NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S. No. 1339
^
Senate
«f tlif fter- ftaijJ
•22 SEP 21 P5:l9
RECKVEOVr
Introduced by Senator Loren B. Legarda
AN ACT
TO ENSURE GENDER-RESPONSIVE AND INCLUSIVE PROTOCOLS AND 
PROGRAMMING TO ADDRESS THE GENDER-DIFFERENTIATED NEEDS OF 
WOMEN DURING COVID-19 AND OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS,
EMERGENCIES, AND DISASTERS
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the vulnerability of provisions and 
mechanisms protecting the women's sector against the adverse effects of a health 
crisis. Government responses were inadequate in the following instances: giving 
immediate and sufficient protection to victims of gender-based violence and other 
abuses against women, delivering social services that promote women's \yeLfare, 
acting upon the imavailabihty of economic opportunities for women during the 
pandemic, addressing unpaid care work and other labor-related issues, and providing 
health care and sexual and reproductive health services, among others.
Gender-based violence (GBV) has reportedly increased, particularly during 
lockdowns and community quarantines. The lockdown measures have made women 
more vulnerable to exploitation. Reporting such abuses to authorities has become 
more difficult due to restricted mobility. Necessary government support and 
protection were inadequate due to disruption in public services in justice and social 
work. Government guidelines responsive to these issues in the face of the pandemic 
were lacking, if not absent. These experiences have exposed the need to strengthen the


existing laws on women and to intensify the implementation of programs promoting 
women's welfare.
In this regard, this bill seeks to ensure gender-responsive and inclusive 
protocols and programs to address the gender-differentiated needs of women during 
the COVID-19 pandemic and other pubhc health concerns, emergencies, and disasters.
Under the proposed measure, during a public health emergency, women shall 
be empowered to be included in the national and local government's response systems 
to address the gender-differentiated needs of the different groups of women, 
especially the marginalized. The bill also mandates that responses and recovery 
systems must ensure that women are placed strategically and shall participate 
meaningfully in leadership, decision-making, and policy-making positions at all 
levels. Furthermore, the bill requires the national and local authorities to target the 
most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged women, taking into accoimt their 
intersectionality or different experiences of discrimination and oppression, and ensure 
that social protection and safety nets are afforded to them, especially victims of GBV. 
The protection of rural women and indigenous women is also highlighted as the bill 
mandates the local government units to provide them with adequate and unimpeded 
access to health, legal, and socio-economic services.
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S. No. 1339
;C
(Mitf of tlif feTftirp
•a SEP 21 P5:19
RK8V»M
Introduced by Senator Loren B. Legarda
AN ACT
TO ENSURE GENDER-RESPONSIVE AND INCLUSIVE PROTOCOLS AND 
PROGRAMMING TO ADDRESS THE GENDER-DIFFERENTIATED NEEDS OF 
WOMEN DURING COVID-19 AND OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS,
EMERGENCIES, AND DISASTERS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1 
Section 1. Short Title. — This Act shaU be known as the "Gender Responsive and
2 
Inclusive Pandemic Management Act of2022."
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Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State hereby affirms its role as the primary
4 
duty-bearer in ensuring the enjoyment and fulfillment of all human rights during
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disasters and emergencies, including a pandemic, especially the right to life, which
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permits no derogation even during emergencies, and the right to health, so that every
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individual shall enjoy the highest attainable level of health. It affirms its Constitutional
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duties to guarantee the equality of men and women to the enjoyment of their human
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rights, with a focus on the differentiated needs of and impact of emergencies on
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women, prohibit discrimination, and create an enabling environment under the
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"better normal" that guarantees the human rights of women. It acknowledges its
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corresponding duties relating to women's rights to participation and representation,
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protection from gender-based violence during emergencies, sexual health and
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reproductive health, and women's economic empowerment. It adopts a zero-tolerance


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policy towards gender-based violence, abuse, and exploitation, rooted in gender 
inequality and discrimination. The implementation of approaches and strategies 
relevant to disaster risk reduction and emergency and pandemic management must 
integrate hiunan rights and gender lenses. It is fundamental that policies, plans, 
programs, actions, and results are non-discriminatory and that no one is left behind.
