THE MAGNA CARTA FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

I. DECLARATION OF POLICY COVERAGE

Sec. 1. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this Act to promote
and improve the social and economic status of public school teachers, their living and
working conditions, their terms of employment and career prospects in order that they may
compare favorably with existing opportunities in other walks of life, attract and retain in the
teaching profession more people with the proper qualifications, it being recognized that
advance in education depends on the qualifications and ability of the teaching staff and that
education is an essential factor in the economic growth of the nation as a productive
investment of vital importance.

Sec. 2. Title Definition. This Act shall be known as the "Magna Carta for Public School
Teachers" and shall apply to all public school teachers except those in the professorial staff
of state colleges and universities.

As used in this Act, the term "teacher" shall mean all persons engaged in classroom
teaching, in any level of instruction, on full-time basis, including guidance counselors,
school librarians, industrial arts or vocational instructors, and all other persons performing
supervisory and/or administrative functions in all schools, colleges and universities operated
by the Government or its political subdivisions; but shall not include school nurses, school
physicians, school dentists, and other school employees.

II. RECRUITMENT AND CAREER

Sec. 3. Recruitment and Qualification. Recruitment policy with respect to the selection and
appointment of teachers shall be clearly defined by the Department of
Education: Provided, however, That effective upon the approval of this Act, the following
shall constitute the minimum educational qualifications for teacher-applicants:

(a) For teachers in the kindergarten and elementary grades, Bachelor's degree in
Elementary Education (B.S.E.ED.);

(b) For teachers of the secondary schools, Bachelor's degree in Education or its equivalent
with a major and a minor; or a Bachelor's degree in Arts or Science with at least eighteen
professional units in Education.

(c) For teachers of secondary vocational and two years technical courses, Bachelor's
degree in the field of specialization with at least eighteen professional units in education;

(d) For teachers of courses on the collegiate level, other than vocational, master's degree
with a specific area of specialization;

Provided, further, That in the absence of applicants who possess the minimum educational
qualifications as hereinabove provided, the school superintendent may appoint, under a
temporary status, applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications: Provided, further,
That should teacher-applicants, whether they possess the minimum educational
qualifications or not, be required to take competitive examinations, preference in making
appointments shall be in the order of their respective ranks in said competitive
examinations: And provided, finally, That the results of the examinations shall be made
public and every applicant shall be furnished with his score and rank in said examinations.

Sec. 4. Probationary Period. When recruitment takes place after adequate training and
professional preparation in any school recognized by the Government, no probationary
period preceding regular appointment shall be imposed if the teacher possesses the
appropriate civil service eligibility: Provided, however, That where, due to the exigencies of
the service, it is necessary to employ as teacher a person who possesses the minimum
educational qualifications herein above set forth but lacks the appropriate civil service
eligibility, such person shall be appointed on a provisional status and shall undergo a period
of probation for not less than one year from and after the date of his provisional
appointment.

Sec. 5. Tenure of Office. Stability on employment and security of tenure shall be assured
the teachers as provided under existing laws.

Subject to the provisions of Section three hereof, teachers appointed on a provisional status
for lack of necessary civil service eligibility shall be extended permanent appointment for the
position he is holding after having rendered at least ten years of continuous, efficient and
faithful service in such position.

Sec. 6. Consent for Transfer Transportation Expenses. Except for cause and as herein
otherwise provided, no teacher shall be transferred without his consent from one station to
another.

Where the exigencies of the service require the transfer of a teacher from one station to
another, such transfer may be effected by the school superintendent who shall previously
notify the teacher concerned of the transfer and the reason or reasons therefor. If the
teacher believes there is no justification for the transfer, he may appeal his case to the
Director of Public Schools or the Director of Vocational Education, as the case may be.
Pending his appeal and the decision thereon, his transfer shall be held in
abeyance: Provided, however, That no transfers whatever shall be made three months
before any local or national election.

Necessary transfer expenses of the teacher and his family shall be paid for by the
Government if his transfer is finally approved.

Sec. 7. Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers. Within six months from the approval of
this Act, the Secretary of Education shall formulate and prepare a Code of Professional
Conduct for Public School Teachers. A copy of the Code shall be furnished each
teacher: Provided, however, That where this is not possible by reason of inadequate fiscal
resources of the Department of Education, at least three copies of the same Code shall be
deposited with the office of the school principal or head teacher where they may be
accessible for use by the teachers.
Sec. 8. Safeguards in Disciplinary Procedure. Every teacher shall enjoy equitable
safeguards at each stage of any disciplinary procedure and shall have:

a. the right to be informed, in writing, of the charges;

b. the right to full access to the evidence in the case;

c. the right to defend himself and to be defended by a representative of his choice and/or by
his organization, adequate time being given to the teacher for the preparation of his
defense; and

d. the right to appeal to clearly designated authorities.

No publicity shall be given to any disciplinary action being taken against a teacher during
the pendency of his case.

Sec. 9. Administrative Charges. Administrative charges against a teacher shall be heard

initially by a committee composed of the corresponding School Superintendent of the
Division or a duly authorized representative who should at least have the rank of a division
supervisor, where the teacher belongs, as chairman, a representative of the local or, in its
absence, any existing provincial or national teacher's organization and a supervisor of the
Division, the last two to be designated by the Director of Public Schools. The committee
shall submit its findings and recommendations to the Director of Public Schools within thirty
days from the termination of the hearings: Provided, however, That where the school
superintendent is the complainant or an interested party, all the members of the committee
shall be appointed by the Secretary of Education.

Sec. 10. No Discrimination. There shall be no discrimination whatsoever in entrance to the

teaching profession, or during its exercise, or in the termination of services, based on other
than professional consideration.

Sec. 11. Married Teachers. Whenever possible, the proper authorities shall take all steps to
enable married couples, both of whom are public school teachers, to be employed in the
same locality.

Sec. 12. Academic Freedom. Teachers shall enjoy academic freedom in the discharge of
their professional duties, particularly with regard to teaching and classroom methods.

III. HOURS OF WORK AND REMUNERATION

Sec. 13. Teaching Hours. Any teacher engaged in actual classroom instruction shall not be
required to render more than six hours of actual classroom teaching a day, which shall be
so scheduled as to give him time for the preparation and correction of exercises and other
work incidental to his normal teaching duties: Provided, however, That where the exigencies
of the service so require, any teacher may be required to render more than six hours but not
exceeding eight hours of actual classroom teaching a day upon payment of additional
compensation at the same rate as his regular remuneration plus at least twenty-five per
cent of his basic pay.
Sec. 14. Additional Compensation. Notwithstanding any provision of existing law to the
contrary, co-curricula and out of school activities and any other activities outside of what is
defined as normal duties of any teacher shall be paid an additional compensation of at least
twenty-five per cent of his regular remuneration after the teacher has completed at least six
hours of actual classroom teaching a day.

In the case of other teachers or school officials not engaged in actual classroom instruction,
any work performed in excess of eight hours a day shall be paid an additional compensation
of at least twenty-five per cent of their regular remuneration.

The agencies utilizing the services of teachers shall pay the additional compensation
required under this section. Education authorities shall refuse to allow the rendition of
services of teachers for other government agencies without the assurance that the teachers
shall be paid the remuneration provided for under this section.

Sec. 15. Criteria for Salaries. Teacher's salaries shall correspond to the following criteria:

(a) they shall compare favorably with those paid in other occupations requiring equivalent or
similar qualifications, training and abilities;

(b) they shall be such as to insure teachers a reasonable standard of life for themselves and
their families; and

(c) they shall be properly graded so as to recognize the fact that certain positions require
higher qualifications and greater responsibility than others: Provided, however, That the
general salary scale shall be such that the relation between the lowest and highest salaries
paid in the profession will be of reasonable order. Narrowing of the salary scale shall be
achieved by raising the lower end of the salary scales relative to the upper end.

Sec. 16. Salary Scale. Salary scales of teachers shall provide for a gradual progression
from a minimum to a maximum salary by means of regular increments, granted
automatically after three years: Provided, That the efficiency rating of the teacher concerned
is at least satisfactory. The progression from the minimum to the maximum of the salary
scale shall not extend over a period of ten years.

Sec. 17. Equality in Salary Scales. The salary scales of teachers whose salaries are
appropriated by a city, municipal, municipal district, or provincial government, shall not be
less than those provided for teachers of the National Government.

Sec. 18. Cost of Living Allowance. Teacher's salaries shall, at the very least, keep pace with
the rise in the cost of living by the payment of a cost-of-living allowance which shall
automatically follow changes in a cost-of-living index. The Secretary of Education shall, in
consultation with the proper government entities, recommend to Congress, at least
annually, the appropriation of the necessary funds for the cost-of-living allowances of
teachers employed by the National Government. The determination of the cost-of-living
allowances by the Secretary of Education shall, upon approval of the President of the
Philippines, be binding on the city, municipal or provincial government, for the purposes of
calculating the cost-of-living allowances of teachers under its employ.
Sec. 19. Special Hardship Allowances. In areas in which teachers are exposed to hardship
such as difficulty in commuting to the place of work or other hazards peculiar to the place of
employment, as determined by the Secretary of Education, they shall be compensated
special hardship allowances equivalent to at least twenty-five per cent of their monthly
salary.

Sec. 20. Salaries to be Paid in Legal Tender. Salaries of teachers shall be paid in legal
tender of the Philippines or its equivalent in checks or treasury
warrants. Provided, however, That such checks or treasury warrants shall be cashable in
any national, provincial, city or municipal treasurer's office or any banking institutions
operating under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

Sec. 21. Deductions Prohibited. No person shall make any deduction whatsoever from the
salaries of teachers except under specific authority of law authorizing such
deductions: Provided, however, That upon written authority executed by the teacher
concerned, (1) lawful dues and fees owing to the Philippine Public School Teachers
Association, and (2) premiums properly due on insurance policies, shall be considered
deductible.

