherever it occurs. 
As defined in R.A. 9262, 
Physical violence shall mean bodily or physical harm. 
Sexual violence shall mean any act that is sexual in nature, including but not 
limited to: rape; sexual harassment; acts of lasciviousness; treating the women or her 
child as a sex object; making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks; physically 
attacking the sexual parts of the victim's body; forcing the victim to watch obscene 
publications and indecent shows; forcing the victim to do indecent acts and/or make 
films thereof; forcing the wife and mistressllover to live in the conjugal home or to sleep 
together in the same room with the abuser; causing or attempting to cause the victim to 
engage in sexual activity by force, physical or other harm, coercion or threats thereof; 
prostituting the women or her child. 
Psychological violence shall mean acts or omissions causing mental or emotional 
suffering of the victim, such as but not limited to: intimidation; harassment; stalking; 
damage to property; public ridicule or humiliation; repeated verbal abuse; marital 
infidelity; causing or allowing the victim to witness the physical, sexual, or psychological 
abuse of a family member; causing or allowing the victim to witness pornography in any 
form; causing or allowing the victim to witness abusing injury to pets; unlawful or 
unwanted deprivation of the right to custody andlor visitation of common children. 
6 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
Economic violence shall mean acts that make a woman financially dependent, 
including: withdrawal of financial support; preventing the victim from engaging in any 
legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity; deprivation of financial resources 
and the right to conjugal, community or property owned in common; destroying 
household property or controlling the victim’s own money or properties 
CHAPTER 111 
RIGHTS AND EMPOWERMENT 
SECTION 4.Human Rights of Women. - All rights recognized under 
international instruments duly signed and ratified by the Philippines, including rights 
under the Constitution and other existing laws shall be rights of women under this Act to 
be enjoyed without discrimination. 
SECTION 5. Protection from Violence- The State shall ensure that all women 
shall be protected from all forms of violence as provided for in existing laws. Agencies 
of government shall give priority to the defense and protection to women against 
gender-based offenses and help women attain justice and healing. 
Towards this end, measures to prosecute and reform offenders shall likewise be 
pursued. 
(A). Within the next five years, there shall be an incremental increase in the 
recruitment and training of women in the police force, forensics and medico-legal, and 
legal services and such other services availed by women who are victims of gender - 
related offenses until 50% of personnel shall be women. 
(E). Women shall have the right to protection and security in situations of armed 
conflict and militarization. The State shall observe international standards, particularly 
International Humanitarian Laws, for the protection of civilian population in 
circumstances of emergency and armed conflict. It shall not force women, especially 
indigenous peoples, to abandon their lands, territories and means of subsistence, or 
relocate them in special centers for military purposes under any discriminatory 
condition. 
(C). All government personnel involved in the protection and defense of women 
against gender-based violence shall undergo a mandatory training on human rights and 
7 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
IS 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
gender sensitivity pursuant to this Act. 
SECTION 6. 
Participation and Represenfation. The State shall undertake 
temporary special measures to accelerate the participation and representation of 
women in all spheres of society particularly in the decision-making and policy-making 
processes in government and private entities to fully realize their role as agents and 
beneficiaries of development. 
The State shall institute affirmative action mechanisms so that women can 
participate meaningfully in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of policies, 
plans and programs for national, regional and local development; 
(A) Empowerment in Civil Service. Within the next five (5) years, the number of 
women in third level positions in government shall be increased to achieve a fifty-fifty 
gender balance. 
(B) Development Councils and Planning Bodies. To ensure the participation of 
women in all levels of development planning and program implementation, at least 33% 
of membership of all development councils from the regional, provincial, city, municipal 
and barangay levels shall be composed of women. 
(C) Other policy and decision-making bodies. Women's groups shall also be 
represented in international, national and local special and decision-making bodies such 
as, but not limited, to agricultural, fisheries, agrarian reform and anti-poverty councils. 
(D) lnfernational bodies. The State shall take all appropriate measures to ensure 
that women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the opportunity to 
represent their Governments at the international level and to participate in the work of 
international organizations. 
(E) lntegration of Women in Political Parties. The State shall provide incentives to 
political parties with a women's agenda and with women comprising at least 33% of 
their leadership andlor membership. It shall likewise encourage the representation of 
women in their internal policy-making structures, appointive and electoral nominating 
processes. 