Towards ensuring gender equality, the State shall be guided by existing 
frameworks on gender-responsive programming during the COVID-19 pandemic and 
shall establish mechanisms and processes to ensure the adoption, reprogramming, 
and/or continuity of programs that serve and address the gender-differentiated needs 
of women during a pandemic. Accordingly, the State shall:
(a) Be the primary duty bearer to enforce the protection of the hiunan rights of 
women during pandemics and other public health emergencies from the 
point of prevention until recovery and while adapting to the new normal in 
society;
(b) Establish policies and programs to prevent the spread of a "notifiable 
disease," to prepare prior to its actual impact, and to deliver treatment, care, 
support, and other essential services to individuals affected in accordance 
with evidence-based strategies and approaches that uphold the principles 
of hiunan rights and gender-responsiveness, taking into account the 
intersectional considerations that differentiate impact on different groups, 
identities, and sectors;
(c) Institutionalize real, actual, and meaningful participation of women, at-risk 
individuals and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and 
other pubhc health emergencies, and those who are most vulnerable to 
human rights violations during such situations in policy and decision­
making and at all stages of pandemic or emergency management, 
particularly in the formulation of general guidelines and resolutions 
governing the national pandemic management;
(d) Empower and collaborate with women and institutionalize their role to lead 
publicly, decide and promote gender-responsive, equitable, and universally 
accessible response, recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction approaches 
in all areas of concern, including public health, during a pandemic;


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(e) Adopt a multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approach to the pandemic 
response management during the preparation, response, and recovery 
stages by ensuring an all-of-society engagement and partnership involving 
the whole government, public health practitioners, technical experts, local 
communities, civil society organizations (CSOs), academe, private sector, 
persons most vulnerable to the pandemic and other relevant actors or 
stakeholders, with the State as the primary duty-bearer;
(f) Ensure indiscriminate access to pandemic-related and essential services, as 
well as sustained access to livelihood and other productive opportunities;
(g) Undertake appropriate actions to ensure the continuous and effective 
functioning of and access to concerned institutions, communication 
systems, referral systems, protection mechanisms, and other appropriate 
measures to address gender-based violence and give priority to accessing 
effective remedies, including reprogramming of delivery of services and 
capacitating service providers to dehver pertinent essential services;
(h) Ensure that the differentiated needs, multiple burdens, and gender-based 
violence faced by women during the pandemic or emergency are addressed 
and integrated with measures, actions, and conduct relating to the 
management of the pandemic response by integrating intersectional 
analysis in the formulation of policies, plans, and programs relating to 
pandemic management, particularly in the area of seciuity and law 
enforcement at all levels of government and particularly at the barangay 
level;
(i) Ensure access to prompt and substantive social protection and safety nets, 
taking into account the heightened insecurity and burden on the part of 
women and at-risk individuals, communities, and groups that might hinder 
access;
(j) Positively act, address, and seek to eradicate and prohibit stigma, 
discrimination, and other conditions that result in gender-based violence 
and aggravate the situations of women;
(k) Create and design effective communication and information platforms and 
systems that ensure broad, accurate, and timely dissemination and effective


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understanding by all, particularly in relation to monitoring the incidence of 
gender-based violence in both private and public spaces, as well as access 
to protection mechanisms and effective remedies;
(l) Utilize existing modern information, communication, research, and 
technological capacities and techniques in crafting policies with due regard 
to human rights; and
(m) 
Appropriate funds specifically for the above-mentioned mandates. Such 
funds will be taken out from the Calamity Fund appropriated under the 
annual General Appropriations Act and shall be used for the preparation 
stage until the recovery stages in coimection with any pubHc health 
emergency that may occur during the budget year or those that occtuxed in 
the past two (2) years prior to the budget year.
Sec. 3. Purpose. - The principal purpose of this Act is to ensure that there is 
adequate statutory power for government agencies to act, pursuant to their respective 
mandates, upon a declaration of an emergency by the President by reason of a 
pandemic and guided by the policies issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on 
Emerging Infectious Diseases (lATF) and the principles enunciated herein;
(a) To monitor and gather data regarding the realities of women relating to 
gender-based violence and enjoyment of their hmnan rights in the context of a 
pandemic that would inform, craft, and direct policies to be implemented in aU 
the stages of pandemic management;
(b) To effectively prevent, respond, and eliminate the incidence of gender-based 
violence against women and girls through the integration of gender and 
intersectional analysis in pandemic policy and decision-making, planning, and 
programming in all the stages of pandemic management;
(c) To develop and craft guidelines and instructions on practices, protocols, 
systems of coordination and networking, information and education of first 
responders, especially during the response and early recovery stages, safety 
and personal protection of workers, and needs of women, girls, and at-risk 
individuals, groups, and communities, and ensure their timeliness, 
responsiveness, availability, and accessibility;
(d) To ensure that communications systems, referral systems, protection


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mechanisms, and other measures on access to justice and effective remedies by
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women subject to gender-based violence are in place and continue to operate
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during the period of a pandemic;
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(e) To provide an immediate haven, shelter, security, resources, and support to
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women and girls subject to violence; and
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(f) To enable sufficient and effective regulatory authority to respond and to
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prevent the incidence of gender-based violence during a pandemic, including
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but not limited to the relaxation of regulatory requirements that impede the
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delivery of services or its compliance dming a pandemic, emergency
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procurement, and the provision of emergency funds for these purposes.
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For this purpose, every department or agency must come up with a gender-
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responsive pandemic preparedness plan, manual, or protocol for women in
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pandemics within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act and ensure the
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designation of focal persons to supervise and oversee the implementation of said plan,
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manual, or protocol.
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Sec. 4. Interpretation of this Act. — Unless otherwise provided, nothing in this Act
17 
shall be construed as precluding provisions in existing Philippine laws, international
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human rights laws and related instruments, and international humanitarian laws that
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are more promotive of human rights and the preservation and protection of the right
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to life.
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Sec. 5. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms shall be
22 
defined as follows:
23 
(a) "Access to Justice" means sufficient access to essential services for victim-
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smvivors of gender-based violence and all women and girls in conflict with the
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law, such as the unimpeded availability of legal assistance, case management
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services, health services, medico-legal services, counseling, protection,
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operational shelters, and support; with an accoimtability mechanism in place.