IV. HEALTH MEASURES AND INJURY BENEFITS

Sec. 22. Medical Examination and Treatment. Compulsory medical examination shall be
provided free of charge for all teachers before they take up teaching, and shall be repeated
not less than once a year during the teacher's professional life. Where medical examination
show that medical treatment and/or hospitalization is necessary, same shall be provided
free by the government entity paying the salary of the teachers.

In regions where there is scarcity of medical facilities, teachers may obtain elsewhere the
necessary medical care with the right to be reimbursed for their traveling expenses by the
government entity concerned in the first paragraph of this Section.

Sec. 23. Compensation For Injuries. Teachers shall be protected against the consequences
of employment injuries in accordance with existing laws. The effects of the physical and
nervous strain on the teacher's health shall be recognized as a compensable occupational
disease in accordance with existing laws.

V. LEAVE AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Sec. 24. Study Leave. In addition to the leave privileges now enjoyed by teachers in the
public schools, they shall be entitled to study leave not exceeding one school year after
seven years of service. Such leave shall be granted in accordance with a schedule set by
the Department of Education. During the period of such leave, the teachers shall be entitled
to at least sixty per cent of their monthly salary: Provided, however, That no teacher shall be
allowed to accumulate more than one year study leave, unless he needs an additional
semester to finish his thesis for a graduate study in education or allied courses: Provided,
further, That no compensation shall be due the teacher after the first year of such leave. In
all cases, the study leave period shall be counted for seniority and pension purposes.
The compensation allowed for one year study leave as herein provided shall be subject to
the condition that the teacher takes the regular study load and passes at least seventy-five
per cent of his courses. Study leave of more than one year may be permitted by the
Secretary of Education but without compensation.

Sec. 25. Indefinite Leave. An indefinite sick leave of absence shall be granted to teachers
when the nature of the illness demands a long treatment that will exceed one year at the
least.

Sec. 26. Salary Increase upon Retirement. Public school teachers having fulfilled the age
and service requirements of the applicable retirement laws shall be given one range salary
raise upon retirement, which shall be the basis of the computation of the lump sum of the
retirement pay and the monthly benefits thereafter.

VI. TEACHER'S ORGANIZATION

Sec. 27. Freedom to Organize. Public school teachers shall have the right to freely and
without previous authorization both to establish and to join organizations of their choosing,
whether local or national to further and defend their interests.

Sec. 28. Discrimination Against Teachers Prohibited. The rights established in the
immediately preceding Section shall be exercised without any interference or coercion. It
shall be unlawful for any person to commit any acts of discrimination against teachers which
are calculated to (a) make the employment of a teacher subject to the condition that he shall
not join an organization, or shall relinquish membership in an organization,

(b) to cause the dismissal of or otherwise prejudice a teacher by reason of his membership
in an organization or because of participation in organization activities outside school hours,
or with the consent of the proper school authorities, within school hours, and (c) to prevent
him from carrying out the duties laid upon him by his position in the organization, or to
penalize him for an action undertaken in that capacity.

Sec. 29. National Teacher's Organizations. National teachers' organizations shall be

consulted in the formulation of national educational policies and professional standards, and
in the formulation of national policies governing the social security of the teachers.

VII. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 30. Rules and Regulations. The Secretary of Education shall formulate and prepare
the necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Act. Rules and
regulations issued pursuant to this Section shall take effect thirty days after publication in a
newspaper of general circulation and by such other means as the Secretary of Education
deems reasonably sufficient to give interested parties general notice of such issuance.

Sec. 31. Budgetary Estimates. The Secretary of Education shall submit to Congress
annually the necessary budgetary estimates to implement the provisions of the Act
concerning the benefits herein granted to public school teachers under the employ of the
National Government.
Sec. 32. Penal Provision. A person who shall willfully interfere with, restrain or coerce any
teacher in the exercise of his rights guaranteed by this Act or who shall in any other manner
commit any act to defeat any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be
punished by a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than one thousand pesos,
or by imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.

If the offender is a public official, the court shall order his dismissal from the Government
service.

Sec. 33. Repealing Clause. All Acts or parts of Acts, executive orders and their
implementing rules inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 34. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared invalid, the remainder of
this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall remain in force and in effect.

Sec. 35. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 18, 1966

TEACHERS and civil society groups vowed to engage Department of Education (DepEd)
Secretary Leonor Briones and the Duterte administration on their five-decade advocacy for the
implementation of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers (RA 4670), a law enacted in June
1966. 

This Magna Carta is considered a bible of Filipino teachers and lists several provisions that
ensure the rights, welfare and dignity of the country’s public school teachers. However, some of
those provisions have not been implemented since the 1960s, and many still are selectively and
partly enforced. 

Certain provisions, like the salary scale in which the law provides the teachers’ salary
progression from lowest grade to highest grade within a maximum period of ten years, overtime
pay for those who teach beyond six hours, free medical examination and hospitalization, paid
study leave for those who served for seven years, and special hardship allowances, among others.

On its part, the Education Network-Philippines (E-Net) a national alliance of education sector
advocates lamented the outcome of the 50-year old law.

“This law embodies our government’s commitment ‘to promote and improve the social and
economic status of public school teachers, their living and working conditions, their terms of
employment and career prospects.’ But after five decades, teachers are not rejoicing but
remember instead how their Magna Carta had been a long-forgotten law,” Said Addie Unsi, E-
Net National Coordinator.

The groups have jointly initiated a massive information and education campaign for the Magna
Carta through a series of forum that started on June 18, 2016, exactly 50 years after the law has
signed by the then president Ferdinand Marcos. The initiative aims to strengthen and mobilize
support for its implementation by engaging the respective government agencies, especially
DepEd.

This is one sad thing about this country, you have to fight for the enactment of a social
legislation, and you then have to wage another battle to implement it.

We have asked the new DepEd Secretary, Dr. Liling Briones, for a dialogue to tackle the issue.
“The law mandates the DepEd Secretary to implement many of its provisions and even directed
her to prepare budgetary estimates to be submitted to Congress for appropriations.

We are confident that Secretary Briones will be on our side on this matter, being an expert on
fiscal policies and an advocate of social justice, the Secretary’s wisdom is very much
anticipated.” 

Briones was also present in the first forum in UP Diliman and has stated that teachers deserve
more than just lip-service recognition and accolades but a genuine change in their condition
where their economic and democratic rights are being respected and protected.

Addie Unsi, E-Net National Coordinator ended saying “we are hoping that the new
administration will really effect genuine change, it can start by correcting the errors of the past
administrations, respect and protect teachers’ rights by fully and correctly implementing the
provisions of the Magna Carta.--from Benjo Basas, national chairperson, Teachers’ Dignity
Coalition

Believer

I was neither a believer nor non-believer of President Rodrigo Duterte. Sure we heard Davao as
drug-free (not 100 percent), a non-smoking city, a city that strictly imposed the curfew for
minors, etc. But I am slowly converting into a believer. 

So far, he has partially fulfilled one of his promises, the fight against drugs. He has named five
generals implicated as drug lord protectors and named also a handful of drug lords operating
across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Plus, in the next days, he will also be naming politicians
and mayors who are drug lord protector as well.

Everyone knows that fighting or even eliminating illegal drugs will not happen in just a wink of
an eye. Even the President’s timetable of 3 to 6 months is impossible to achieve. But the good
thing is that someone is 100 percent ready and has political will and an iron fist to start this war
against illegal drugs. War against illegal drugs will never be clean; it will be bloody as ever. 

Let us also ask our senators, congressmen and the rest of our politicians to give our President
time and a chance. It’s too early to call for investigations. While we heard allegations of
summary killings by the police, let’s give the operation more time.
This is for the good of our beloved country and our children and even our children’s children.
Imagine years from now families would enjoy a drug free and safe living. We pray and hope that
this will succeed, maybe not 100 percent at once. For sure, there will be additional government
programs to sustain the drive to clean our country of these criminals. Without illegal drugs, we
should see drug-related crimes decrease.

Let us not doubt our President for now. Let us support him in the fight versus illegal drugs. He
needs our help how little it may be. To the President and the PNP led by Gen. Ronald “ Bato” de
la Rosa, keep it up. We are with you all the way.--Jaben Canveda

Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila

Fourteenth Congress
Second Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the the twenty-eight day of July, two thousand
eight.

Republic Act No. 9710             August 14, 2009

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN

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

assembled::

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as "The Magna Carta of Women".

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - Recognizing that the economic, political, and

sociocultural realities affect women's current condition, the State affirms the role of women
in nation building and ensures the substantive equality of women and men. It shall promote
empowerment of women and pursue equal opportunities for women and men and ensure
equal access to resources and to development results and outcome. Further, the State
realizes that equality of men and women entails the abolition of the unequal structures and
practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. To realize this, the State shall
endeavor to develop plans, policies, programs, measures, and mechanisms to address
discrimination and inequality in the economic, political, social, and cultural life of women and
men.

The State condemns discrimination against women in all its forms 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 consistent with Philippine law. The
State shall accord women the rights, protection, and opportunities available to every
member of society.

The State affirms women's rights as human rights and shall intensify its efforts to fulfill its
duties under international and domestic law to recognize, respect, protect, fulfill, and
promote all human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, especially marginalized
women, in the economic, social, political, cultural, and other fields without distinction or
discrimination on account of class, age, sex, gender, language, ethnicity, religion, ideology,
disability, education, and status. The State shall provide the necessary mechanisms to
enforce women's rights and adopt and undertake all legal measures necessary to foster and
promote the equal opportunity for women to participate in and contribute to the development
of the political, economic, social, and cultural realms.

The State, in ensuring the full integration of women's concerns in the mainstream of
development, shall provide ample opportunities to enhance and develop their skills, acquire
productive employment and contribute to their families and communities to the fullest of
their capabilities.

