FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
1 
SEN 
S. No. 
Introduced by Senator Richard J. Gordon 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of 
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women or CEDAW on 5 August 1981. As a 
signatory to this Convention, the Philippines is duty-bound to protect women's 
human rights and adopt temporary and permanent measures to promote gender 
equality and women's empowerment. 
Since the ratification of the CEDAW, there have been legal developments in 
the area of women's rights. The Constitution guarantees fundamental equality before 
the law of women and men. Republic Act No. 6725 prohibits discrimination with 
respect to terms and conditions of employment solely on the basis of sex. Republic 
Act No. 7192 promotes the integration of women as full and equal partners in 
development and nation-building. Republic Act No. 9262 protects women and 
children against various forms of domestic violence. Republic Act No. 8353 has 
expanded the definition of rape and classified it as a crime against persons. 
Notwithstanding these, the Concluding Comments of the Committee on the 
Elimination of Discrimination against Women during its 36th session held on 7-25 
August 2006 raised as a principal concern the Philippines' lack of progress in 
enacting a comprehensive legal framework on gender equality. 
This Magna Carta of Women aims to address this concern. It defines 
discrimination, addresses gender issues in health, education, training, livelihood, 
employment, political participation, media, marriage and family relations and property 
ownership. It also provides for the adoption of special measures to protect women's 
human rights and allow women to realize their full human potentials alongside men. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly 
sought. 
RICHARD J. GORDON 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
1 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S. No. 
Introduced by Senator Richard J. Gordon 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES 
Be if enacted by fbe Senate and House of Represenfafives of fbe Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SEC. 1. Short Tifle. - This Act shall be known as “The Magna Carta of 
Women.” 
Sec. 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 women and 
men as well as ensure their equal access to resources and to development results. 
The State condemns all forms of discrimination against women 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, opportunities and highest protection 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 and sexuality, language, 
ethnicity, religion, ideology, disability, education, wealth and status. 
The State shall provide the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee 
the realization of women’s rights as well as undertake steps to include temporary 
special measures which encompass a wide variety of legislative, executive, 


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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 for women to 
enhance and develop their skills, acquire productive employment and contribute to 
their communities to the fullest of their capabilities. 
In pursuit of this policy, the State recognizes the right of women to participate 
in policy formulation, planning, organization, implementation, management 
monitoring, and evaluation of all development initiatives. It shall pursue policies, 
research, technology and training programs and other support services such as 
financing, production and marketing to encourage active participation of women in 
the national development. 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms 
shall mean: 
(A) Women’s 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; 
Women’s empowerment also refers to women’s increased capability to be 
agents of their own development; 
(B) Discrimination Against Women refers to any gender-based distinction, 
exclusion or restriction which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying 
women’s recognition, enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental 
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field, 
irrespective of their status; 
(C) Marginalization refers to the condition where a whole category of people 
is excluded from useful participation in political, economic, social or cultural life and 
is potentially subjected to severe material deprivation; 
(0) 
The marginalized refers to the disadvantaged or vulnerable persons or 
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groups who are mostly living in poverty and have little or no access to health care, 
education, water, sanitation, employment, livelihood, housing, social security, and 
other basic social and economic services; land and resources; physical 
infrastructure; and the justice system. 
