Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. __2100

Introduced by AKBAYAN Party-List Representatives
Hon. Kaka Bag-ao and Hon. Walden Bello

EXPLANATORY NOTE

More than a decade since the Philippines committed itself to ‘take measures to ensure
women’s access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making” during the
Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, government action and programs pale in
comparison with its official rhetoric on women representation. The face of Philippine politics and
governance is still primarily male, with most political institutions, the police and military, and the
bureaucracy dominated by men.

Representation of women in Congress, for instance, is still restricted: In the last 14”
congress, women comprise only four out of 23 member of the Senate (17.4%) and occupy 51
out of 240 seats in the House of Representatives (21.3%). At the local level, the lack of gender
balance in elective posts is also evident, the breakdown for last local government post are:
Governors (62 men, 18 women); Vice Governor (67 men, 13 women); Board Members (635
men, 123 women); Mayors (1,319 men, 273 women); Vice Mayors (1,362 men, 230 women);
and Councilors (10,776 men, 3,016 women).

‘The same pattern can be seen in the judiciary, where three-fourths of judges are men.
In Shari’a Courts and the Court of Tax Appeals, there are no women judges at all. In the
bureaucracy, while female public sector workers exceed their male counterparts in general, the
executive level positions are still an almost exclusive club for men, with women occupying a
mere 4.4% of the top posts. The inaccessibility of high-level decision-making structures for
women can also be gleaned from the current composition of key Cabinet posts - only two out
19 are women, and male Cabinet secretaries continue to control portfolios that are stereotyped
as male arenas, such as defense, trade and finance. Furthermore, the military and the police,
from the top level down to the level of rank-and-file employees, are still male-dominated.

This lack of gender balance means that major policies that affect the nation in general,
and even those that affect women in particular, are mostly decided by men.

Policy reforms can be introduced to correct the uneven representation of men and
women in politics and governance. One example, which this bill seeks to introduce, is the
adoption of a provisional quota system that progressively widens representation for women in
power structures and decision making mechanisms. Countries that have achieved a critical mass
in women’s political representation at the local and national levels have adopted gender quotas:

Political parties in Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Denmark and Norway have
implemented quotas for many years, resulting in a high representation for women in
politics. In Finland, meanwhile, a law requiring that at least 40% of each sex can be
appointed in public decision-making bodies led to an increase in women’s membership
from 25% in 1980 to 48% in 1996.


South Africa jumped to No. 14 in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's ranking of national
legislatures in terms of gender balance after the African National Congress instituted a
quota which reserves 30% of parliamentary and 50% of local government candidacies
to women.

In India, where the Panchayat Raj Act reserves 33% of the three-tiered panchayats for
women (village council, council of cluster villages, and the district council), there are
now close to a million elected women leaders at the village level.

This bill proposes the introduction of a similar quota system in the country, with 30% of
appointive and elective positions allocated to women. The goal is not simply to give flesh to the
country’s commitments to various women and human rights-related international agreements,
but more importantly, to have a critical mass of women in political decision-making institutions
that will significantly strengthen the push for women’s agenda. Gender quota mechanisms are
internationally-recognized methods to fast track meaningful and relevant political participation
for women.

The immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Hon. WALDEN BELLO
Representative, Akbayan Party-list


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 21 ey

Introduced by AKBAYAN Party-List Representatives
Hon. Kaka Bag-ao and Hon. Walden Bello

AN ACT
STRENGTHENING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION IN ELECTIVE
AND APPOINTIVE POSITIONS IN THE GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING GOVERNMENT-
OWNED AND CONTROLLED CORPORATIONS, THE ARMED FORCES OF THE
PHILIPPINES, THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Gender Balance Act of 2010”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is the policy of the State to ensure the fundamental
equality of women and men in the exercise of enjoyment of all economic, social, cultural, and
civil political rights pursuant to the Article II, Section XIV of the Constitution and international
agreements on women’s rights to which the Philippines is a signatory such as the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Towards this end, the State shall institutionalize and implement policies and programs
with specific targets and mechanisms that would bring in women in all elective and appointive
positions in government, including the judiciary, government owned and controlled
corporations, the AFP, PNP, and other law enforcement agencies.

SEC. 3. Purposes. — The purposes of this Act are as follows:

(1) To promote the women’s active participation in the electoral process;

(2) To ensure women’s access to political representation and decision-making; and,

(3) To institutionalize reforms in the recruitment, selection, and appointment of women in
all levels of the government bureaucracy.

‘SEC. 4. Participation in Executive Level Positions. —

a) Public Officials. — At least thirty-percent (30%) of the following appointive positions
shall be reserved for women, without prejudice to security of tenure:

(1) Cabinet-level positions;
(2) Undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, directors, chiefs of divisions and positions
of comparable salary grade in every line department or government agency,


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government-owned and controlled corporations, government financing
institutions, state colleges and universities, and local government units;

(3) Ambassadors and consular officers in the foreign service;

(4) Justices of the Supreme Court;

(5) Judges to be appointed in the Regional Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts,
Metropolitan Trial Courts and Metropolitan Circuit Trial Courts and other
appointive positions in the judiciary; and,

(6) Prosecutors in the Department of Justice and those to be appointed in
component cities, highly urbanized cities and municipalities.