In pursuance of this policy, the State reaffirms the right of women in all sectors to participate
in policy formulation. planning, organization, implementation, management, monitoring, and
evaluation of all programs, projects, and services. It shall support policies, researches,
technology, and training programs and other support services such as financing, production,
and marketing to encourage active participation of women in national development.

Section 3. Principles of Human Rights of Women. - Human rights are universal and
inalienable. All people in the world are entitled to them. The universality of human rights is
encompassed in the words of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
states that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights.

Human rights are indivisible. Human rights are inherent to the dignity of every human being
whether they relate to civil, cultural, economic, political, or social issues.

Human rights are interdependent and interrelated. The fulfillment of one right often
depends, wholly or in part, upon the fulfillment of others.

All individuals are equal as human beings by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human
person. No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender,
age, language, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, political, or other opinion, national,
social, or geographical origin, disability, property, birth, or other status as established by
human rights standards.

All people have the right to participate in and access information relating to the decision-
making processes that affect their lives and well-being. Rights-based approaches require a
high degree of participation by communities, civil society, minorities, women, young people,
indigenous peoples, and other identified groups.
States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the observance of human rights. They
have to comply with the legal norms and standards enshrined in international human rights
instruments in accordance with the Philippine Constitution. Where they fail to do so,
aggrieved rights-holders are entitled to institute proceedings for appropriate redress before
a competent court or other adjudicator in accordance with the rules and procedures
provided by law.

CHAPTER II
DEFINITION OF TERMS

Section 4. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) "Women Empowerment" refers to the provision, availability, and accessibility of

opportunities, services, and observance of human rights 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.

(b) "Discrimination Against Women" refers to any gender-based distinction,

exclusion, or restriction which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the
recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on
a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field.

It includes any act or omission, including by law; policy, administrative measure, or

practice, that directly or indirectly excludes or restricts women in the recognition and
promotion of their rights and their access to and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits,
or privileges.

A measure or practice of general application is discrimination against women if it fails

to provide for mechanisms to offset or address sex or gender-based disadvantages
or limitations of women, as a result of which women are denied or restricted in the
recognition and protection of their rights and in their access to and enjoyment of
opportunities, benefits, or privileges; or women, more than men, are shown to have
suffered the greater adverse effects of those measures or practices.

Provided, finally, That discrimination compounded by or intersecting with other

grounds, status, or condition, such as ethnicity, age, poverty, or religion shall be
considered discrimination against women under this Act.

(c) "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.

(d) "Marginalized" refers to the basic, disadvantaged, or vulnerable persons or

groups who are mostly living in poverty and have little or no access to land and other
resources, basic social and economic services such as health care, education, water
and sanitation, employment and livelihood opportunities, housing, social security,
physical infrastructure; and the justice system.

These include, but are not limited to, women in the following sectors and groups:

(1) "Small Farmers and Rural Workers" refers 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 season-bound.
These shall include. but are not limited to, (a) small farmers who own or are
still amortizing for lands that is not more than three (3) hectares, tenants,
leaseholders, and stewards; and (b) rural workers who are either wage
earners, self-employed, unpaid family workers directly and personally
engaged in agriculture, small-scale mining, handicrafts, and other related
farm and off-farm activities;

(2) "Fisherfolk" refers to those directly or indirectly engaged in taking,

culturing, or processing fishery or aquatic resources. These include, but are
not to be limited to, women engaged in fishing in municipal waters, coastal
and marine areas, women workers in commercial fishing and aquaculture,
vendors and processors of fish and coastal products, and subsistence
producers such as shell-gatherers, managers, and producers of mangrove
resources, and other related producers:

(3) "Urban Poor" refers to those residing in urban and urbanizable slum or
blighted areas, with or without the benefit of security of abode, where the
income of the head of the family cannot afford in a sustained manner to
provide for the family's basic needs of food, health, education, housing, and
other essentials in life;

(4) "Workers in the Formal Economy" refers to those who are employed by
any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in
relation to an employee and shall include the government and all its
branches, subdivisions, and instrumentalities, all government- owned and
-controlled corporations and institutions, as well as nonprofit private
institutions or organizations;

(5) "Workers in the Informal Economy" refers to self-employed, occasionally

or personally hired, subcontracted, paid and unpaid family workers in
household incorporated and unincorporated enterprises, including home
workers, micro-entrepreneurs and producers, and operators of sari-sari stores
and all other categories who suffer from violation of workers' rights:

(6) "Migrant Workers" refers to Filipinos who are to be engaged, are engaged,
or have been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which they are
not legal residents, whether documented or undocumented;

(7) "Indigenous Peoples" refers to a group of people or homogenous societies

identified by self-ascription and ascription by other, who have continuously
 lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory,
and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied;
possessed customs, tradition, and other distinctive cultural traits, or who
have, through resistance to political, social, and cultural inroads of
colonization, non- indigenous religions and culture, became historically
differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. They shall likewise include
peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the
populations which inhabited the country, at the dime of conquest or
colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and
cultures, or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some
or all of their own social, economic, cultural, and political institutions, but who
may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have
resettled outside their ancestral domains as defined under Section 3(h),
Chapter II of Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as "The Indigenous
Peoples Rights Act of 1997" (IPRA of 1997);

(8) "Moro" refers to native peoples who have historically inhabited Mindanao,
Palawan, and Sulu, and who are largely of the Islamic faith;

(9) "Children" refers to those who are below eighteen (18) years of age or
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 Citizens" refers to those sixty (60) years of age and above;

(11) "Persons with Disabilities" refers 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; and

(12) "Solo Parents" refers to those who fall under the category of a solo
parent defined under Republic Act No. 8972, otherwise known as the "Solo
Parents Welfare Act of 2000".

(e) "Substantive Equality" refers to the full and equal enjoyment of rights and
freedoms contemplated under this Act. It encompasses de jure and de facto equality
and also equality in outcomes.

(f) "Gender Equality" refers to the principle asserting the equality of men and women
and their right to enjoy equal conditions realizing their full human potentials to
contribute to and benefit from the results of development, and with the State
recognizing that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights.

(g) "Gender Equity" refers to the policies, instruments, programs, services, and
actions that address the disadvantaged position of women in society by providing
preferential treatment and affirmative action. Such temporary special measures
aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be
considered discriminatory but shall in no way entail as a consequence the
maintenance of unequal or separate standards. These measures shall be
discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been
achieved.

(h) "Gender and Development (GAD)" refers to the development perspective and
process that are participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from
violence, respectful of human rights, 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
transform society's social, economic, and political structures and questions the
validity of the gender roles they ascribed 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.

(i) "Gender Mainstreaming" refers to 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.

(j) "Temporary Special Measures" refers to a variety of legislative, executive,

administrative, and regulatory instruments, policies, and practices aimed at
accelerating this de facto equality of women in specific areas. These measures shall
not be considered discriminatory but shall in no way entail as a consequence the
maintenance of unequal or separate standards. They shall be discontinued when
their objectives have been achieved.

(k) "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 in private life. It shall be understood to encompass, but
not limited to, the following:

(1) Physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence occurring in the

family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household,
dowry-related violence, marital rape, and other traditional 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; and
 (3) Physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by
the State, wherever it occurs.

It also includes acts of violence against women as defused in Republic Acts No.
9208 and 9262.

(l) "Women in the Military" refers to women employed in the military, both in the
major and technical services, who are performing combat and/or noncombat
functions, providing security to the State, and protecting the people from various
forms of threat. It also includes women trainees in all military training institutions.

(m) "Social Protection" refers to policies and programs that seek to reduce poverty
and vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status and rights of all women,
especially the marginalized by promoting and protecting livelihood and employment,
protecting against hazards and sudden loss of income, and improving people's
capacity to manage risk. Its components are labor market programs, social
insurance, social welfare, and social safety nets.

CHAPTER III
DUTIES RELATED TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN

The State, private sector, society in general, and all individuals shall contribute to the
recognition, respect, and promotion of the rights of women defined and guaranteed under
this Act.

Section 5. The State as the Primary Duty-Bearer. - The State, as the primary duty-
bearer, shall:

(a) Refrain from discriminating against women and violating their rights;

(b) Protect women against discrimination and from violation of their rights by private
corporations, entities, and individuals; and

(c) Promote and fulfill the rights of women in all spheres, including their rights to
substantive equality and non-discrimination.

The State shall fulfill these duties through law, policy, regulatory instruments, administrative
guidelines, and other appropriate measures, including temporary special measures.

Recognizing the interrelation of the human rights of women, the State shall take measures
and establish mechanisms to promote the coherent and integrated implementation, and
enforcement of this Act and related laws, policies, or other measures to effectively stop
discrimination against and advance the rights of women.

The State shall keep abreast with and be guided by progressive developments in human
rights of women under international law and design of policies, laws, and other measures to
promote the objectives of this Act.
Section 6. Duties of the State Agencies and Instrumentalities. - These duties of the
State shall extend to all state agencies, offices, and instrumentalities at all levels and
government-owned and -controlled corporations, subject to the Constitution and pertinent
laws, policies, or administrative guidelines that define specific duties of state agencies and
entities concerned.

Section 7. Suppletory Effect. - This chapter shall be deemed integrated into and be
suppletory to other provisions of this Act, particularly those that guarantee specific rights to
women and define specific roles and require specific conduct of state organs.

CHAPTER IV
RIGHTS AND EMPOWERMENT

Section 8. Human Rights of Women. - All rights in the Constitution and those rights
recognized under international instruments duly signed and ratified by the Philippines, in
consonance with Philippine law, shall be rights of women under this Act to be enjoyed
without discrimination.

Section 9. Protection from Violence. - The State shall ensure that all women shall be
protected from all forms of violence as provided for in existing laws. Agencies of
government shall give priority to the defense and protection of women against gender-
based offenses and help women attain justice and healing.

