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Women Power | ||||||
| MDG |
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| 3 | Gender Equality |
Led by the country’s second woman president, Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo, women in power in the Philippines are more prominent now than at anytime in the nation’s past.
“Having more women in positions of power and decision making is a very important development,” says Emmeline Verzosa, Executive Director of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), a policymaking body under the Office of the President.
“They can redefine national priorities and policies and place women’s concerns and experiences into the mainstream of politics,” she says. “This makes the goal of gender equality much more attainable.”
Of about 40 cabinet positions in the Philippine Government, 11 are currently held by women, the highest number of any administration. Legislation for women has also been unprecedented.
The country now has one of the more progressive laws against human trafficking with the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, which criminalizes all forms of trafficking —with or without the consent of the victim—for sex tourism
The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 criminalizes people who commit acts of physical, sexual, psychological (including verbal), and economic abuse and violence against women and their children in a marriage, when dating, or in a common-law relationship. For the first time, a Philippine law protects women who are abused by their spouses, former partners, or lesbian partners. It also includes the “battered woman syndrome” as a justifying circumstance for self-defense, leaving the woman-victim free from any civil or criminal liability if she injures or kills her abuser.
The Philippines has been a model and pioneer in implementing a gender mainstreaming strategy in the bureaucracy. Government agencies are mandated to review their polices and programs, remove gender discriminatory practices, formulate and implement a gender and development plan, and allocate at least 5% of their total budget for gender and development. Foreignassisted projects are not spared from checking their own gender biases.
The National Economic and Development Authority, with the NCRFW, and the gender and development focal points of overseas development assistance agencies —including ADB—will soon release new harmonized gender and development development guidelines for appraising, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating projects.
It is hoped this will realize fully the provision of the Women in Development and Nation-Building Act mandating all overseas development assistance to allocate 5–30% of the resources to women and gender concerns.
In the private sector, 85% of Philippine companies have women in senior management, according to newspaper reports citing Grant Thornton, a business advisory firm. It polled 6,900 medium-sized businesses from 26 major countries and territories in 2003 and found the Philippines rated a close second to Russia, which has almost 90%.
The United Nations (UN) also cited the Philippines as one of two Asian countries leading the way in having more women leadership positions. This is especially relevant at a time when most countries in Asia are falling behind. Erna Witoelar, the UN’s Special Ambassador for Millennium Development Goals, said the Philippines and India enjoy a high proportion of women in their legislatures and in local positions.
"Having more women in positions of power and decision making is a very important development"
Emmeline Verzosa
Executive Director, NCRFW
Elsewhere in Asia, women account for only 14.5% of lawmakers, according to Socorro Reyes, Senior Gender Adviser of the United Nations Development Programme. She was quoted in newspapers as saying that despite laws and mechanisms in place, challenges remain and demands are daunting. Laws need to be enforced, monitored, and documented. Women in postconflict areas also have special needs that must be addressed. Awareness needs to be more widespread.
“Still, we remain optimistic that we are on the right track. We believe that women can meet the challenge of being a unifying force for peace and good governance in this critical stage when our country is driven by political divisions and conflicts,” adds Ms. Verzosa.
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