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(b) "At-risk individuals and groups" shall include the following vulnerable and
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marginalized persons, sectors, and/or groups:
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1. Women with Disabilities;
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2. Girl children;
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3. Elderly women;


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4. Women deprived of liberty, especially those who are pregnant, about to 
give birth, or have just given birth;
5. Pregnant, Lactating, and Post-partum mothers;
6. Members of the LGBTQI+ community;
7. Urban Poor Women;
8. Women in the informal and formal economy;
9. Women PUIs, PUMs, and COVID-19 Positive;
10. Moro and Muslim women;
11. Riural and indigenous women;
12. Internally displaced women;
13. Migrant women and their families;
14. Persons living with HIV;
15. Women frontline workers (as defined imder lATF Guidelines);
16. Women hiunan rights defenders;
17. Single mothers;
18. Teenage mothers;
19. Women who are refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, or at risk of 
statelessness;
20. Women in prostitution/ victim-siirvivors of illegal recruitment and 
trafficking; and
21. Women experiencing sexual or domestic violence.
(c) "Early Recovery" means a multidimensional process of recovery that begins in 
a humanitarian setting. It is guided by development principles that seek to 
build on humanitarian programs and catalyze sustainable development 
opportunities. It aims to generate self-sustaining, nationally-owned, resihent 
processes for post-crisis recovery. It encompasses the restoration of basic 
services, livelihoods, shelter, governance, secmity, the rule of law, the 
environment, and social dimensions, including the reintegration of the 
displaced population. Diuing this time, essential services to address gender- 
differentiated needs shall be made available.
(d) An "emergency" is any situation in which the life or well-being of civilians 
affected by a natural hazard or human-induced disaster, conflict, or a public


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health threat has been or will be at risk unless immediate and appropriate
action is taken, which demands an extraordinary response to exceptional 
measures.
(e) "Essential services" covers health and social services, whether provided by a 
public or private undertaking, to ensure the security, safety, and well-being of 
people, including but not limited to food, water, medicine, medical devices, 
public utiMties, energy, access to justice, pohce, health and protection services, 
and social protection addressing the needs of women during situations of 
pandemic, emergency ,or disaster as may be determined by the lATF or other 
relevant lead government agency or body under the law. Essential services 
cover health, pohce and justice, and social services sectors as defined by the 
Essentials for Quahty Multisectoral Service Provision to Women Migrant 
Workers Subject to Violence, Brief: COVID-19 and essential services provision 
for survivors of violence against women and girls; and Essential Services 
Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence. Such services will remain 
available throughout the preparation period, any possible imposed 
government lockdown, and during the recovery period.
(f) 
Frontline Workers are those employees within essential industries who must 
physically show up to their jobs. It includes both pubUc and private health 
workers, including, but not limited to, medical professionals, hospital and 
health facihty administrative and maintenance staff, and private health facitity 
aide, as well as their service providers, health workers, and volunteers of the 
Phihppine Red Cross and the World Health Organization, and employees of 
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), the Philippine Health Insurance 
Corporation (PHIC), health insurance providers, disaster risk reduction 
management officers, public safety officers, and other workers in other high 
priority sectors: Provided, that the lATF shall determine the sectors by which its 
workers can be classified as frontline workers.
(g) “Gender-Responsive" refers to the consistent and systematic attention paid to 
gendered differences among individuals in society with the goal of addressing 
the status quo and structural constraints to gender equality; this includes 
creating and maintaining an environment through site selection, staff selection.


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program development, content, processes, and materials that reflect an 
understanding of the realities of women's hves and addresses their needs and 
issues.
(h) "Health event of public health concern" refers to either a public health emergency 
or a public health threat due to biological, chemical, radio-nuclear, or 
environmental agents defined under Republic Act No. 11332.
(i) "Intersectionality" is a framework for imderstanding that people experience 
overlapping (i.e., intersecting) forms of oppression, discrimination, and 
marginalization based on their co-existing identities (e.g., inequality based on 
gender and/or ethnicity).
0 "Locally Stranded Individual" refers to foreign nationals or Filipino citizens in a 
specific locahty within the PhiHppines who have expressed intention to return 
to their place of residence or home origin.
(k) "Marginalization" refers to a condition where a whole category of people is 
excluded from useful and meaningful participation in political, economic, 
social, and cultural life.
(l) "Migrant Workers" refers to Filipinos who are to be engaged, are engaged, or 
have been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State in which they are not 
legal residents, whether documented or undocumented.
(m) "Nondiscrimination" refers to the guarantee wherein human rights are 
exercised without discrimination of any kind based on race, sex, language, 
religion, pohtical or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth, 
or another status, such as disability, age, marital and family status, sexual 
orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic 
and social situation.
(n) "Pandemic^' is defined under this Act as the worldwide spread of an illness or 
disease, occurring worldwide or over a vast area, crossing international 
boundaries, and usually affecting a large number of people, as declared by the 
World Health Organization. The term also contemplates other pubUc health 
emergencies as defined under RA11332 and as declared by the Department of 
Health.
(o) "Preparedness" refers to efforts that focus on ensuring adequate capacity and
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knowledge while reinforcing the ability to anticipate, respond, and recover
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from the impact of emergency situations. Essential services to address gender-
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differentiated needs should be included in these efforts.
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(p) "Prevention" generally refers to taking action to stop gender-based violence
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(GBV) from first occurring (e.g., scaling up activities that promote gender
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equality or working with communities to address practices that contribute to
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GBV).