Towards this end, measures to prosecute and reform offenders shall likewise be pursued.

(a) Within the next five (5) 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
social work services availed of by women who are victims of gender-related offenses until
fifty percent (50%) of the personnel thereof shall be women.

(b) Women shall have the right to protection and security in situations of armed conflict and
militarization. Towards this end, they shall be protected from all forms of gender-based
violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all forms of violence in
situations of armed conflict. The State shall observe international standards for the
protection of 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 pursuant to this Act.

(d) All local government units shall establish a Violence Against Women's Desk in every
barangay to ensure that violence against women cases are fully addressed in a gender-
responsive manner.
Section 10. Women Affected by Disasters, Calamities, and Other Crisis Situations. -
Women have the right to protection and security in times of disasters, calamities, and other
crisis situations especially in all phases of relief, recovery, rehabilitation, and construction
efforts. The State shall provide for immediate humanitarian assistance, allocation of
resources, and early resettlement, if necessary. It shall also address the particular needs of
women from a gender perspective to ensure their full protection from sexual exploitation
and other sexual and gender- based violence committed against them. Responses to
disaster situations shall include the provision of services, such as psychosocial support,
livelihood support, education, psychological health, and comprehensive health services,
including protection during pregnancy.

Section 11. Participation and Representation. - The State shall undertake temporary

special measures to accelerate the participation and equitable representation of women in
all spheres of society particularly in the decision-making and policy-making processes in
government and private entities to fully realize their role as agents and beneficiaries of
development.

The State shall institute the following affirmative action mechanisms so that women can
participate meaningfully in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies,
plans, and programs for national, regional, and local development:

(a) Empowerment within the Civil Service. - Within the next five (5) years, the
number of women in third (3rd) level positions in government shall be incrementally
increased to achieve a fifty-fifty (50-50) gender balance;

(b) Development Councils and Planning Bodies. - To ensure the participation of

women in all levels of development planning and program implementation, at least
forty percent (40%) 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's groups shall also be
represented in international, national, and local special and decision-making bodies;

(d) International Bodies. - The State shall take all appropriate measures to ensure
the opportunity of women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination,
to represent their governments at the international level and to participate in the work
of international organizations;

(e) Integration of Women in Political Parties. - The State shall provide incentives to
political parties with women's agenda. It shall likewise encourage the integration of
women in their leadership hierarchy, internal policy-making structures, appointive,
and electoral nominating processes; and

(f) Private Sector. - The State shall take measures to encourage women leadership
in the private sector in the form of incentives.
Section 12. Equal Treatment Before the Law. - The State shall take steps to review and,
when necessary, amend and/or repeal existing laws that are discriminatory to women within
three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act.

Section 13. Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in Education,

Scholarships, and Training. - (a) The State shall ensure that gender stereotypes and
images in educational materials and curricula are adequately and appropriately revised.
Gender-sensitive language shall be used at all times. Capacity-building on gender and
development (GAD), peace and human rights, education for teachers, and all those
involved in the education sector shall be pursued toward this end. Partnerships between
and among players of the education sector, including the private sector, churches, and faith
groups shall be encouraged.

(b) Enrollment of women in nontraditional skills training in vocational and tertiary levels shall
be encouraged.

(c) Expulsion and non-readmission of women faculty due to pregnant;- outside of marriage
shall be outlawed. No school shall turn out or refuse admission to a female student solely
on the account of her having contracted pregnancy outside of marriage during her term in
school.

Section 14. Women in Sports. - The State shall develop, establish, and strengthen
programs for the participation of women and girl-children in competitive and noncompetitive
sports as a means to achieve excellence, promote physical and social well-being, eliminate
gender-role stereotyping, and provide equal access to the full benefits of development for all
persons regardless of sex, gender identity, and other similar factors.

For this purpose, all sports-related organizations shall create guidelines that will establish
and integrate affirmative action as a strategy and gender equality as a framework in
planning and implementing their policies, budgets, programs, and activities relating to the
participation of women and girls in sports.

The State will also provide material and nonmaterial incentives to local government units,
media organizations, and the private sector for promoting, training, and preparing women
and girls for participation in competitive and noncompetitive sports, especially in local and
international events, including, but not limited to, the Palarong Pambansa, Southeast Asian
Games, Asian Games, and the Olympics.

No sports event or tournament will offer or award a different sports prize, with respect to its
amount or value, to women and men winners in the same sports category: Provided, That
the said tournament, contest, race, match, event, or game is open to both
sexes: Provided, further, That the sports event or tournament is divided into male or female
divisions.

The State shall also ensure the safety and well-being of all women and girls participating in
sports, especially, but not limited to, trainees, reserve members, members, coaches, and
mentors of national sports teams, whether in studying, training, or performance phases, by
providing them comprehensive health and medical insurance coverage, as well as
integrated medical, nutritional, and healthcare services.

Schools, colleges, universities, or any other learning institution shall take into account its
total women student population in granting athletic scholarship. There shall be a pro
rata representation of women in the athletic scholarship program based on the percentage
of women in the whole student population.

Section 15. Women in the Military. - The State shall pursue appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination of women in the military, police, and other similar services,
including revising or abolishing policies and practices that restrict women from availing of
both combat and noncombat training that are open to men, or from taking on functions other
than administrative tasks, such as engaging in combat, security-related, or field operations.
Women in the military shall be accorded the same promotional privileges and opportunities
as men, including pay increases, additional remunerations and benefits, and awards based
on their competency and quality of performance. Towards this end, the State shall ensure
that the personal dignity of women shall always be respected.

Women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be provided with the same
right to employment as men on equal conditions. Equally, they shall be accorded the same
capacity as men to act in and enter into contracts, including marriage.

Further, women in the military, police; and other similar services shall be entitled to leave
benefits such as maternity leave, as provided for by existing laws.

Section 16. Nondiscriminatory and Nonderogatory Portrayal of Women in Media and

Film. - The State shall formulate policies and programs for the advancement of women in
collaboration with government and nongovernment media-related organizations. It shall
likewise endeavor to raise the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity
of women and the role and contribution of women in the family; community, and the society
through the strategic use of mass media.

For this purpose, the State shall ensure allocation of space; airtime, and resources,
strengthen programming, production, and image-making that appropriately present
women's needs, issues, and concerns in all forms of media, communication, information
dissemination, and advertising.

The State, in cooperation with all schools of journalism, information, and communication, as
well as the national media federations and associations, shall require all media
organizations and corporations to integrate into their human resource development
components regular training on gender equality and gender-based discrimination, create
and use gender equality guidelines in all aspects of management, training, production,
information, dissemination, communication, and programming; and convene a gender
equality committee that will promote gender mainstreaming as a framework and affirmative
action as a strategy, and monitor and evaluate the implementation of gender equality
guidelines.
Section 17. Women's Right to Health. - (a) Comprehensive Health Services. - The State
shall, at all times, provide for a comprehensive, culture-sensitive, and gender-responsive
health services and programs covering all stages of a woman's life cycle and which
addresses the major causes of women's mortality and morbidity: Provided, That in the
provision for comprehensive health services, due respect shall be accorded to women's
religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in accordance with their
religious convictions, and the demands of responsible parenthood, and the right of women
to protection from hazardous drugs, devices, interventions, and substances.

Access to the following services shall be ensured:

(1) Maternal care to include pre- and post-natal services to address pregnancy and
infant health and nutrition;

(2) Promotion of breastfeeding;

(3) Responsible, ethical, legal, safe, and effective methods of family planning;

(4) Family and State collaboration in youth sexuality education and health services
without prejudice to the primary right and duty of parents to educate their children;

(5) Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, including sexually

transmitted diseases, HIV, and AIDS;

(6) Prevention and management of reproductive tract cancers like breast and
cervical cancers, and other gynecological conditions and disorders;

(7) Prevention of abortion and management of pregnancy-related complications;

(8) In cases of violence against women and children, women and children victims
and survivors shall be provided with comprehensive health services that include
psychosocial, therapeutic, medical, and legal interventions and assistance towards
healing, recovery, and empowerment;

(9) Prevention and management of infertility and sexual dysfunction pursuant to

ethical norms and medical standards;

(10) Care of the elderly women beyond their child-bearing years; and

(11) Management, treatment, and intervention of mental health problems of women

and girls. In addition, healthy lifestyle activities are encouraged and promoted
through programs and projects as strategies in the prevention of diseases.

(b) Comprehensive Health Information and Education. - The State shall provide women in
all sectors with appropriate, timely, complete, and accurate information and education on all
the above-stated aspects of women's health in government education and training
programs, with due regard to the following:
 (1) The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth and
the development of moral character and the right of children to be brought up in an
atmosphere of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and strengthening of
character;

(2) The formation of a person's sexuality that affirms human dignity; and

(3) Ethical, legal, safe, and effective family planning methods including fertility
awareness.

Section 18. Special Leave Benefits for Women. - A woman employee having rendered
continuous aggregate employment service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12)
months shall be entitled to a special leave benefit of two (2) months with full pay based on
her gross monthly compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.

Section 19. Equal Rights in All Matters Relating to 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 rights to enter into and leave marriages or common law relationships
referred to under the Family Code without prejudice to personal or religious beliefs;

(b) the same rights to choose freely a spouse and to enter into marriage only with
their 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 between spouses or common law spouses including the
right to choose freely a profession and an occupation;

(e) the same rights for both spouses or common law spouses in respect of 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; and

(g) women shall have equal rights with men to acquire, change, or retain their
nationality. The State shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor
change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the
nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the
husband. Various statutes of other countries concerning dual citizenship that may be
enjoyed equally by women and men shall likewise be considered.

