THE Philippine government, through the years, has advanced the protection of women’s rights and role in nation-building, as mandated by the 1987 Constitution.
Article II, Section 14, states: “The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.”
This is why the Philippine government considers women as important partners in the achievement of national goals, and must be treated equally with their male partners in the eyes of the law.
Over the past century, government efforts have led to many developments for the greater protection of women’s rights in the country, such as recognition of women’s movements; increased numbers of educated women; increased number of women in politics; and more laws on enhanced protection of women in the workplace, domestic violence, sexual harassment and human trafficking, among others.
These efforts, thus, led to the Philippines being recognized as having the smallest rates of gender disparity in the world, where the country ranked seventh out of 145 countries for gender equality in the 2015 Global Gender Gap Index.
Through the years, Filipino women have become more multifaceted that they have assumed a plethora of roles in the community, and even in the whole world.
These efforts to empower and protect women continue under the administration of President Duterte.
Divorce factor
In the House of Representatives, at least 117 measures have been filed to support the protection of the dignity of women, among which are on maternity leaves, violence and sexual harassment. This includes amendments to the Family Code of the Philippines.
Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez has assured female members of the lower chamber of his commitment to support pieces of legislation that further empower the Filipino women.
Of the 292 members of the lower chamber, 83 are women—19 are party-list representatives of various marginalized sectors, including women and the youth.
For Alvarez, the “absolute divorce and dissolution of marriage bill,” which he filed, will save and protect women against abuses and would not run counter to the constitutional provision that the state must protect the family.
Alvarez also said the proposed bill will not be costly, and the process will not be lengthy and tedious.
Under the proposed measure, the poor and overseas Filipino workers can avail themselves of the services of a public attorney in seeking a divorce, and the process would be simple and fast.
Alvarez said the grounds for divorce are when the spouses are living separately for at least five years, irreconcilable differences and sexual infidelity. Alvarez said irreconcilable difference is when the married spouses are no longer happy with each other, and there is no point in reconciling.
The bill also provides for alimony or financial support for the children of divorced parents. The divorce bill has been approved at the House plenary.
Invaluable
Meanwhile, House Committee on Population and Family Relations Chairman Rep. Sol Aragones of the Third District of Laguna said the state must continue to protect and celebrate invaluable contributions of women in society. “We must always be vigilant in safeguarding women’s dignity and health, and advancing equal rights for all.”
“On this month, National Women’s Month, we celebrate the invaluable contributions of women in our society. We honor all the advocates of women’s rights and the vital role they play in our unrelenting quest for gender equality in all aspects of life,” Aragones told the BusinessMirror.
“On this special occasion, we reaffirm our commitment to empower all women and acknowledge their participation in the overall productivity, stability and development of our nation,” she said.
While the Philippines has made giant strides toward gender equality in the private and public sector, Aragones noted there are still disturbing issues confronting the plight of women today.
“It is very disheartening to learn that one woman or child is raped every hour in our country. As a legislator, I pledge to continue our efforts to end gender disparities, sex discrimination and gender-based violence through policy-making. All forms of violence and discrimination committed against women must be immediately addressed at all times,” Aragones added.
Aragones asked the government to create a national program to curb teenage pregnancy.
“Every hour, 24 babies are delivered by teenage mothers. One in every 10 women bearing a child is a teenager. At this very alarming rate, we must have a national program to curb teenage pregnancy and provide age-appropriate comprehensive sexual education to save our young women from early and unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV,” she said.
Gender-equality push
Meanwhile, House Deputy Speaker Linabelle Ruth R. Villarica said the Philippines continues to promote gender equality and has, in fact, scored well in international gender-equality measures and indices
She cited the 2016 Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum, where the Philippines ranked seventh overall in terms of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
The Philippines also has kept its spot as the world’s gender-equal society among 144 economies and remained the highest-ranked country in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Villarica, representative of the Fourth District of Bulacan.
“Overall, women representation in Philippine Congress was much higher than the global average for women in parliament at 22 percent and the Asian average of 18 percent in 2015,” she said.
“According to a 2016 report by McKinsey & Co., if the Philippines were to increase its work-force participation of women by just one percentage point each year, then by the year 2025, gross domestic product would increase by 9 percent, or an additional $40 billion, over the period,” she added. Given the international rankings, Villarica said the country continues to monitor the status of women and implement laws and programs to empower them and further promote gender equality.