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(q) "Mitigation" refers to reducing the risk of exposure to GBV (e.g., ensuring that
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reports of "hot spots" are immediately addressed through risk-reduction
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strategies).
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(r) "Recover/' is the process following relief and supports the transition into long-
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term reconstruction and development. Recovery actions are most effective if
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anticipated and facilitated from the very outset of a humanitarian response. It
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involves restoring and improving facilities, livelihoods, and living conditions
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of crisis-affected commimities, including efforts to reduce risks brought on by
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the crisis. During this time, essential services to address gender-differentiated
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needs shall be made available.
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(s) "Response" refers to an emergency response that involves the provision of
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emergency services and public assistance during or immediately after a
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humanitarian crisis to save Lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety
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and protection, and meet the basic needs of women, girls, boys, and men in the
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affected population. This stage can range from a few days or weeks to months
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or even years, particularly in protracted insecurity and displacement contexts.
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For the purposes of this Act, the response shall be undertaken upon the
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declaration by the Department of Health of a public health emergency. Dming
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this time, essential services to address gender-differentiated needs shall be
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made available.
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(t) " Social Protection Floors" refer to nationally defined sets of basic social security
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guarantees that should ensure, as a minimum, that all those in need have access
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to essential health care and to basic income security, which together secure
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effective access to goods and services defined as necessary at the national level,
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which includes, among others, access to essential health care, including


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maternity care; basic income security for children, providing access to
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nutrition, education, care, and any other necessary goods and services; basic
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income security for persons in active age who are unable to earn sufficient
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income, in particular in cases of sickness, unemployment, maternity, and
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disabihty; basic income security for older persons.
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(u) "Social Safety Nets" refer to noncontributory interventions designed to help
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individuals and households cope with chronic poverty, destitution, and
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vulnerability, such as xmconditional 
and conditional cash transfers,
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noncontributory social pensions, food and in-kind transfers, school feeding
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programs, public works, and fee waivers. These programs target the poor and
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vulnerable.
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(v) "Stigma" refers to a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or
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group of people have about something, such as in the context of women.
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(w)" Violence Against Women" refers to any act of gender-based violence that results
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in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering
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to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of
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liberty, whether occurring in pubhc or private life.
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CHAPTER II
19 
PROGRAMMING AND MANAGEMENT TO ADDRESS GENDER-
20 
DIFFERENTIATED NEEDS OF WOMEN DURING A PANDEMIC
21 
Sec. 6. Leadership, Participation, and Empowerment of Women. - During a public
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health emergency, women shall be empowered to be included in the national and local
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government's response systems to address the gender-differentiated needs of the
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different groups of women, especially the marginalized. Thus, response and recovery
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systems must ensure that women are placed strategically and participate
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meaningfully in leadership, dedsion-making, and poUcy-making positions at all
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levels. In accordance with this, the lATF and other similar and related bodies shall
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have the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) as a permanent member at all
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levels, including planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, and to
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facilitate the continuous mtegration of a gender-responsive plan to be developed
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therein in national governance response systems. Furthermore, women must make up
10


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forty percent (40%) of all development council membership at the regional, provincial,
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dty, municipal, and barangay levels.
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Sec. 7. Humanitarian Principles Guiding Pandemic Programming and Management
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to Address Gender-Differentiated Needs of Women During the Pandemic. — Following the
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Inter-Agency Standing Committee (lASC) Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based
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Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action and the United Nations Population
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Fund (UNFPA) Minimum Standards for Prevention and Response to Gender-based
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Violence in Emergencies, the following principles shall groimd, inform, and guide the
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formulation and implementation of policies, plans, programs, and other appropriate
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measures, including affirmative actions, in managing the COVID19 pandemic:
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(a) A survivor-centered approach that creates a supportive environment in which
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survivors' rights and wishes are respected, their safety is ensured, and they are
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treated with dignity and respect.
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(b) A human rights-based approach that seeks to analyze and address the root
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causes of discrimination and inequality to ensure that everyone has the right to
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live with freedom and dignity, safe from violence, exploitation, and abuse, in
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accordance with the principles of hiunan rights law.
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(c) A community-based approach that ensures that affected populations are
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engaged actively as partners in developing strategies related to their protection
2 0 
and the provision of humanitarian assistance. This approach involves the direct
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involvement of women, girls, and other at-risk groups at all stages of the
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humanitarian response to identify protection risks and solutions and build on
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existing community-based protection mechanisms.
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(d) The humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence, and
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neutrality, which should underpin the implementation of the Minimum
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Standards, are essential to maintaining access to affected populations and
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ensuring an effective humanitarian response.
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(e) The "do no harm" approach takes into account all measures necessary to avoid
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exposing people to further harm as a result of the actions of humanitarian
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actors.
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(f) The Principles of Partnership, which comprise a framework for aU actors in the
32 
humanitarian space to follow principles of equality, transparency, a results-
11


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oriented approach, responsibility, and complementarity.
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(g) Taking into accoimt the best interests of the child, wherein child and adolescent
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girl and boy survivors of sexual abuse have the right to have their best interests
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assessed and determined and taken as a primary consideration in aU decisions
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that affect them.
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(h) The intersectionality of women's circumstances should be prioritized, taking
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into account the specific needs and concerns of marginalized and vulnerable
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women groups, such as women and girls detained, women working in the
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informal sector, women migrants workers, and other similarly situated at-risk
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individuals and groups.