Customary laws shall be respected: Provided, however, That they do not discriminate

against women.
 CHAPTER V
RIGHTS AND EMPOWERMENT OF MARGINALIZED SECTORS

Women in marginalized sectors are hereby guaranteed all civil, political, social, and
economic rights recognized, promoted, and protected under existing laws including, but not
limited to, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, the Urban Development and Housing Act, the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, the Fisheries Code, the Labor Code, the Migrant
Workers Act, the Solo Parents Welfare Act, and the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation
Act.

Section 20. Food Security and Productive Resources. - The State recognizes the
contribution of women to food production and shall ensure its sustainability and sufficiency
with the active participation of women. Towards this end, the State shall guarantee, at all
times, the availability in the market of safe and health-giving food to satisfy the dietary
needs of the population, giving particular attention to the specific needs of poor girl-children
and marginalized women, especially pregnant and lactating mothers and their young
children. To further address this, the State shall ensure:

(a) Right to Food. - The State shall guarantee the availability of food in quantity and
quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, the physical and
economic accessibility for everyone to adequate food that is culturally acceptable
and free from unsafe substances and culturally accepted, and the accurate and
substantial information to the availability of food, including the right to full, accurate,
and truthful information about safe and health-giving foods and how to produce and
have regular and easy access to them;

(b) Right to Resources for Food Production. - The State shall guarantee women a
vital role in food production by giving priority to their rights to land, credit, and
infrastructure support, technical training, and technological and marketing
assistance. The State shall promote women-friendly technology as a high priority
activity in agriculture and shall promote the right to adequate food by proactively
engaging in activities intended to strengthen access to, utilization of, and receipt of
accurate and substantial information on resources and means to ensure women's
livelihood, including food security:

(1) Equal status shall be given to women and men, whether married or not, in
the titling of the land and issuance of stewardship contracts and patents;

(2) Equal treatment shall be given to women and men beneficiaries of the
agrarian reform program, wherein the vested right of a woman agrarian
reform beneficiary is defined by a woman's relationship to tillage, i.e., her
direct and indirect contribution to the development of the land;

(3) Customary rights of women to the land, including access to and control of
the fruits and benefits, shall be recognized in circumstances where private
ownership is not possible, such as ancestral domain claims:
 (4) Information and assistance in claiming rights to the land shall be made
available to women at all times;

(5) Equal rights to women to the enjoyment, use, and management of land,
water, and other natural resources within their communities or ancestral
domains;

(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;

(7) Equal status shall be given to women and men 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 which may include providing support to
women-engaged coastal resources;

(8) There shall be no discrimination against women in the deputization of fish

wardens;

(9) Women-friendly and sustainable agriculture technology shall be designed

based on accessibility and viability in consultation with women's
organizations;

(10) Access to small farmer-based and controlled seeds production and

distribution shall be ensured and protected;

(11) Indigenous practices of women in seed storage and cultivation shall be

recognized, encouraged, and protected;

(12) Equal rights shall be given to women to be members of farmers'

organizations to ensure wider access to and control of the means of
production;

(13) Provide opportunities for empowering women fishers to be involved in

the control and management, not only of the catch and production of
aquamarine resources but also, to engage in entrepreneurial activities which
will add value to production and marketing ventures; and

(14) Provide economic opportunities for the indigenous women. particularly

access to market for their produce.

In the enforcement of the foregoing, the requirements of law shall be observed at all times.
Section 21. Right to Housing. - The State shall develop housing programs for women that
are localized, simple, accessible, with potable water, and electricity, secure, with viable
employment opportunities and affordable amortization. In this regard, the State shall consult
women and involve them in community planning and development, especially in matters
pertaining to land use, zoning, and relocation.

Section 22. Right to Decent Work. - The State shall progressively realize and ensure
decent work standards for women that involve the creation of jobs of acceptable quality in
conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity.

(a) Decent work involves opportunities for work that are productive and fairly remunerative
as family living wage, security in the workplace, and social protection for families, better
prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express
their concerns organize, participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and equality of
opportunity and treatment for all women and men.

(b) The State shall further ensure:

(1) Support services and gears to protect them from occupational and health hazards
taking into account women's maternal functions;

(2) Support services that will enable women to balance their family obligations and
work responsibilities including, but not limited to, the establishment of day care
centers and breast-feeding stations at the workplace, and providing maternity leave
pursuant to the Labor Code and other pertinent laws;

(3) Membership in unions regardless of status of employment and place of

employment; and

(4) Respect for the observance of indigenous peoples' cultural practices even in the
workplace.

(c) In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas work, the State shall exert all efforts
to address the causes of out-migration by developing local employment and other economic
opportunities for women and by introducing measures to curb violence and forced and
involuntary displacement of local women. The State shall ensure the protection and
promotion of the rights and welfare of migrant women regardless of their work status, and
protect them against discrimination in wages, conditions of work, and employment
opportunities in host countries.

Section 23. Right to Livelihood, Credit, Capital, and Technology. - The State shall
ensure that women are provided with the following:

(a) Equal access to formal sources of credit and capital;

(b) Equal share to the produce of farms and aquatic resources; and
 (c) Employment opportunities for returning women migrant workers taking into
account their skills and qualifications. Corollarily, the State shall also promote skills
and entrepreneurship development of returning women migrant workers.

Section 24. Right to Education and Training. - The State shall ensure the following:

(a) Women migrant workers have the opportunity to undergo skills training, if they so
desire, before taking on a foreign job, and possible retraining upon return to the
country:

(b) Gender-sensitive training and seminars; and

(c) Equal opportunities in scholarships based on merit and fitness, especially to

those interested in research and development aimed towards women-friendly farm
technology.

Section 25. Right to Representation and Participation. - The State shall ensure women's
participation in policy-making or decision-making bodies in the regional, national, and
international levels. It shall also ensure the participation of grassroots women leaders in
decision and policy-making bodies in their respective sectors including, but not limited to,
the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) and its local counterparts; community-
based resource management bodies or mechanisms on forest management and
stewardship; the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council
(NFARMC) and its local counterparts; the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples; the
Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor; the National Anti-Poverty Commission; and,
where applicable, the local housing boards.

Section 26. Right to Information. - Access to information regarding policies on women,

including programs, projects, and funding outlays that affect them, shall be ensured.

Section 27. Social Protection. -

(a) The Social Security System (SSS) and the Philippine Health Insurance
Corporation (PhilHealth) shall support indigenous and community-based social
protection schemes.

(b) The State shall institute policies and programs that seek to reduce the poverty
and vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalized
women by promoting and protecting livelihood and employment, protecting against
hazards and sudden; loss of income, and improving people's capacity to manage
risks.

(c) The State shall endeavor to reduce and eventually eliminate transfer costs of
remittances from abroad through appropriate bilateral and multilateral agreements. It
shall likewise provide access to investment opportunities for remittances in line with
national development efforts.
 (d) The State shall establish a health insurance program for senior citizens and
indigents.

(e) The State shall support women with disabilities on a community-based social
protection scheme.

Section 28. Recognition and Preservation of Cultural Identity and Integrity. - The State
shall recognize and respect the rights of Moro and indigenous women to practice, promote,
protect, and preserve their own culture, traditions, and institutions and to consider these
rights in the formulation and implementation of national policies and programs. 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.

Section 29. Peace and Development. - The peace process shall be pursued with the
following considerations:

(a) Increase the number of women participating in discussions and decision-making

in the peace process, including membership in peace panels recognizing women's
role in conflict- prevention and peace-making and in indigenous system of conflict
resolution;

(b) Ensure the development and inclusion of women's welfare and concerns in the
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;

(c) The institution of measures to ensure the protection of civilians in conflict-affected

communities with special consideration for the specific needs of women and girls:

(d) Include the peace perspective in the education curriculum and other educational
undertakings; and

(e) The recognition and support for women's role in conflict-prevention,

management, resolution and peacemaking, and in indigenous systems of conflict
resolution.

Section 30. Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances. - For purposes of this Act,

"Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances" (WEDC) shall refer to victims and survivors
of sexual and physical abuse, illegal recruitment, prostitution, trafficking, armed conflict,
women in detention, victims and survivors of rape and incest, and such other related
circumstances which have incapacitated them functionally. Local government units are
therefore mandated to deliver the necessary services and interventions to WEDC under
their respective jurisdictions.

Section 31. Services and Interventions. - WEDC shall be provided with services and
interventions as necessary such as, but not limited to, the following:
 (a) Temporary and protective custody;

(b) Medical and dental services;

(c) Psychological evaluation;

(d) Counseling;

(e) Psychiatric evaluation;

(f) Legal services;

(g) Productivity skills capability building;

(h) Livelihood assistance;

(i) Job placement;

(j) Financial assistance: and

(k) Transportation assistance.

Section 32. Protection of Girl-Children. - (a) The State shall pursue measures to

eliminate all forms of discrimination against girl-children in education, health and nutrition,
and skills development.

(b) Girl-children shall be protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation.

(c) Equal access of Moro and indigenous girl-children in the Madaris, schools of living
culture and traditions, and the regular schools shall be ensured.

(d) Gender-sensitive curriculum, including legal literacy, books, and curriculum in the
Madaris and schools of living culture and traditions shall be developed.

(e) Sensitivity of regular schools to particular Moro and indigenous practices, such as
fasting in the month of Ramadan, choice of clothing (including the wearing of hijab), and
availability of halal food shall be ensured.

Section 33. Protection 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 special protective mechanisms and support
services against violence, sexual abuse, exploitation, and discrimination of older women.

Section 34. Women are entitled to the recognition and protection of their rights defined and
guaranteed under this Act including their right to nondiscrimination.
Section 35. Discrimination Against Women is Prohibited. - Public and private entities
and individuals found to have committed discrimination against women shall be subject to
the sanctions provided in Section 41 hereof. Violations of other rights of women shall be
subject to sanctions under pertinent laws and regulations.