(F) 
Private sector. The State shall take measures to encourage women 
leadership in the private sector in the form of incentives. 
8 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
I1 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
SECTION 7. Equal Treatment before the Law. The State shall take steps to 
review and when necessary, amend and/or repeal existing discriminatory laws within 
three years from effectivity of this Act. 
SECTION 8. 
Scholarships and Training. 
Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in Education, 
(A) 
The State shall remove gender stereotypes and images in educational 
materials and curricula. Gender-sensitive language shall be used at all times. 
(6) 
Enrollment of women and men in non-traditional skills training in 
vocational and tertiary levels shall be encouraged. 
(C) 
SECTION 9. Non-discriminatory Portrayal of Women in Media and Film - The 
State shall formulate policies and programs for the advancement of women in 
collaboration with media-related organizations from the private sector. It shall likewise 
endeavor to raise the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity of a 
woman, and the role and contribution of women in the family, community and the 
society through the strategic use of the mass media. 
Expulsion of women students for single pregnancy shall be outlawed 
For this purpose, the State shall provide incentives to encourage programming 
that appropriately present women’s needs, issues and concerns in movies, television 
shows, advertisements and print media, and support media watch groups, media 
professional associations and women’s organizations. 
Similarly, gender-sensitivity 
training (GST) programs for all media practitioners including producers, directors, 
managers, journalists, news editors, news reporters, publishers as well as those in the 
movie and advertising industries shall be organized to encourage the creation and use 
of non-stereotyped, balanced, diverse and positive images of women in media. The use 
of gender-fair language shall also be encouraged specifically in the practice of their 
profession. 
The MTRCB shall revise its rules and regulations to discourage unfair or 
derogatory portrayal of women in both media and film. 
SECTION I O .  Access to lnformafion and Services relating to Women’s Health; 
(A) Comprehensive Health Services. - The State shall at all times provide for 
9 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
21 
28 
29 
30 
comprehensive gender responsive health services and programs covering all stages of 
a woman’s life cycle and ensure access to the following: 
1. Maternal care services; 
2. 
Nutrition package; 
3. 
Reproductive health services; 
4. Adolescent and youth health services; 
5. Women and children protection services; 
6. 
Screening and appropriate management of reproductive tract infections 
(RTIS) including sexually transmitted infections (STIS), human immunodeficiency virus 
(HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), breast and reproductive tract 
cancers, and other gynecological conditions; 
7. 
prevention and management of abortion and its implications; 
8. Healthy lifestyle activities; 
9. Care of the elderly; 
10. 
11, Post-menopausal services; 
12. VAW Services - Women shall be given provision and access to 
comprehensive services which include psychosocial therapeutic interventions and 
assistance towards healing, recovery and empowerment 
Health services for women with disabilities; 
(6) Comprehensive Health lnformafion and Education. - The State shall provide 
women in all sectors with timely, complete and accurate information and education on 
all the above-stated aspects of women’s health, in government education and training 
programs. 
Further, education programs on reproductive health shall always include the 
following: 
1. The important role of parents in the total formation of their children 
2. The formation of a person’s sexuality that affirms human dignity 
3. Natural and artificial family planning methods including fertility awareness 
SECTION 11, Equal rights in a// rnatfers relating to marriage and family relations. 
The State shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women 
10 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
I 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and shall ensure: 
(1) The same right to enter into and leave partnerships or relationships other than 
those referred to in the Family Code 
(2) The same right to choose freely a spouse and to enter into marriage only with 
their free and full consent. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal 
effect. 
(3) The joint decision on the number and spacing of their children and to have 
access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights; 
(4) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose 
freely a profession and an occupation; 
(5) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, 
management, administration, enjoyment, and disposition of property. 
(6) The same rights to properties and resources, whether titled or not, and 
inheritance, whether formal or customary. 
Customary laws shall be respected provided, however, that they do not 
contradict the above-enumerated rights. 