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(i) Rights-based pohcing, wherein hirnian rights principles and practices are
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taught and apphed at all levels of the police organization's policy, doctrinal,
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operational, and administrative functions.
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Sec. 8. Guarantee of Non-Discrimination. — This Act shall prohibit discrimination in
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all forms committed against women as provided imder the Magna Carta of Women,
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even and especially dining a pandemic or any public health emergency. Hiose found
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guilty under this provision shall be meted out a penalty one degree higher than those
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provided for discrimination under the Magna Carta of Women. The Revised Penal
19 
Code shall have suppletory application in setting the penalties.
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Sec. 9. Strengthening GBV Preparedness and Response Systems. - GBV preparedness
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and response systems in the context of the COVlD-19 pandemic and future pandemics
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shall be considered essential services and an appropriate budgetary allotment from
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the emergency funding shall be ensured towards the formulation, reprogramming, or
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continuity of said systems. Strict adherence to the following must be undertaken:
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(a) Women and the most vulnerable among them must be placed at the front and
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center of leadership and policy and decision-making positions in key processes
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in the formulation, planning, programming, and implementation of prompt,
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effective, and survivor-centered measures to address issues of violence against
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women and children during COVID-19;
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(b) GBV services, especially temporary shelters, psychosocial services, and legal
31 
aid, shall remain functional and accessible, notwithstanding a pubhc health
32 
emergency. Local Inter-agency Task Forces against COVID-19 shall ensure that
12


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GBV services are available to women detained, quarantine, or isolated in any
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facility where a prolonged stay is required or necessary;
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(c) This process must be based on data and evidence, and it must integrate first
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responder systems in order to respond appropriately dming COVID-19;
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(d) To achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness, the State shall utilize a
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multisectoral/interdisciplinary, all-of-govemment, aU-of-society approach in
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which the State collaborates with non-state actors;
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(e) The national government, through the Department of the Interior and Local
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Government (DILG), shall assiune the key leadership role but shall also
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empower local authorities and local communities to address the pandemic,
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including the provision of resources, support, and incentives, and by enabling
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decision-making authorities and responsibihties;
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(f) Communication systems, with an emphasis on localized communication down
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to the level of barangays, must be established in coordination with the
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Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and
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National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)for education and
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information dissemination on pandemic and emergency risks and access to
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social protection, safety nets, referral systems, protection measures, and other
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appropriate measures in cases of GBV, which shall include traditional modes
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of communication to reach women living in remote areas or areas with limited
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access, such as newspapers, pamphlets, and radio: Provided, that, relevant
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language, format, and relevant channels that are culturally appropriate shall be
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taken into consideration to ensure effective communication with individuals
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and communities;
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(g) The State must prioritize preparedness and early information and
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communication campaigns about the pandemic or emergency in order to
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influence attitudes and behaviors, and it must encourage private investments
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in these areas more than in response and recovery;
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(h) An effective and meaningful global partnership must be fostered, and existing
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international cooperation must be strengthened.
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The DILG, in coordination with the local government units (LGUs), is mandated
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to ensure that the rights of women and the services accorded to them remain available
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and accessible in all stages of the emergency response to a public health crisis.
Sec. 10. Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Rights and Essential Services Package. — 
It shall be the duty of national and local authorities to prioritize the specific health 
needs of all women and girls at the community level, including in coimtries of 
destination for women migrants, particularly access to sexual and reproductive health 
services, including pre- and post-natal healthcare, access to essential services as 
defined above, and physical rehabilitation during pandemics and other public health 
concerns, emergencies, and disasters. The preparedness and response systems must 
include, but shall not be limited to:
(a) Available staff, funds, and other resources;
(b) Unhampered mobility and available public and safe transportation;
(c) Availability and continuity of reproductive health services and essential 
services packages for women and girls of all ages;
(d) Knowledge and awareness of women of these available services;
(e) Gender-sensitive support to frontline health workers on both facility and 
community levels;
(f) Additional financial, hiunan, or logistical support to female health workers to 
offset the additional burden of household management;
(g) Systematic coordination and planning of addressing the gaps in accessing SRH 
services;
(h) Adoption of a strategy to ensure pregnant women's access to antenatal and 
postnatal care during lockdowns, with corresponding precautions to protect 
them from risks of exposure, such as, but not limited to, the provision of 
maternal health information, online check-ups, and updated referral hospitals 
and lying-in clinics during the lockdowns;
(i) Provision to women deprived of liberty of sufficient and regular access to 
sexual and reproductive health information, services, and products inside the 
detention and correctional facilities;
0 Measures to protect pregnant women deprived of liberty and their unborn 
children, as well as women who have recently given birth and their newborn 
infants, such as, but not limited to, house arrests, furloughs to attend to physical 
or medical checkups, and release on recognizance, among others; and
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(k) Provision of a reasonable accommodation to ensure women with disabilities 
access to SRH services.
The Department of Health and each Barangay Health Emergency Response Team 
are mandated to ensure that the specific health needs, especially sexual health and 
reproductive needs of women and girls, are included in the implemented essential 
health packages, systems, and protocols in their constituency, including universal 
health coverage during pandemics, subject to other existing laws.