CHAPTER VI
INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS

Section 36. Gender Mainstreaming as a Strategy for Implementing the Magna Carta of

Women. - Within a period prescribed in the implementing rules and regulations, the
National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) shall assess its gender
mainstreaming program for consistency with the standards under this Act. It shall modify the
program accordingly to ensure that it will be an effective strategy for implementing this Act
and attaining its objectives.

All departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and
colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, and
other government instrumentalities shall adopt gender mainstreaming as a 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
limited to, the following:

(a) Planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation for GAD. GAD programs
addressing gender issues and concerns shall be designed and implemented based
on the mandate of government agencies and local government units, Republic Act
No. 7192, gender equality agenda of the government and other GAD-related
legislation, policies, and commitments. The development of GAD programs shall
proceed from the conduct of a gender audit of the agency or the local government
unit 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
gender/women's rights advocates and agency/women clientele. The cost of
implementing GAD programs shall be the agency's or the local government unit's
GAD budget which shall be at least five percent (5%) of the agency's or the local
government unit's total budget appropriations.

Pursuant to Republic Act No. 7192, otherwise known as the Women in Development
and Nation Building Act, which allocates five percent (5%) to thirty percent (30%) of
overseas development assistance to GAD, government agencies receiving official
development assistance should ensure the allocation and proper utilization of such
funds to gender-responsive programs that complement the government GAD funds
and annually report accomplishments thereof to the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).

The utilization and outcome of the GAD budget shall be annually monitored and
evaluated in terms of its success in influencing the gender-responsive
implementation of agency programs funded by the remaining ninety-five percent
(95%) budget.
The Commission on Audit (COA) shall conduct an annual audit on the use of the
GAD budget for the purpose of determining its judicious use and the efficiency, and
effectiveness of interventions in addressing gender issues towards the realization of
the objectives of the country's commitments, plans, and policies on women
empowerment, gender equality, and GAD.

Local government units are also encouraged to develop and pass a GAD Code
based on the gender issues and concerns in their respective localities based on
consultation with their women constituents and the women's empowerment and
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, bureaus, state
universities and colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations, local
government units, and other government instrumentalities.

To move towards a more sustainable, gender-responsive, and performance-based

planning and budgeting, gender issues and concerns shall be integrated in, among
others, the following plans:

(1) Macro socioeconomic 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,
bureaus, state universities and colleges, and government-owned and
-controlled corporations; and

(3) Local plans and 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 (GFP). All departments,
including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges,
government- owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, and other
government instrumentalities shall establish or strengthen their GAD Focal Point
System or similar GAD mechanism to catalyze and accelerate gender
mainstreaming within the agency or local government unit.

The GAD Focal Point System shall be composed of the agency head or local chief
executive, an executive committee with an Undersecretary (or its equivalent), local
government unit official, or office in a strategic decision-making position as Chair;
and a technical working group or secretariat which is composed of representatives
from various divisions or offices within the agency or local government unit.
 The tasks and functions of the members of the GFP shall form part of their regular
key result areas and shall be given due consideration in their performance
evaluation.

(c) Generation and Maintenance of GAD Database. All departments, including their
attached agencies, offices, 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 sexdisaggregated data that have been systematically gathered,
regularly updated; and subjected to; gender analysis for planning, programming, and
policy formulation.

Section 37. Gender Focal Point Officer in Philippine Embassies and Consulates. - An

officer duly trained on GAD shall be designated as the gender focal point in the consular
section of Philippine embassies or consulates. Said officer shall be primarily responsible in
handling gender concerns of women migrant workers. Attached agencies shall cooperate in
strengthening the Philippine foreign posts' programs for the delivery of services to women
migrant workers.

Section 38. National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). - The

National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) shall be renamed as the
Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the primary policymaking and coordinating body
of the women and gender equality concerns under the Office of the President. The PCW
shall be the overall monitoring body and oversight to ensure the implementation of this Act.
In doing so, the PCW may direct any government agency and instrumentality, as may be
necessary, to report on the implementation of this Act and for them to immediately respond
to the problems brought to their attention in relation to this Act. The PCW shall also lead in
ensuring that government agencies are capacitated on the effective implementation of this
Act. The chairperson shall likewise report to the President in Cabinet meetings on the
implementation of this Act.

To the extent possible, the PCW shall influence the systems, processes, and procedures of
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government vis-a-vis GAD to ensure the
implementation of this Act.

To effectively and efficiently undertake and accomplish its functions, the PCW shall revise
its structure and staffing pattern with the assistance of the Department of Budget and
Management.

Section 39. Commission on Human Rights (CHR). - The Commission, acting as the

Gender and Development Ombud, consistent with its mandate, shall undertake measures
such as the following:

(a) Monitor with the PCW and other state agencies, among others, in developing
indicators and guidelines to comply with their duties related to the human rights of
women, including their right to nondiscrimination guaranteed under this Act;
 (b) Designate one (1) commissioner and/or its Women's Human Rights Center to be
primarily responsible for formulating and implementing programs and activities
related to the promotion and protection of the human rights of women, including the
investigations and complaints of discrimination and violations of their rights brought
under this Act and related laws and regulations;

(c) Establish guidelines and mechanisms, among others, that will facilitate access of
women to legal remedies under this Act and related laws, and enhance the
protection and promotion of the rights of women, especially marginalized women;

(d) Assist in the filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions, or

establishments that violate the provisions of this Act; and

(e) Recommend to the President of the Philippines or the Civil Service Commission
any possible administrative action based on noncompliance or failure to implement
the provisions of this Act.

Section 40. Monitoring Progress and Implementation and Impact of this Act. - The
PCW, in coordination with other state agencies and the CHR, shall submit to Congress
regular reports on the progress of the implementation of this Act highlighting the impact
thereof on the status and human rights of women: Provided, That the second report shall
include an assessment of the effectiveness of this Act and recommend amendments to
improve its provisions: Provided, finally, That these reports shall be submitted to Congress
every three (3) years or as determined in the implementing rules and regulations.

Section 41. Penalties. - Upon finding of the CHR that a department, agency, or

instrumentality of government, government-owned and -controlled corporation, or local
government unit has violated any provision of this Act and its implementing rules and
regulations, the sanctions under administrative law, civil service, or other appropriate laws
shall be recommended to the Civil Service Commission and/or the Department of the
Interior and Local Government. The person directly responsible for the violation as well as
the head of the agency or local chief executive shall be held liable under this Act.

If the violation is committed by a private entity or individual, the person directly responsible
for the violation shall be liable to pay damages.

Filing a complaint under this Act shall not preclude the offended party from pursuing other
remedies available under the law and to invoke any of the provisions of existing laws
especially those recently enacted laws protecting women and children, including the
Women in Development and Nation Building Act (Republic Act No. 7192), the Special
Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act (Republic
Act No. 7610), the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7877), the Anti-
Rape Law of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8353), the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act
of 1998 (Republic Act No. 8505), the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act
No. 9208) and the Anti- Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (Republic
Act No. 9262). If violence has been proven to be perpetrated by agents of the State
including, but not limited to, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and
internal displacements, such shall be considered aggravating offenses with corresponding
penalties depending on the severity of the offenses.

Section 42. 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.

Section 43. Funding. - The initial funding requirements for the implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the current appropriations of the agencies concerned. Thereafter,
such sums as may be necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be included in the
agencies' yearly budgets under the General Appropriations Act.

The State shall prioritize allocation of all available resources to effectively fulfill its
obligations specified under this Act. The State agencies' GAD budgets, which shall be at
least five percent (5%) of their total budgetary allocation, shall also be utilized for the
programs and activities to implement this Act.

Section 44. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - As the lead agency, the PCW shall,
in coordination with the Commission on Human Rights and all concerned government
departments and agencies including, as observers, both Houses of Congress through the
Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations (Senate) and the Committee on Women
and Gender Equality (House of Representatives) and with the participation of
representatives from nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups with
proven track record of involvement and promotion of the rights and welfare of Filipino
women and girls identified by the PCW, formulate the implementing rules and regulations
(IRR) of this Act within one hundred eighty (180) days after its effectivity.

Section 45. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or

unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provisions not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

Section 46. 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.

Section 47. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) PROSPERO C. (Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE

NOGRALES President of the Senate
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2396 and House Bill No. 4273 was
finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on May 19, 2009 and May
20, 2009, respectively.

(Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA- (Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES

YAP Secretary of Senate
Secretary General
House of Represenatives

Approved: August 14, 2009

(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9710

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN

CHAPTER I

General Provisions

SECTION 1.          Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “The Magna
Carta of Women”.

SECTION 2.          Declaration of Policy. — Recognizing that the economic,

political, and sociocultural realities affect women’s current condition, the State
affirms the role of women in nation building and ensures the substantive
equality of women and men. It shall promote empowerment of women and
pursue equal opportunities for women and men and ensure equal access to
resources and to development results and outcome. Further, the State
realizes that equality of men and women entails the abolition of the unequal
structures and practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. To
realize this, the State shall endeavor to develop plans, policies, programs,
measures, and mechanisms to address discrimination and inequality in the
economic, political, social, and cultural life of women and men.

The State condemns discrimination against women in all its forms 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 consistent with Philippine law. The State shall
accord women the rights, protection, and opportunities available to every
member of society.

The State affirms women’s rights as human rights and shall intensify its efforts
to fulfill its duties under international and domestic law to recognize, respect,
protect, fulfill, and promote all human rights and fundamental freedoms of
women, especially marginalized women, in the economic, social, political,
cultural, and other fields without distinction or discrimination on account of
class, age, sex, gender, language, ethnicity, religion, ideology, disability,
education, and status.

The State shall provide the necessary mechanisms to enforce women’s rights
and adopt and undertake all legal measures necessary to foster and promote
the equal opportunity for women to participate in and contribute to the
development of the political, economic, social, and cultural realms.