The term includes, but is not limited to, women in the following sectors: 
7. Small Farmers and Rural Workers, referring 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 
seasonal. These shall include, but are not limited to: (a) tenants, 
leaseholders, stewards and small farmers who own or are still amortizing 
for land that is not more than three hectares in area; (b) rural workers who 
are either wage earners, self-employed or unpaid family workers directly 
and personally engaged in agriculture, small-scale mining, handicrafts and 
other related on-farmloff-farm activities: 
2, Fishers refer to those directly or indirectly engaged in the harvesting, 
culture or processing of aquatic resources, including but not limited to: (a) 
those engaged in fishing in municipal waters and coastal areas; (b) 
workers in commercial fishing and aquaculture; (c) vendors and 
processors of fish and coastal products; (d) subsistence producers such 
as shell-gatherers; and (e) managers and producers of mangrove 
resources and other related producers; 
3. Urban Poor refers to those residing in urban slum or blighted areas, with 
or without the benefit of security of tenure, where the income of the head 
of household cannot sufficiently provide in a sustained manner the 
minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other 
essential amenities in life for the family; 
4. Workers in the Formal Economy refer to those who work for an employer 
including Government, the private sector and non-profit private institutions 
or organizations; 
5. Workers in the lnformal Economy refer to the self-employed; occasionally 
hired, subcontracted and unpaid family workers in household 
unincorporated enterprises, including homeworkers; micro-entrepreneurs; 
operators of sari-sari stores; and all other categories who suffer from or 
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are prone to violation of workers’ rights; 
6. Migranf workers refer to documented or undocumented Filipinos who are 
engaged, to be engaged or have been engaged in a remunerated activity 
in a State of which they are not citizens; 
7. Indigenous Peoples refer to members of any indigenous cultural 
community of the Philippines as defined under Sec. 3(h), Chapter II of 
Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as “The Indigenous People’s 
Rights Act of 1997;” 
8. Mor0 refers to indigenous peoples that historically inhabited Mindanao, 
Palawan and Sulu, and who are of the Islamic faith; 
9. Children refers to those 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 Cifizens refer to those sixty (60) years of age and above; 
11. Persons wifh Disabilifies 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. Solo Parents shall refer to those 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, reproduced and 
maintained by social institutions. Gender roles and attributes are not natural or 
biological. 
(F) Gender Equality indicates that women and men enjoy the same status 
and 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 or 
process that is participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from 
violence, respectful of human rights, and 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 
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transform society's social, economic and political structures and questions the 
validity of the gender roles they ascribe 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 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. It 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. 
(I) Violence against 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, 
whether occurring in public or private life. It shall be understood to encompass the 
following: 
1. Physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence occurring in the 
family; sexual abuse of female children in the household; dowry-related 
violence, marital rape, and other tradition-based 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; 
4. All forms of violence as defined and enumerated under Sec. 3 of Republic 
Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the "Anti-Violence Against Women and 
their Children Act of 2004." 
Sec. 4. 
Human Rights. - 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 
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enjoyed without discrimination. 
Sec. 5. Protection from Violence. - The State shall ensure the protection of 
women from all forms of violence as provided for in existing laws. Agencies of 
government shall give priority to the defense of women against gender-related 
offenses and help them attain justice and healing. Towards this end, measures to 
prosecute and reform offenders shall 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, 
legal services and such other services availed by women who are victims of gender- 
related offenses, until at least 50% of personnel shall be women. 
(B) 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 Law, for the protection of the 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 gender sensitivity and responsiveness pursuant to this Act. 
Sec. 6. Participafion and Represenfafion. - The State shall undertake 
temporary special measures to accelerate the participation and representation of 
women in all spheres of society particularly in the decision and policy-making 
processes, to fully realize their role as agents and beneficiaries of development. It 
shall recognize the right of women to organize in order to promote their welfare, 
protect their rights, express their concerns, develop skills, advance or safeguard their 
interests, and initiate action to resolve women's issues. Towards this end, the State 
shall encourage the establishment of self-help and political organizations such as 
cooperatives, associations and people's organizations to enable members to 
improve their quality of life and enhance their socio-cultural and political role and 
status in society. 
The State shall institute affirmative action mechanisms so that women can 
participate meaningfully in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of policies, 


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plans and programs for national, regional and local development: 
(A) Empowerment in the civil service. - Within the next five years, the number 
of women in third level positions in government shall be increased to achieve a fifty- 
fifty gender balance. 
(8) 
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 shall also be 
represented in all international, national, local and special decision-making bodies 
such as, but not limited to, agriculture, fisheries, agrarian reform and anti-poverty 
councils. 
(D) lnternafional bodies. - The State shall take appropriate measures to 
ensure that women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, are 
given the opportunity to represent the Government at the international level and to 
participate in the work of international organizations. 
(E) lntegration of women in political parties. - All political parties shall 
encourage recruitment of women and their representation in internal policy-making 
structures and appointive and electoral nominating processes. All duly accredited 
political parties are encouraged to provide adequate representation of women in their 
slate of official candidates in local and national elections. 
The State shall provide incentives to political parties with a women’s agenda 
(F) Private sector. - The State shall take measures to encourage women 
Sec. 7. Equal Treatment before the Law. - The State shall, within three 
years from effectivity of this Act, take steps to review and when necessary, amend or 
repeal existing laws that are discriminatory to women. 
and with women comprising at least 33% of their leadership and membership. 
leadership in the private sector in the form of incentives. 