CHAPTER IV 
RIGHTS AND EMPOWERMENT OF MARGINALIZED SECTORS 
Women are guaranteed all the rights- civil, political, social and economic 
recognized, promoted and protected under existing laws, including the Indigenous 
Peoples’ Rights Act, Urban Development and Housing Act, Comprehensive Agrarian 
Reform Law, Fisheries Code, Labor Code, Migrant Workers Act, Solo Parents Welfare 
Act and Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act. 
SECTION. 12. 
The State recognizes the contribution of women to food 
production and shall therefore ensure sustainability and sufficiency of its activities in the 
household and community levels, To address this, the State shall ensure: 
(A) Right to Food - The State shall guarantee the availability of food in quantity 
and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals; physical and economic 
accessibility for everyone to adequate food, free from unsafe substances and culturally 
accepted. 


5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
(8) 
Right to Resources for Food Production 
The State shall promote the right to adequate food by proactively engaging in 
activities intended to strengthen access to and utilization of resources and means to 
ensure their livelihood, including food security: 
1. Equal status shall be given to men and women, whether married or not, in the 
titling of the land and issuance of stewardship contracts and patents; 
2. Equal treatment shall be given to men and women beneficiaries of the 
agrarianbreform program, wherein vested right of a woman agrarian reform beneficiary 
is defined by the woman's relationship to the tillage, i.e. her direct and indirect 
contribution to the development of the land; 
3. Customary rights of women to the land, including access to and control of the 
fruits and benefits, shall be recognized in circumstances where private ownership is not 
possible such as ancestral domain claims; 
4. Information and assistance on claiming rights to the land shall be made 
available to women at all times; 
5. Equal rights of women to the enjoyment, use and management of land and 
water and other natural resources within their communities or ancestral domains; 
6. Equal access to the use and management of fisheries and aquatic resources, 
and all the rights and benefits accruing to stakeholders in the fishing industry; 
7. Equal status shall be given to men and women in the issuance of stewardship 
or lease agreements and other fishery rights that may be granted for the use and 
management of coastal and aquatic resources. In the same manner, women's 
organizations shall be given equal treatment as with other marginalized fishers 
organizations in the issuance of stewardship or lease agreements or other fishery rights 
for the use and management of such coastal and aquatic resources which may include 
providing support to women-managed coastal resources; 
8. These shall be no discrimination against women in the deputization of fish 
wardens. 
9. Women-friendly agriculture technology shall be designed based on 
accessibility and viability shall be designed in consultation with women's organizations; 
12 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
I 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
1O.Access to small farmers-based and controlled seeds production and 
distribution shall be ensured; 
11. Indigenous practices of women in seed storage and cultivation shall be 
recognized; 
12.Provide opportunities for empowering women fishers to be involved in the 
control and management not only of the catch and production of aquamarine resources 
but also to engage in entrepreneurial activities which will add value to production and 
marketing ventures; 
13. Provide economic opportunities for the indigenous women, particularly access 
to market for their produce. 
SECTION 13. Right to Housing - The State shall develop housing programs for 
women that are localized, simple, accessible, secure, with viable employment 
opportunities and affordable amortization. In this regard, the State shall consult women 
and involve them in community planning and development especially in matters 
pertaining to land use, zoning and relocation. 
SECTION 14. Right to Employment, Livelihood, Credit, Capital and Technology- 
The State shall ensure that women shall be provided with the following: 
(A) Equal access to formal sources of credit and capital at concessional rates; 
(B) Equal share to the produce of the farms and aquatic resources; 
(C) Support services and gears to protect them from occupational and health 
hazards. 
(D)Support services that will enable women to balance family obligations and 
work responsibilities; 
(E) Membership in unions regardless of status of employment and place of 
employment; 
(F) In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas work, the State shall exert 
all efforts to address the causes of outmigration by developing local employment and 
other economic opportunities for women and by introducing measures to curb violence 
and forced and involuntary displacement of local women. The State shall ensure the 
protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of migrant women regardless of their 
13 


work status; 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
(G) Protection against discrimination in wages, conditions of work and 
employment opportunities in host countries; 
(H) Employment opportunities for returning women migrant workers taking into 
account their skills and qualifications. Corollary, the State shall also promote skills and 
entrepreneurship development of returning women migrant workers. 