Protection
REP. Vilma Santos-Recto of the Sixth District of Batangas also said the organization of women-lawmakers in the lower chamber continues to monitor the passage of women-related bills in Congress. “We are one in promoting women’s rights through passage of several laws for women. I truly believe in women empowerment. It’s about time women should participate in nation-building,” Santos-Recto told the BusinessMirror.
“Personally, I think we should fight for our right, and work on it. We really have to put it in action,” she added.
Congress, Santos-Recto said, should pass all pending measures concerning women and children.
Below are some of the pending pro-women measures in the lower chamber:
• An Act increasing maternity leave benefits of women workers from 60 to 120 days. Deputy Speaker Sharon S. Garin of Aambis-OWA opined that women workers are the backbone of many industries, while healthy and well-nourished children will hopefully grow up to be productive members of the work force. “Extending the maternity leave will give [mothers] more opportunity to foster a stronger bond between mother and child toward building lifelong protection for the child,” she said.
• Proposed “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act.” Garin is one of the principal sponsors of House Bill 5777 or “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act,” which aims to provide pre-natal care for the first 270 days of conception and pregnancy, nutrition and counseling, PhilHealth enrollment, social-welfare support and special care for nutritionally at risk poor pregnant women. The bill was approved by the House on September 25, 2017, and was transmitted to the Senate on September 27, 2017.
• An Act requiring a report regarding the effect of environmental factors on women and children’s health. Rep. Alfred D. Vargas of the Fifth District of Quezon City said that, in 2007 to 2013, the Philippines was reported to have the second-highest female adult mortality rate in the Southeast Asian region at 144 persons per 1,000 population.
“Several studies have shown the direct link between one’s health and the environment. In women, chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious health problems, such as cancer, lung disease or complications in the reproductive system,” Vargas said.
• An Act establishing the Office of Research on Women’s Health. According to Vargas, the United States established the Office of Research on Women’s Health in order to strengthen, develop and increase research on diseases, and conditions that are unique to, more prevalent among or more serious in women, or for which there are different risk factors for women than for men.
n An Act ensuring the fundamental equality of men and women. Rep. Maria Lourdes Acosta-Alba of the First District of Bukidnon said the Family Code remains flawed because it continues to operate under the outmoded presumption of the superiority of men’s decisions over those of women’s.
“One matter pertaining to the management and administration of family affairs, the decision of the male spouse continues to prevail,” she said.
• An Act promoting women participation and equitable representation in and by political parties, giving incentives therefor, creating the women in political parties empowerment fund. Party-list Rep. Tom S. Villarin of Akbayan said that, of the 16 Philippine presidents, only two were women, translating to just 13 percent of the total.
In the 17th Congress, Villarin said that, out of 292 seats in the lower chamber, 83 are occupied by women legislators. In the Senate, six of 24 senators are women. These compromise 26-percent and 25-percent women-participation rates, respectively. He said women justices composed 43 percent of the Supreme Court in 2007. At present, however, only three justices are women.
“The slow speed of growth in women participation in politics and governance is a barrier to fundamental equality, and such participation remains low,” Villarin said. He added his bill aims to increase the quantity and quality of women participation in politics and governance.
• An Act granting capitalization loan assistance to women seeking to become entrepreneurs or those intending to put their own business. Rep. Winston Castelo of the Second District of Quezon City, citing Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Joey Conception, said women have been playing an active role, not just in their families but also in their respective communities.
“Empowered women in the last decade have, indeed, spurred national development. Driven Filipina entrepreneurs have gone places and brought tremendous honor and pride to the country,” he said.
“Given the chance and the resources, Filipino women find their riches under the sun and accomplish great business feats. The fact that they started small is both encouraging and inspiring, and justifies the government’s supporting women in terms of business assistance loan,” Castelo added.
• An Act allowing women to revert to their maiden surname, establishing a procedure for reversion and appropriating funds therefore. Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Second District of Pampanga said the state shall value the dignity and independence of women and guarantee full respect for their freedom of choice of surname. She said the state shall also provide a method for reversion to maiden name to fully empower women to be truly independent in their social and economic affairs.