Sec. 8. Equal Access to and Elimination of Discrimination in Education, 
Scholarships and Training. 
(A) The State shall remove gender stereotypes and images in educational 
materials and curricula and promote the use of gender-sensitive language at all 
times. Teachers and all those in the education sector shall undertake capability- 
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building on gender and development (GAD), peace and human rights. 
(6) Enrollment of women and men in non-traditional skills training in 
(C) Pregnancy as a cause for non-admission, expulsion and other related 
vocational and tertiary levels shall be encouraged. 
discrimination against unmarried women teachers or students shall be outlawed. 
Sec. 9. Non-discriminatory and Non-derogatory Portrayal of Women in 
Media and Film. - The State shall collaborate with media organizations and 
strategically utilize mass media to raise the consciousness of the general public 
regarding the dignity of a woman and women’s role and contribution in the family, 
community and society. 
For this purpose, the State shall promote a non-stereotyped, balanced and 
diverse portrayal of women in broadcast media and film. It shall provide incentives to 
encourage programming that appropriately presents women’s needs, issues and 
concerns in movies, television shows, and advertising media. It shall support media 
watch groups, media professional associations and women’s organizations. 
Sec. I O .  
Access to lnformation and Services relating to Women’s 
Health. 
(A) Comprehensive Health Services. - The State shall at all times provide for 
a comprehensive gender-responsive health service program covering all stages of a 
woman‘s life cycle with ensured access to the following: 
1. Maternal care services; 
2. Nutrition services; 
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), acquired immune deficiency syndrome 
(AIDS), breast and reproductive tract cancers, and other gynecological 
conditions; 
7. Healthy lifestyle activities; 
8. Care of the elderly; 
9. Health services for women with disabilities; 
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10. Post-menopausal services; 
11 Comprehensive VAW Services for women victims and survivors including 
psychosocial, therapeutic, medical and legal interventions and assistance 
towards healing, recovery and empowerment 
(B) Comprehensive Healfh lnformafion and Education. - The State shall 
provide women with timely, complete and accurate information and education on all 
aspects of women’s health. 
Sec. 11. Equal Rights in Marriage and Family Relations. - The State shall 
take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all 
matters relating to marriage and family relations and shall ensure: 
(A) The same right to enter into and leave partnerships or relationships other 
than those referred to in the Family Code; 
(B) The same right to choose freely a spouse and to enter into marriage only 
with free and full consent. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no 
legal effect; 
(C) 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; 
(D) The same personal rights for both spouses, including the right to choose 
freely a profession and an occupation; 
(E) The same rights for both spouses in respect to the ownership, acquisition, 
management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property; 
(F) 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. 
Sec. 12. The State recognizes the contribution of women to food production 
and shall ensure sustainability and sufficiency of food production in the household 
and community levels: 
(A) Right to Food. - The State shall guarantee the physical availability and 
economic accessibility of food that is free from unsafe substance and culturally 
acceptable, in quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of 
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individuals. 
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(6) 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 women’s livelihood, 
including food production: 
1. 
in the titling of land and issuance of stewardship contracts and patents: 
2. 
Equal treatment shall be given to men and women beneficiaries of the 
agrarian reform program, wherein the vested right of a woman agrarian 
reform beneficiary is defined by the woman’s relationship to the tillage or her 
direct and indirect contribution to the development of the land: 
3. 
Customary rights of women to land, including access to and control of 
the fruits and benefits, shall be recognized where private ownership is not 
possible, such as in ancestral domain claims; 
4. 
Information and assistance on claiming rights to land shall be made 
available to women at all times; 
5. 
Equal rights of women to the enjoyment, use and management of land, 
water and other natural resources within their communities or ancestral 
domains shall be ensured: 
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, shall be ensured; 
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; 
8. There shall be no discrimination against women in the deputization of fish 
Equal status shall be given to men and women, whether married or not, 
wardens; 
9. Women-friendly agriculture technology shall be designed in consultation 
with women’s organizations; 
10. Women’s access to small farmer-based and controlled seeds Droduction 
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and distribution shall be ensured; 
11. Indigenous practices of women in seed storage and cultivation shall be 
12. Opportunities for empowering women fishers to be involved in the catch 
and production of aquamarine resources and to engage in entrepreneurial 
activities which will add value to production and marketing ventures shall 
be provided; 
recognized; 
13. Economic opportunities for indigenous women, particularly access to 
market for their produce, shall be provided. 