SECTION 15. Right to Education And Training - The State shall ensure the 
following: 
(A) Participation in trainings and extension services related to rights enumerated 
in Sections 6 and 8 of this Act; 
(B) Gender-sensitive trainings and seminars; 
(C) Equal opportunities in scholarship, especially to those interested in research 
and development aimed towards women-friendly farm technology. 
SECTION. 16. Right to Representation and Participation - The State shall ensure 
women’s 
participation in policy-making or decision-making bodies in the regional, 
national, and international levels. It shall also ensure the participation of at least thirty 
three percent (33%) grassroots women leaders in decision and policy making bodies in 
their respective sectors, including but not limited to, Presidential Agrarian Reform 
Council (PARC) and local counterparts; community-based resource management 
bodies or mechanisms on forest management and stewardship; National Fisheries 
and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC) and local counterparts: 
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Presidential Commission for the Urban 
Poor and where applicable, local housing boards; and National Anti-Poverty 
Commission. 
SECTION 17. Right to lnformation - Access to information regarding policies on 
women, including programs, projects and budget shall be ensured. 
SECTION 18. Social Protection. - 
(A) The Social Security System (SSS) and the Philippine Health Insurance 
Corporation (PhilHealth) shall support indigenous and community-based social 
protection schemes. 
14 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
IO 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
(B) The State shall endeavor to reduce and eventually eliminate transfer costs of 
It shall likewise provide access to 
remittances from abroad through negotiations. 
investment opportunities for remittances in line with national development efforts; 
(C) The State shall establish alternative social security system and health 
insurance program for senior citizens. 
SECTION 19. Recognition and Preservafion of Culfural ldentityflntegrify - The 
State recognizes and respects the rights of Mor0 and indigenous women to practice, 
promote, protect and preserve their own culture, traditions and institutions and to 
consider these rights in the formulation and implementation of national policies and 
programs. To this end, the State shall adopt measures in consultation with the sectors 
concerned to protect their rights to their indigenous knowledge systems and practices, 
traditional livelihood and other manifestations of their cultures and ways of life provided 
that these cultural systems and practices are not discriminatory to women as defined in 
this Act 
SECTION. 20. Peace and Development - Peace process shall be pursued with 
the following considerations: 
(A) Increase the number of women participating in decision making in the peace 
process, including membership in peace panels; 
(B) Ensure the development and inclusion of the women’s peace agenda in the 
over-all peace strategy and women’s participation in the planning, implementation, 
monitoring and evaluation of rehabilitation and rebuilding of conflict-affected areas; 
(C) Recognize and support women’s role in conflict-prevention and peacemaking 
and in indigenous systems of conflict resolution 
SECTION. 21. Protection of Girl-children. - 
(A) The State shall pursue measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination 
against girl-children in education, health and nutrition and skills development. 
(B) Girl-children shall be protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation 
caused by negative cultural attitudes and practices as well as in the economic 
exploitation of child labor. 
(C) Equal access of Mor0 and indigenous girl children in the Madaris, schools of 
15 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
living culture and traditions and the regular schools, shall be ensured; 
(D) Gender-sensitive curriculum, including legal literacy, books and curriculum in 
the Madaris and school of living culture and tradition, shall be developed. 
(E) Sensitivity of regular schools to particular Mor0 and indigenous practices, 
such as fasting in the month of Ramadan, choice of clothing (including the wearing of 
hijab), halal food shall be ensured. 
SECTION 22. Protection of Senior Citizens - The State shall protect women 
senior-citizen from neglect, abandonment, domestic violence, abuse, exploitation and 
discrimination. Towards this end, the State shall ensure special protective mechanisms 
and support services against violence, sexual abuse, exploitation and discrimination of 
older women. 