Sec. 11. Gendered Approach to Vaccination. - The procurement, allocation, 
distribution, delivery, facilitation, and adnunistration of vaccines must be transparent. 
It must take into account gender-based differences in immimological responses; the 
care burden or work of women, both paid and unpaid; the security of women against 
gender-based violence and other forms of attack; and other factors that increase 
women's vulnerability. Safe, efficacious, and free vaccines or medications, including 
newly-approved ones for the current pandemic or health emergency, must be 
available and accessible to women, taking into accoimt intersectional considerations 
that may impede such access and the vulnerabilities of women that affect their right 
to life, health, and security: Provided, however, That such access is rights-based, non- 
discriminatory, voluntary, and based on informed consent, and is in accordance with 
the Philippines' priority and health protocols r relevant COD. Information on 
vaccination and its scientific evidence must be clear and effectively communicated. 
This gendered approach must be integrated into legal, policy, and program 
implementation of vaccinations to address COVID-19 and other public health 
concerns, emergencies, and disasters.
In policy and decision-making affecting vaccine availability, quality, and 
access, including prioritization and development of criteria, representation and 
participation of women must be guaranteed.
Sec. 12. Social Protection. — It shall be the responsibility of national and local 
authorities, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department 
of Labor and Employment, and Department of Interior and Local Government, in 
coordination with the various LGUs, to target the most vulnerable and economically 
marginalized sectors of women, taking into accoimt their various intersectionaHty, 
and to ensiure that social protection and safety nets are provided to them, with an
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emphasis on victims of gender-based violence. The measures shall include, but shall 
not be limited to:
(a) Empowering women through their access to sustainable livelihood and/or 
employment as may be practicable, such as through capacity-building and 
other services rendered by local Public Employment System Offices and work- 
from-home programming, and access to flexible financing and loans;
(b) Ensuring the unimpeded provision of safety nets and cash-based interventions 
to vulnerable and poor women;
(c) Prioritizing gender alongside disability, age, and other overlapping 
vulnerabilities in the assessments of needs and decisions on targeting;
(d) Ensuring that women victims have adequate access to counseling and shelters 
that have access to adequate resources for the needs of women;
(e) Providing women access to opportunities such as training and seminars 
pertinent to their capacity to sustain themselves;
(f) Ensuring that work environments, including work-from-home arrangements, 
are free from discrimination and violence against women (VAW) through 
continuous monitoring of vulnerable women's situationand protection, 
guaranteeing accountabihty of the perpetrators, and holding regular seminars 
to educate on VAW issues and standards, especially during a pandemic, among 
others;
(g) Ensuring effective and inclusive grievance redressal mechanisms embedded in 
social protection programming which is designed to be accessible and inclusive 
of girls, women, persons with disabilities, children, older people, and other at- 
risk individuals and groups;
(h) Providing work-from-home setup for women subjected to violence in their 
workplaces imtil the perpetrator has been held accountable; and
(i) Enforcing other laws and issuances which may be enacted by virtue of the 
existence of such public health emergency, which services and protection 
afforded to women, particularly on social protection.
Sec. 13 Protection for Locally Stranded Individuals. - The DILG, in coordination 
with the LGUs and respective designated barangays, shall ensure the safety and 
security of all displaced migrants or individuals and at-risk individuals and groups
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due to the pandemic. This shall include an efficient mechanism for immediate delivery 
of food (in full respect of the individual's dietary restrictions by reason of health or 
religion), shelter, and medical supplies for women and children, including assisting 
mothers with breastfeeding, feeding, and care for their babies and other support.
Sec 14. Economic Empowerment. — The Department of Labor and Employment 
(DOLE), together with local government units and offices, including the Public 
Employment Systems Offices (PESO), shall enact mechanisms and procedures to 
address the difficulties faced by women in the employment sector during the 
pandemic, such as job loss and business closure. All measures should tend to the 
continuous employment of women. These should include considerations regarding 
the workplace arrangements, marketplace and community supply chain, and the 
women working in the informal economy. For this purpose, said units and offices 
must be well-equipped and capacitated to perform all measiues necessary to address 
the livelihood and employment concerns of their constituents, with special attention 
to vulnerable women and the protection afforded to them under other laws.
The DOLE is mandated to ensure that women are afforded flexible work 
arrangements during a public health emergency. They shall provide rules and 
regulations for this purpose, taking into accoimt women's specific needs and concerns 
imder such circumstances.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department 
of Trade and Industry (DTI), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority 
(TESD A), and other relevant agencies must also bolster entrepreneiuship and provide 
women with adequate livelihood opportunities and skills development.
Sec. 15. Protection of Rural Women and Indigenous Women. - The concerned LGU 
shall ensure that women in rural and indigenous communities belonging to their 
jurisdiction have adequate and unhindered access to health, legal, and socio-economic 
services. This guarantee for indigenous women must be undertaken due to their 
indigenous systems, practices, and beliefs. As far as may be practicable, they will be 
provided with the same, if not more, opportunities and facilities as their urban 
counterparts.