The appointive positions reserved for women as enumerated above shall be increased to
forty percent (40%). There shall be equal representation of women and men.

The Commission on Appointments (CA) and the appointing authorities designated by
law, where proper, shall implement this provision.

b) Rank and file employees. ~ The Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the appointing
authorities designated by law, where proper, shall promulgate the necessary rules toward the
attainment of gender balance in all government departments and agencies, including
government-owned and controlled corporations, for rank and file employees, without prejudice
to security of tenure: Provided, that at least forty percent (40%) of the positions shall be
reserved for women.

SEC. 5. Participation in Political Parties. —

a) All political parties shall reserve thirty percent (30%) of its official candidates to
women in national and local elections at the provincial, regional, city and municipal levels. The
percentage of women candidates in a political party's slate shall increase by forty percent
(40%).

) Political parties shall reserve at least thirty percent (30%) of the positions for their
respective officers or leadership to women.

©) Political parties shall allocate a minimum of thirty percent (30%) of their budget for
gender-related programs particularly for capacity-building or training for prospective women
candidates, party leaders and members.

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) shall enforce this provision.
SEC. 6. Women in the Military, Police Force and Other Law Enforcement Agencies. -

a) All military, police, and other law enforcement institutions such as the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation
(NBI), the philippine Military Academy (PMA), the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA),
and other similar military and law enforcement institutions, shall reserve at least thirty percent
(30%) of its table of organization, from the rank-and-file to the top positions, to women:
Provided, that they meet the minimum qualification standards set forth by existing laws.

The percentage of women in the military, police and other law enforcement agencies
shall increase by forty percent (40%);

b) Women in the AFP, PNP, NBI, and other military and law enforcement agencies shall
be allowed combat and security-related assignments;

¢) All police units/stations shall establish an all-female unit to attend to victims of rape,
battering, incest and other crimes against women.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of
Investigation, and other military and law enforcement agencies shall enforce this provision.


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SEC. 7. Capacity Development. — At least thirty percent (30%) of scholarships, grants,
fellowships, and trainings in the national and local government, either in the Philippines or
abroad, shall be reserved for qualified women: Provided, that they meet the qualifications and
standards set by the Civil Service Commission and the National Economic Development
‘Authority (NEDA).

All departments, bureaus, agencies, local government units, and government-owned and
controlled corporations, shall include gender and development orientation, trainings and
seminars in their gender resource programs.

The Civil Service Commission, National Economic Development Authority, and all
departments, bureaus and agencies shall enforce this provision.

‘SEC. 8. Monitoring and Oversight Mechanism. -

a) The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) shall monitor the proper
implementation of this Act. It shall submit an annual report to Congress and the Office of the
President on the compliance of government departments and agencies, including the military,
police, and other law enforcement agencies, to the provisions of this Act. For this purpose, the
PWC may avail of the assistance of women’s organizations and non-government organizations;

b) There shall be a Legislative Oversight Committee composed of three representatives
each from the Committees on Women of the House of Representatives and the Senate, to be
constituted and co-chaired by the Chairs of both committees. Said committees shall
automatically take into consideration the annual reports of the PCW and other reports
submitted to it by all concerned agencies, women’s organizations, and non-governmental
organizations.

SEC. 9. Penalties. —

a) Any person found guilty of violating any provision of this Act, including its rules and
regulations, shall be sentenced to pay the amount of not less than Five Hundred Thousand
Pesos (P500, 000.00), without prejudice to any criminal and administrative sanctions or
penalties that may be imposed upon him as provided by law;

b) Any political party found guilty by the Commission on Elections of violating Sec. 5 of
this Act shall be disqualified to participate in the immediate national or local elections.

SEC. 10. Enforcement. —

a) Any person may file a complaint or the proper case with the concerned government
agency. Provided, however, that in the event that any concerned agency fails to act on the
complaint within ninety (90) days from the filing, the complainant may file the complaint with
the Office of the Solicitor General or the Department of Justice for proper investigation and
prosecution, if warranted;

b) All government agencies, including government-controlled and owned corporations,
the AFP, PNP, and other law enforcement agencies, shall provide the necessary assistance to
the PCW in ensuring the proper implementation of this Act.

©) The NCRFW may, on its own, notify any government agency, including government-
controlled and owned corporations, the AFP, PNP, and other law enforcement agencies, for any
infraction or violation of this Act and its rules and regulations. The PCW may also file any
complaint and avail of the assistance of the prosecuting arms of the government.

SEC. 11. Separability Clause. — If any part or provision of this Act is held unconstitutional or
invalid, other provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force
and effect.


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SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 13. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete
publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

APPROVED,