CHAPTER V 
INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS 
SECTION. 23. Gender Mainstreaming as a strategy for implementing the Magna 
Carta of Women. All agencies, national and local, State colleges and universities, 
government owned and controlled corporations including local government units, shall 
adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy to eliminate discrimination in their systems, 
policies, programs, processes and procedures that shall include but not be limited to the 
following: 
(A) GAD plan and budget. GAD plans based on the government entity's and 
agency's mandates or charter designed to empower women and gender issues, in 
accordance with R.A. 7192 and the national framework plan for women for the period, 
shall be developed. The development of the GAD plan shall proceed from the conduct 
of gender analysis of policies and programs, review and collection of sex-disaggregated 
data in consultation with gender/women's rights advocates and agency women 
clientele. Programs on economic empowerment and strengthening of women's 
bargaining powers in the globalized economy as well as micro-finance and micro- 
enterprise development of women; poverty alleviation and effective reduction of 
violence against women shall be priority allocation. The cost of implementation of the 
GAD plan shall be at least five percent (5%) of the agency's total budget appropriations; 
16 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
(6) GAD focal points. Key fulltime or permanent personnel shall be appointed 
as GAD focal points in all government entities and agencies, both at the national and 
local levels. They shall serve as the catalysts andlor advocates that will facilitate the 
implementation of this Act. They shall likewise lead in the conduct of GAD-related 
initiatives in their respective agencies: 
(C) Sex-disaggregated data. All government entities and agencies shall develop 
a systematic sex-disaggregated data gathering and gender analysis for planning, 
programming and policy formulation; 
(D) GAD related policies and plans. Implementation of this Act shall be 
articulated in the following policies and plans: 
I. Macro-economic policies and plans such as the Medium-Term Philippine 
Development Plan and Medium-Term Philippine Investment Plan; 
2. 
Other national programs such as poverty-alleviation and hunger 
mitigation; 
3. 
Plans and programs of local government units such as the comprehensive 
development plans, comprehensive land use plans, annual development 
plans and annual investment plans. 
In partnership with all relevant government agencies and institutions, non- 
government and people's organizations and the private sector, the NCRFW shall 
develop a National Framework Plan for Women aimed at empowering women as well 
as men to achieve gender equality, to be used as a guide in the formulation of the 
abovementioned plans and programs. 
Local government units (LGUs) shall likewise be encouraged to legislate GAD 
Codes, with the meaningful participation of women's rights and gender advocates, in 
their respective units. 
SECTION 24. An officer duly trained on gender and development shall be 
designated as the gender focal point in the consular section of Philippine embassies or 
consulates, Said officer shall be primarily responsible in handling gender concerns of 
women migrant workers. 
Attached agencies shall cooperate in strengthening the 
Philippine foreign posts' program for the delivery of services to women migrant workers; 
17 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
2s 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
SECTION 25. The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women 
(NCRFW). As the primary coordinating agency and policy advisory on women and 
gender concerns under the Office of the President, the NCRFW shall be the overall 
monitoring body to ensure the implementation of this Act. In doing so, it shall direct all 
agencies to report on the implementation of this Act and immediately respond to the 
problems brought to their attention in relation to this Act. It shall also lead in ensuring 
that government entities and agencies are capacitated on effective implementation of 
this Law 
SECTION 26. The Gender and Development (GAD) Ombud. A gender and 
development Ombud shall be established in the Commission on Human Rights. The 
GAD Ombud shall: 
(1) 
monitor and oversee the strict implementation of this Act, inc coordination 
with NCRFW; 
(2) 
on its own or on report or complaint, have the power to require 
information, investigate or hear administrative complaint involving the 
possible violations of this Act; 
(3) 
use every and all reasonable means to ascertain the facts in the report or 
complaint, in all instances observing due process; 
(4) recommend to the President or the Civil Service Commission any possible 
administrative action based on non-compliance or failure to implement the 
provisions of this Act; 
(5) 
direct agencies to immediately respond to the problems brought to their 
attention in relation to the implementation of this Act and report to the Council 
on action taken; assist in filing of cases against individuals, agencies, 
institutions or establishment that violate the provision of this Act. 
SECTION. 27. incentives and awards- there shall be established an incentives 
and awards system which shall be administered by a board under such rules and 
regulations as may be promulgated by the NCRFW to deserving entities, government 
agencies and local government units for their outstanding performance in upholding the 
rights of women and effective implementation of gender-responsive programs. 
18 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
CHAPTER VI 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 28. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - As the lead agency, the 
NCRFW shall, in coordination with the Commission on Human Rights and all 
departments and agencies, formulate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of 
this Act within ninety (90) days after its effectivity. 
SECTION 29. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid 
or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting. 
SECTION. 30. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, 
or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended 
accordingly. 
SECTION. 31. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
17 
Approved, 
19