Sec. 13. Right to Housing. - The State shall develop housing programs for 
women that are localized, affordable, secure and accessible to viable employment 
opportunities. In this regard, the State shall consult women and involve them in 
community planning and development especially in matters pertaining io land use, 
zoning and relocation. 
Sec. 14. Rigbt to Employment, Livelihood, Credit, Capifal and 
Technology. -The State shall ensure that women are provided with the following: 
(A) Equal access to formal sources of credit and capital at concessional rates; 
(6) 
Equal share to the produce of farms and aquatic resources; 
(C) Support services and gears for protection against occupational and health 
hazards. 
(D) Support services for balancing family obligations and work 
(E) Membership in unions regardless of status and place of employment. 
Sec. 15. Righfs of Migrant Women Workers. - The State shall ensure the 
promotion of the rights and welfare of migrant women regardless of their work status, 
and their protection against discrimination in wages, conditions of work and 
employment opportunities in host countries. 
responsibilities; 
The State shall also promote skills and entrepreneurship development of 
returning women migrant workers, Employment opportunities for returning women 
migrant workers shall take into account their skills and qualifications. 
In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas work, the State shall exert 
all efforts to address the causes of outmigration by developing employment and 
other economic opportunities for local women and by introducing measures to curb 
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violence and forced and involuntary displacement. 
Sec. 16. Right to Information. - Access to information regarding policies on 
women, including programs, projects and budget shall be ensured. 
Sec. 17. Recognition and Preservation of Cultural ldentity/lntegrity. - The 
State recognizes and respects the rights of Mor0 and indigenous women to practice, 
promote, protect and preserve their own culture, traditions and institutions. 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. 
Sec. 18. Peace and Development - The peace process shall be pursued 
(A) Increasing the participation of women in decision-making in the peace 
process, including membership in peace panels; 
(B) Ensuring the development and inclusion of the women's peace agenda in 
the overall peace strategy and women's participation in the planning, 
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of rehabilitation and rebuilding of conflict- 
affected areas; 
with the following considerations: 
(C) Inclusion of the peace perspective in education curricula; 
(D) Recognition and support of women's roles in conflict-prevention and 
peacemaking and in indigenous systems of conflict resolution. 
Sec. 19. Protection of Girl-children. - The State shall provide protection for 
girl-children and pursue the elimination of all forms of discrimination against them. 
Towards this end, the State shall establish measures to: 
(A) Protect girl-children from all forms of abuse and exploitation caused by 
negative cultural attitudes and practices as well as in the economic exploitation of 
child labor; 
(B) Provide equal access to Mor0 and indigenous girl children of the Madaris, 
schools of living culture and traditions and the regular schools; 
(D) Develop and institute a gender-sensitive curriculum, including legal 
literacy, books and curriculum in the Madaris and school of living culture and 
tradition: 
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(E) Promote the 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) and halal food. 
Sec. 20. frofecfion of Senior Citizens. - The State shall protect women 
senior citizens from neglect, abandonment, domestic violence, abuse, exploitation 
and discrimination. Towards this end, the State shall ensure the provision of special 
protective mechanisms and support services against violence, sexual abuse, 
exploitation and discrimination of women senior citizens. 
Sec. 21. Gender Mainsfreaming as the Strategy for lmplemenfing the 
Magna Carta of Women. - All departments, including their attached agencies, 
offices and bureaus; state universities and colleges; government-owned and 
controlled corporations; local government units (LGUs); and other government 
instrumentalities shall adopt gender mainstreaming as the strategy to promote 
women's human rights and eliminate gender discrimination in their systems, 
structures, policies, programs, processes and procedures which shall include but not 
be limited to the following: 
(A) Planning and Budgeting for GAD. - GAD programs designed to address 
gender issues and concerns shall be implemented based on the mandate of 
government agencies and local government units, R.A. 7192, gender equality 
agenda of the government and other GAD-related legislation and policies. The 
development of the GAD programs shall proceed from the conduct of a gender audit 
of the agencylLGU and a gender analysis of its policies, programs, services, and the 
situation of its clientele; the generation and review of sex-disaggregated data; and 
consultation with genderlwomen's rights advocates and agencylwomen clientele. 