Sec 16. Utilization of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). — This 
Act mandates the enhancement of the capacity of ICT systems to facilitate and aid the
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implementation of provisions under this Act. The DICT and the NTC, in coordination
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with public utilities and telecommunication providers, shall provide assistance to
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ensure the accessibility of the services provided through the use of the ICT system,
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including, but not limited to, immediate assistance from the Philippine National
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Police (PNP), information dissemination through short message service, and other
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services. ICT assistance shall include, among others, increasing women's ICT literacy,
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particularly in poor communities and remote areas, as well as reasonable
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accommodations for persons with disabilities, such as the provision of Filipino Sign
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Sec. 17. Protection for Women Migrant Workers and their Children. - Interagency
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bodies such as the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (lATF),
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Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and Their Children (lACVAWC),
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Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (I AC AT) and the Sub-Committee on
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International Migration and Development (SCIMD), as weU as government agencies
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part of the one-coxmtry team approach (OCTA) in coimtries of destination such as the
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Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), DOLE, and Department of Social Welfare and
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Development (DSWD) are mandated to ensure that women migrant workers are given
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adequate resoiurces and access to legal, medical, and social services in the receiving
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State, during transit and upon return, especially during repatriation. Relevant
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embassies and foreign affairs persoimel must protect women migrant workers and
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their children dining the pandemic and other emergencies. Coordination among these
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bodies is imperative, taking into account, but not limited to, the following:
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a) Responsibility to prevent and reduce GBV in migrant women and their
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children, including through international, regional, and bilateral cooperation;
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b) Development of consistent and coherent frameworks and protocols between
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the host country and country of origin for the expedited process of seeking
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redress by women subjected to violence;
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c) Global partnership and international cooperation, such as through drafting
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agreements on the extension of stay permits of women migrant workers and
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their children between the host and the country of origin and through the
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relaxation of migrant workers' requirements to access social services;
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d) Migrants and marginalized and other at-risk individuals or groups should be
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included in the public health strategies with due consultation with them;
e) Grant of bilateral incentives between countries to encourage employers to 
renew contracts for existing workers in the host country;
f) Labor, economic Livelihood, and social protections for migrants;
g) Freedom of movement;
h) Non-discrimination;
i) Access to Health, especially sexual and reproductive health rights services;
j) Access to Justice; and
k) Access to Social Protection and Social Services.
Sec. 18. Specific Protective Measures for Women Migrant Workers and their Children. — 
In relation to the preceding section, the following measures shall be undertaken, 
among other appropriate measures:
a) During crisis preparation:
1. Track information on conflicts and natural disasters and their potential 
impact on migrants and their children;
2. Collect and share information on women migrant workers and their 
children, subject to the privacy, confidentiality, security, and safety of 
migrants;
3. Incorporate women migrant workers and their children in the prevention, 
preparedness, and emergency response systems and contingency planning;
4. Communicate effectively with migrants;
5. Establish coordination agreements beforehand; and
6. Build capacity and learn lessons from emergency response and post-crisis 
action.
b) During emergency response:
1. Communicate widely with women migrant workers and their children on 
evolving crises and how to access help;
2. Facilitate migrants' ability to move safely;
3. Provide humanitarian assistance without discrimination;
4. Establish clear referral procedures and systems;
5. Relocate women migrant workers and their children when needed; and
6. Uphold the principles of non-refoulement and refugee and stateless
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protection, 
c) After the crisis:
1. Address migrants' and their children's immediate needs and support them 
in rebuilding their lives;
2. Ensure rehabilitation, integration, and other interventions; and
3. Support migrant women and their children's host communities.
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CHAPTER III
COORDINATION MECHANISMS IN A PANDEMIC
Sec. 19. National Preparedness and Response Program to Address the Gender- 
differentiated Needs of Women during the Pandemic. — To ensure access to essential 
services, including access to justice and remedial measures, and to mitigate the impact 
of any public health emergency or disaster on the economy, a coherent, appropriate, 
efficient, developmental, evidence-based, and sxirvivor-centered national program 
against GBV and addressing gender-differentiated needs of women, especially from 
marginalized sectors, must be developed to inform, direct, and coordinate its 
implementation at all levels and to ensure accessibility, availability, and quality of 
services at the community level. For this piupose, a Task Force to be co-headed by the 
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the 
PCW, in coordination with the lATF, shall come up with a national plan to be cascaded 
to the local government units and must be automatically integrated into the national 
strategy to manage the pandemic. This plan shall be reviewed every two (2) years. It 
shall address GBV and gender-differentiated needs at aU stages of pandemic 
management and anticipate pandemic-related events and factors that might impede 
the functioning of legal, medical, social, remedial, and other protection measures and 
mechanisms, including, but not limited to:
a) Understanding the nature and risks of the COVID-19 pandemic to be able to 
address the specific barriers and obstacles faced by women during the 
pandemic that manifest in GBV, taking into account intersecting vulnerabilities 
and the multiple burdens they experience, addressing stigma and 
discriminatory practices, attitudes ,and behaviors resulting in GBV, and 
providing for their food and nutrition security as well as access to essential
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services and government social protection and safety nets;
b) Gathering, managing, and utilizing data concerning the risks and incidence of 
GBV to inform policies and programs to achieve gender-inclusive responses 