The State, in ensuring the full integration of women’s concerns in the

mainstream of development, shall provide ample opportunities to enhance
and develop their skills, acquire productive employment and contribute to their
families and communities to the fullest of their capabilities.

In pursuance of this policy, the State reaffirms the right of women in all sectors
to participate in policy formulation, planning, organization, implementation,
management, monitoring, and evaluation of all programs, projects, and
services. It shall support policies, researches, technology, and training
programs and other support services such as financing, production, and
marketing to encourage active participation of women in national
development.

SECTION 3.          Principles of Human Rights of Women. — Human rights

are universal and inalienable. All people in the world are entitled to them. The
universality of human rights is encompassed in the words of Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all human beings
are free and equal in dignity and rights.

Human rights are indivisible. Human rights are inherent to the dignity of every
human being whether they relate to civil, cultural, economic, political, or social
issues.

Human rights are interdependent and interrelated. The fulfillment of one right
often depends, wholly or in part, upon the fulfillment of others.
All individuals are equal as human beings by virtue of the inherent dignity of
each human person. No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination on the
basis of ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual orientation, race, color,
religion, political, or other opinion, national, social, or geographical origin,
disability, property, birth, or other status as established by human rights
standards.

All people have the right to participate in and access information relating to
the decision-making processes that affect their lives and well-being. Rights-
based approaches require a high degree of participation by communities, civil
society, minorities, women, young people, indigenous peoples, and other
identified groups.

States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the observance of human
rights. They have to comply with the legal norms and standards enshrined in
international human rights instruments in accordance with the Philippine
Constitution. Where they fail to do so, aggrieved rights-holders are entitled to
institute proceedings for appropriate redress before a competent court or
other adjudicator in accordance with the rules and procedures provided by
law.

CHAPTER II

Definition of Terms

SECTION 4.          Definitions. — For purposes of this Act, the following terms
shall mean:

(a)          “Women Empowerment” refers to the provision, availability, and

accessibility of opportunities, services, and observance of human rights 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.

(b)          “Discrimination Against Women” refers to any gender-based

distinction, exclusion, or restriction which has the effect or purpose of
impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by women,
irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women,
of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social,
cultural, civil, or any other field.
It includes any act or omission, including by law, policy, administrative
measure, or practice, that directly or indirectly excludes or restricts women in
the recognition and promotion of their rights and their access to and
enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges.

A measure or practice of general application is discrimination against women

if it fails to provide for mechanisms to offset or address sex or gender-based
disadvantages or limitations of women, as a result of which women are denied
or restricted in the recognition and protection of their rights and in their access
to and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges; or women, more
than men, are shown to have suffered the greater adverse effects of those
measures or practices.

Provided, finally, that discrimination compounded by or intersecting with other

grounds, status, or condition, such as ethnicity, age, poverty, or religion shall
be considered discrimination against women under this Act.

(c)           “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.

(d)          “Marginalized” refers to the basic, disadvantaged, or vulnerable

persons or groups who are mostly living in poverty and have little or no access
to land and other resources, basic social and economic services such as
health care, education, water and sanitation, employment and livelihood
opportunities, housing, social security, physical infrastructure, and the justice
system.

These include, but are not limited to, women in the following sectors and
groups:

(1)          “Small Farmers and Rural Workers” refers 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 season-bound.
These shall include, but are not limited to, (a) small farmers who own or are
still amortizing for lands that is not more than three (3) hectares, tenants,
leaseholders, and stewards; and (b) rural workers who are either wage
earners, self-employed, unpaid family workers directly and personally
engaged in agriculture, small-scale mining, handicrafts, and other related farm
and off-farm activities;
(2)          “Fisherfolk” refers to those directly or indirectly engaged in taking,
culturing, or processing fishery or aquatic resources. These include, but are
not to be limited to, women engaged in fishing in municipal waters, coastal
and marine areas, women workers in commercial fishing and aquaculture,
vendors and processors of fish and coastal products, and subsistence
producers such as shell-gatherers, managers, and producers of mangrove
resources, and other related producers;

(3)          “Urban Poor” refers to those residing in urban and urbanizable slum
or blighted areas, with or without the benefit of security of abode, where the
income of the head of the family cannot afford in a sustained manner to
provide for the family’s basic needs of food, health, education, housing, and
other essentials in life;

(4)          “Workers in the Formal Economy” refers to those who are employed
by any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in
relation to an employee and shall include the government and all its branches,
subdivisions, and instrumentalities, all government-owned and -controlled
corporations and institutions, as well as nonprofit private institutions or
organizations;

(5)          “Workers in the Informal Economy” refers to self-employed,

occasionally or personally hired, subcontracted, paid and unpaid family
workers in household incorporated and unincorporated enterprises, including
home workers, micro-entrepreneurs and producers, and operators of sari-sari
stores and all other categories who suffer from violation of workers’ rights;

(6)          “Migrant Workers” refers to Filipinos who are to be engaged, are

engaged, or have been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which
they are not legal residents, whether documented or undocumented;

(7)          “Indigenous Peoples” refers to a group of people or homogenous

societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by other, who have
continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and
defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time
immemorial, occupied, possessed customs, tradition, and other distinctive
cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social, and cultural
inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and culture, became
historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. They shall likewise
include peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent
from the populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or
colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures,
or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of
their own social, economic, cultural, and political institutions, but who may
have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled
outside their ancestral domains as defined under Section 3 (h), Chapter II of
Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as “The Indigenous Peoples Rights
Act of 1997” (IPRA of 1997);

(8)          “Moro” refers to native peoples who have historically inhabited

Mindanao, Palawan, and Sulu, and who are largely of the Islamic faith;

(9)          “Children” refers to those who are below eighteen (18) years of age
or 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 Citizens” refers to those sixty (60) years of age and above;

(11)        “Persons with Disabilities” refers 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; and

(12)        “Solo Parents” refers to those who fall under the category of a solo
parent defined under Republic Act No. 8972, otherwise known as the “Solo
Parents Welfare Act of 2000”.

(e)          “Substantive Equality” refers to the full and equal enjoyment of rights
and freedoms contemplated under this Act. It encompasses de jure and de
facto equality and also equality in outcomes.

(f)           “Gender Equality” refers to the principle asserting the equality of men
and women and their right to enjoy equal conditions realizing their full human
potentials to contribute to and benefit from the results of development, and
with the State recognizing that all human beings are free and equal in dignity
and rights.

(g)          “Gender Equity” refers to the policies, instruments, programs,

services, and actions that address the disadvantaged position of women in
society by providing preferential treatment and affirmative action. Such
temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between
men and women shall not be considered discriminatory but shall in no way
entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards.
These measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of
opportunity and treatment have been achieved.

(h)          “Gender and Development (GAD)” refers to the development

perspective and process that are participatory and empowering, equitable,
sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights, 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 transform society’s social, economic and
political structures and questions the validity of the gender roles they ascribed
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.

(i)            “Gender Mainstreaming” refers to 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.

(j)           “Temporary Special Measures” refers to a variety of legislative,

executive, administrative, and regulatory instruments, policies, and practices
aimed at accelerating this de facto equality of women in specific areas. These
measures shall not be considered discriminatory but shall in no way entail as
a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards. They shall
be discontinued when their objectives have been achieved.

(k)          “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 in
private life. It shall be understood to encompass, but not limited to, the
following:

(1)          Physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence occurring in

the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the
household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, and other traditional
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; and

(3)          Physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated or

condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

It also includes acts of violence against women as defined in Republic Acts

No. 9208 and 9262.

(l)            “Women in the Military” refers to women employed in the military,

both in the major and technical services, who are performing combat and/or
noncombat functions, providing security to the State, and protecting the
people from various forms of threat. It also includes women trainees in all
military training institutions.

(m)         “Social Protection” refers to policies and programs that seek to

reduce poverty and vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status and
rights of all women, especially the marginalized by promoting and protecting
livelihood and employment, protecting against hazards and sudden loss of
income, and improving people’s capacity to manage risk. Its components are
labor market programs, social insurance, social welfare, and social safety
nets.

CHAPTER III

Duties Related to the Human Rights of Women

The State, private sector, society in general, and all individuals shall
contribute to the recognition, respect, and promotion of the rights of women
defined and guaranteed under this Act.

SECTION 5.          The State as the Primary Duty-Bearer. — The State, as the
primary duty-bearer, shall:

(a)          Refrain from discriminating against women and violating their rights;

(b)          Protect women against discrimination and from violation of their

rights by private corporations, entities, and individuals; and
(c)           Promote and fulfill the rights of women in all spheres, including their
rights to substantive equality and non-discrimination.

The State shall fulfill these duties through law, policy, regulatory instruments,
administrative guidelines, and other appropriate measures, including
temporary special measures.

Recognizing the interrelation of the human rights of women, the State shall
take measures and establish mechanisms to promote the coherent and
integrated implementation and enforcement of this Act and related laws,
policies, or other measures to effectively stop discrimination against and
advance the rights of women.

The State shall keep abreast with and be guided by progressive

developments in human rights of women under international law and design of
policies, laws, and other measures to promote the objectives of this Act.

SECTION 6.          Duties of the State Agencies and Instrumentalities. —

These duties of the State shall extend to all state agencies, offices, and
instrumentalities at all levels and government-owned and -controlled
corporations, subject to the Constitution and pertinent laws, policies, or
administrative guidelines that define specific duties of state agencies and
entities concerned.

SECTION 7.          Suppletory Effect. — This chapter shall be deemed

integrated into and be suppletory to other provisions of this Act, particularly
those that guarantee specific rights to women and define specific roles and
require specific conduct of state organs.