The cost of implementing the GAD program shall be set as the agency'slLGU's GAD 
budget which shall be at least five percent (5%) of the agency'slLGU's total budget 
appropriations. 
LGUs shall develop and pass a GAD Code based on gender issues and 
concerns in their respective localities and the women's gender equality agenda of 
the government. The GAD Code shall also serve as basis for identifying programs, 
activities and projects on GAD. 
Where needed, temporary gender equity measures shall be provided for in 
the plans of all departments, including their attached agencies, offices and bureaus; 
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state universities and colleges; government-owned and controlled corporations; local 
government units; and other government instrumentalities. 
Towards a sustainable, gender-responsive and performance-based planning 
and budgeting, gender issues and concerns shall be integrated in the following 
plans, among others: 
1. Macro-socio-economic plans such as 
the Medium-Term Philippine 
Development Plan and Medium-Term Philippine Investment Plan; 
2. Annual plans of all departments, including their attached agencies, offices 
and bureaus; state universities and colleges; and government-owned and 
controlled corporations; 
3. Local plans/ agenda such as executive-legislative agenda, comprehensive 
development plan (CDP), comprehensive land use plan (CLUP), provincial 
development and physical framework plan (PDPFP) and annual investment 
plan. 
(B) Creation and/or Strengthening of the GAD Focal Points. - All departments, 
including their attached agencies, offices and bureaus; state universities and 
colleges; government-owned and controlled corporations; local government units; 
and other government instrumentalities shall establish or strengthen their GAD Focal 
Points or similar GAD mechanism. 
GAD Focal Points shall be composed of key full-time personnel with decision 
making powers, coming from strategic officeslunits, and chaired by the agency 
headllocal chief executive. The GAD shall serve as the catalysts andlor advocates 
that will facilitate the implementation of this Act. 
The tasks and functions of the members of the GAD Focal Point shall form 
part of their regular key result areas. 
(C) Generation and Maintenance of GAD Database. - All departments, 
including their attached agencies, offices and bureaus; state universities and 
colleges; government-owned and controlled corporations: local government units; 
and other government instrumentalities shall develop and maintain a GAD database 
containing gender statistics and sex-disaggregated data that have been 
systematically gathered, regularly updated and subjected to gender analysis for 
planning, programming and policy formulation. 
Sec. 22. GAD Focal Point in Philippine Embassies or Consulates. - An 
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officer duly trained on GAD shall be designated as the gender focal point in the 
consular section of Philippine embassies or consulates, to 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. 
Sec. 23. Philippine Commission on Women (PCW). - The National 
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) shall be renamed as 
Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and strengthened to be the primary 
coordinating agency and policy advisory on women and gender concerns to the 
Office of the President and the Cabinet. 
The PCW shall monitor and evaluate all agencies' compliance with this Act, 
including those in the legislative and judicial branches of government, and their 
capacity building for the effective implementation of this law. 
Sec. 24. Gender and Development (GAD) Ombud. - A GAD Ombud shall 
(A) On its own or in response to a report or complaint, require information, 
be established in the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The GAD Ombud shall: 
investigate or hear administrative complaints involving any violation of this Act; 
(B) Recommend to the President or the Civil Service Commission (CSC) any 
possible administrative action based on non-compliance or failure to implement 
provisions of this Act; 
(C) Direct agencies to immediately respond to the problems brought to their 
attention in relation to the implementation of this Act and report to the PCW any 
action taken; 
(D) Assist in the filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions or 
establishments for possible violations of this Act. 
Sec. 25. 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 PCW 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. 
Sec. 26. Penal Clause. - Any violation of the provision of this Act shall be 
punishable with imprisonment of not more than two years or a fine of not more Five 
Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 500,000), or both, at the discretion of the court. 
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Sec. 27. lmplemenfing Rules and Regulafions. - As the lead agency, the 
PCW shall, in coordination with the CHR, CSC, National Economic and Development 
Authority (NEDA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of 
Interior and Local Government (DILG), Presidential Management Staff (PMS) and 
selected agencies, formulate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this 
Act within ninety (90) days after its effectivity. 
Sec. 28. 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. 
Sec. 29. 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. 
Sec. 30. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
Approved, 
its publication in at least two newspapers of general circulation. 
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