and address gaps and lapses in ensuring access by women to protection 
mechanisms;
c) Providing prompt, accurate, disaggregated, accessible, up-to-date, 
comprehensible, science-based, and transparent data on women;
d) Developing protocols and guidelines of conduct relating to the dehvery of 
service to women in the context of COVID-19;
e) Strengthening protection from sexual exploitation and abuse through capacity 
building for service providers and governmental workers on early 
identification and mitigation of such risks, as well as strengthening nationwide 
helphnes and community-level referral to ensure they are functional to prevent 
and respond to cases, including chain management and service provision plans 
for these services to stay open during the outbreak;
f) Providing a clear channel of commimication with GBV service providers and 
actors as well as women's organizations and survivor-centered referral systems 
through the utilization of technology;
g) Assisting in the planning of national, local, and community units by 
developing, identifying, and sharing best practices;
h) Providing technical assistance, training, and consultation to improve 
preparedness and response capabilities, with a focus on the needs of women 
and other vulnerable groups, including supporting the achievement of 
evidence-based benchmarks and objective standards to monitor, assess and 
measure levels of preparedness, response, and recovery;
i) Improving systems of public, private, and civil society collaboration and 
partnership to formulate and address gaps and inefficiencies in the policies, 
plans, and programs to address GBV during the pandemic;
j) Carrying out other duties related to preparedness, response, and recovery 
activities for women, as the Task Force may deem appropriate; and
k) Representation and participation of women m coordination and decision­
making
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bodies
Sec. 20. Capacity-building of Local Government Units (LGUs). — The DILG, with 
the LGUs, shall be given the appropriate and sufficient funding by the national 
government to properly carry out the designated provisions under this Act. They shall 
be capacitated to develop their pandemic preparedness protocols through a gender- 
differentiated locaHzed response, taking into account the local contexts and concerns 
of the different women's sectors in their area. This includes protocols and systems for 
assistance to gender-based violence, provisions for access to sexual and reproductive 
health needs, and ensuring the availability of basic services for women through aU 
phases of the national response regarding the public health emergency.
The LGUs shall ensure that they have capable and trained persoimel to provide 
the essential services package for women, as well as that they are oriented on the 
policies, principles, and procedures regarding gender equahty, the prohibition against 
gender-based violence, and gender sensitivity, including those governing the 
management of the pandemic and other public health emergencies. They must also 
use data-gathering and data analytics to further improve and strengthen their 
services. They shall also provide an accessible feedback mechanism to further guide 
their practice.
Sec. 21. Community Engagement. - Subject to COVID-19 protocols, the LGUs, in 
coordination with civil society organizations, non-government organizations, the 
private sector, and other stakeholders, shall conduct regular dialogues and 
information drives with the commimity to educate them on gender issues as a 
preventive measure to prevent gender-based violence and address gender- 
differentiated needs. Through this multi-sectoral mechanism, women can participate 
and put forth their needs for integration into the local government pandemic 
programming and management.
CHAPTER IV 
FINAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 22. Appropriation. — The funds appropriated from the Calamity Fund for 
disaster risk reduction management and calamities amounting to 100 miUion, as well 
as from portions of the Gender and Development (GAD) budget or special health
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funds of agencies or local government units, may be used for the purposes above, 
including for the implementation of the National Preparedness and Response 
Program to Address the Gender-differentiated Needs of Women dming the COVID- 
19, and other pandemics, emergencies, and disasters. Should the amount be 
insufficient to cover the necessary expenses, further financial support will come from 
the national government, subject to the guidehnes of the Department of Finance in 
coordination with the DILG.
Sec. 23. Penalties. - Any public officer, an employee of an agency, or any private 
individual mandated to implement this Act who fails to perform in accordance with 
the mandates, duties, tasks, and other acts imposed by this law shall be 
administratively liable for neglect in the performance of duty during the COVlD-19 
and other pandemics, emergencies, and disasters. Should damage or injury be 
inflicted on any person by reason of such neglect, the aggrieved party can have 
recourse against the erring public officer, employee, or private individual for 
appropriate legal remedies as the law may provide or afford, including criminal cases. 
In case of gender-based violence amounting to a crime or offense is committed by a 
public officer or employee while in the performance of any acts covered herein, 
penalties next higher in degree shall be imposed, including sexual harassment, 
especially in quarantine facilities, and against persons belonging to at-risk individuals 
and those adversely affected by the pandemic.
Sec. 24. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The PCW, as the lead agency, 
shall, in coordination with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Inter-Agency 
Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, DILG, DOH, Commission on Population 
and Development, DOLE, DSWD, DFA, National Development Authority, DTI , 
DICT, Department of Justice, PNP, and all concerned government departments and 
agencies, with the participation of civil society organizations, academe, private sector, 
pubhc health practitioners, and other key actors and stakeholders, formulate the 
implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this Act within thirty (30) days after its 
effectivity.
Sec. 25. Congressional Oversight - Both Houses of Congress, particularly the 
Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender EquaUty of the Senate 
and the Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the House of Representatives,
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shall oversee the implementation of this Act. The CHR, as Gender Ombud, shall
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likewise review the implementation after one (1) year and, subsequently, every year
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in accordance with the recovery and rehabiUtation plans of the government.
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Sec. 26. Suppletory Applications. — The apphcable provisions of the Revised
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Penal Code shall have suppletory application insofar as they are consistent with the
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provisions of this Act.
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Sec. 27. Separability Clause. — If any part or provision of this Act is declared
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invalid or unconstitutional, the other parts hereof not affected thereby shall remain
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Sec. 28. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules, and
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regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act or are
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shown to facilitate or enable the commission of gender-based violence are hereby
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repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 29. Efjectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
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publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
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circulation.
Approved,
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