CHAPTER IV

Rights and Empowerment

SECTION 8.          Human Rights of Women. — All rights in the Constitution

and those rights recognized under international instruments duly signed and
ratified by the Philippines, in consonance with Philippine law, shall be rights of
women under this Act to be enjoyed without discrimination.

SECTION 9.          Protection from Violence. — The State shall ensure that all
women shall be protected from all forms of violence as provided for in existing
laws. Agencies of government shall give priority to the defense and protection
of women against gender-based offenses and help women attain justice and
healing.

Towards this end, measures to prosecute and reform offenders shall likewise
be pursued.   (a) Within the next five (5) 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 social work services availed of by
women who are victims of gender-related offenses until fifty percent (50%) of
the personnel thereof shall be women.

(b)          Women shall have the right to protection and security in situations of
armed conflict and militarization. Towards this end, they shall be protected
from all forms of gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of
sexual abuse, and all forms of violence in situations of armed conflict. The
State shall observe international standards for the protection of 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 pursuant to this Act.

(d)          All local government units shall establish a Violence Against

Women’s Desk in every barangay to ensure that violence against women
cases are fully addressed in a gender-responsive manner.

SECTION 10.       Women Affected by Disasters, Calamities, and Other Crisis

Situations. — Women have the right to protection and security in times of
disasters, calamities, and other crisis situations especially in all phases of
relief, recovery, rehabilitation, and construction efforts. The State shall provide
for immediate humanitarian assistance, allocation of resources, and early
resettlement, if necessary. It shall also address the particular needs of women
from a gender perspective to ensure their full protection from sexual
exploitation and other sexual and gender-based violence committed against
them. Responses to disaster situations shall include the provision of services,
such as psychosocial support, livelihood support, education, psychological
health, and comprehensive health services, including protection during
pregnancy.
SECTION 11.       Participation and Representation. — The State shall
undertake temporary special measures to accelerate the participation and
equitable representation of women in all spheres of society particularly in the
decision-making and policy-making processes in government and private
entities to fully realize their role as agents and beneficiaries of development.

The State shall institute the following affirmative action mechanisms so that
women can participate meaningfully in the formulation, implementation, and
evaluation of policies, plans, and programs for national, regional, and local
development:

(a)          Empowerment within the Civil Service. — Within the next five (5)
years, the number of women in third (3rd) level positions in government shall
be incrementally increased to achieve a fifty-fifty (50-50) gender balance;

(b)          Development Councils and Planning Bodies. — To ensure the

participation of women in all levels of development planning and program
implementation, at least forty percent (40%) 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’s groups shall

also be represented in international, national, and local special and decision-
making bodies;

(d)          International Bodies. — The State shall take all appropriate

measures to ensure the opportunity of women, on equal terms with men and
without any discrimination, to represent their governments at the international
level and to participate in the work of international organizations;

(e)          Integration of Women in Political Parties. — The State shall provide

incentives to political parties with women’s agenda. It shall likewise encourage
the integration of women in their leadership hierarchy, internal policy-making
structures, appointive, and electoral nominating processes; and

(f)           Private Sector. — The State shall take measures to encourage

women leadership in the private sector in the form of incentives.

SECTION 12.       Equal Treatment Before the Law. — The State shall take
steps to review and, when necessary, amend and/or repeal existing laws that
are discriminatory to women within three (3) years from the effectivity of this
Act.
SECTION 13.       Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in
Education, Scholarships, and Training. — (a) The State shall ensure that
gender stereotypes and images in educational materials and curricula are
adequately and appropriately revised. Gender-sensitive language shall be
used at all times. Capacity-building on gender and development (GAD), peace
and human rights, education for teachers, and all those involved in the
education sector shall be pursued toward this end. Partnerships between and
among players of the education sector, including the private sector, churches,
and faith groups shall be encouraged.

(b)          Enrollment of women in nontraditional skills training in vocational and

tertiary levels shall be encouraged.

(c)           Expulsion and non-readmission of women faculty due to pregnancy

outside of marriage shall be outlawed. No school shall turn out or refuse
admission to a female student solely on the account of her having contracted
pregnancy outside of marriage during her term in school.

SECTION 14.       Women in Sports. — The State shall develop, establish,

and strengthen programs for the participation of women and girl-children in
competitive and noncompetitive sports as a means to achieve excellence,
promote physical and social well-being, eliminate gender-role stereotyping,
and provide equal access to the full benefits of development for all persons
regardless of sex, gender identity, and other similar factors.

For this purpose, all sports-related organizations shall create guidelines that
will establish and integrate affirmative action as a strategy and gender equality
as a framework in planning and implementing their policies, budgets,
programs, and activities relating to the participation of women and girls in
sports.

The State will also provide material and nonmaterial incentives to local
government units, media organizations, and the private sector for promoting,
training, and preparing women and girls for participation in competitive and
noncompetitive sports, especially in local and international events, including,
but not limited to, the Palarong Pambansa, Southeast Asian Games, Asian
Games, and the Olympics.

No sports event or tournament will offer or award a different sports prize, with
respect to its amount or value, to women and men winners in the same sports
category: Provided, That the said tournament, contest, race, match, event, or
game is open to both sexes: Provided, further, That the sports event or
tournament is divided into male or female divisions.

The State shall also ensure the safety and well-being of all women and girls
participating in sports, especially, but not limited to, trainees, reserve
members, members, coaches, and mentors of national sports teams, whether
in studying, training, or performance phases, by providing them
comprehensive health and medical insurance coverage, as well as integrated
medical, nutritional, and healthcare services.

Schools, colleges, universities, or any other learning institution shall take into
account its total women student population in granting athletic scholarship.
There shall be a pro rata representation of women in the athletic scholarship
program based on the percentage of women in the whole student population.

SECTION 15.       Women in the Military. — The State shall pursue

appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination of women in the military,
police, and other similar services, including revising or abolishing policies and
practices that restrict women from availing of both combat and noncombat
training that are open to men, or from taking on functions other than
administrative tasks, such as engaging in combat, security-related, or field
operations. Women in the military shall be accorded the same promotional
privileges and opportunities as men, including pay increases, additional
remunerations and benefits, and awards based on their competency and
quality of performance. Towards this end, the State shall ensure that the
personal dignity of women shall always be respected.

Women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be provided with
the same right to employment as men on equal conditions. Equally, they shall
be accorded the same capacity as men to act in and enter into contracts,
including marriage.

Further, women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be
entitled to leave benefits such as maternity leave, as provided for by existing
laws.

SECTION 16.       Nondiscriminatory and Nonderogatory Portrayal of Women

in Media and Film. — The State shall formulate policies and programs for the
advancement of women in collaboration with government and nongovernment
media-related organizations. It shall likewise endeavor to raise the
consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity of women and
the role and contribution of women in the family, community, and the society
through the strategic use of mass media.

For this purpose, the State shall ensure allocation of space, airtime, and
resources, strengthen programming, production, and image-making that
appropriately present women’s needs, issues, and concerns in all forms of
media, communication, information dissemination, and advertising.

The State, in cooperation with all schools of journalism, information, and

communication, as well as the national media federations and associations,
shall require all media organizations and corporations to integrate into their
human resource development components regular training on gender equality
and gender-based discrimination, create and use gender equality guidelines in
all aspects of management, training, production, information, dissemination,
communication, and programming; and convene a gender equality committee
that will promote gender mainstreaming as a framework and affirmative action
as a strategy, and monitor and evaluate the implementation of gender equality
guidelines.

SECTION 17.       Women’s Right to Health. — (a) Comprehensive Health

Services. — The State shall, at all times, provide for a comprehensive,
culture-sensitive, and gender-responsive health services and programs
covering all stages of a woman’s life cycle and which addresses the major
causes of women’s mortality and morbidity: Provided, That in the provision for
comprehensive health services, due respect shall be accorded to women’s
religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in accordance
with their religious convictions, and the demands of responsible parenthood,
and the right of women to protection from hazardous drugs, devices,
interventions, and substances.

Access to the following services shall be ensured:

(1)          Maternal care to include pre- and post-natal services to address

pregnancy and infant health and nutrition;

(2)          Promotion of breastfeeding;

(3)          Responsible, ethical, legal, safe, and effective methods of family

planning;
(4)          Family and State collaboration in youth sexuality education and
health services without prejudice to the primary right and duty of parents to
educate their children;

(5)          Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections,

including sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and AIDS;

(6)          Prevention and management of reproductive tract cancers like breast

and cervical cancers, and other gynecological conditions and disorders;

(7)          Prevention of abortion and management of pregnancy-related

complications;

(8)          In cases of violence against women and children, women and

children victims and survivors shall be provided with comprehensive health
services that include psychosocial, therapeutic, medical, and legal
interventions and assistance towards healing, recovery, and empowerment;

(9)          Prevention and management of infertility and sexual dysfunction

pursuant to ethical norms and medical standards;

(10)        Care of the elderly women beyond their child-bearing years; and

(11)        Management, treatment, and intervention of mental health problems

of women and girls.

In addition, healthy lifestyle activities are encouraged and promoted through

programs and projects as strategies in the prevention of diseases.

(b)          Comprehensive Health Information and Education. — The State shall

provide women in all sectors with appropriate, timely, complete, and accurate
information and education on all the above-stated aspects of women’s health
in government education and training programs, with due regard to the
following:

(1)          The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the
youth and the development of moral character and the right of children to be
brought up in an atmosphere of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and
strengthening of character;

(2)          The formation of a person’s sexuality that affirms human dignity; and
(3)          Ethical, legal, safe, and effective family planning methods including
fertility awareness.

SECTION 18.       Special Leave Benefits for Women. — A woman employee

having rendered continuous aggregate employment service of at least six (6)
months for the last twelve (12) months shall be entitled to a special leave
benefit of two (2) months with full pay based on her gross monthly
compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.

SECTION 19.       Equal Rights in All Matters Relating to 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 rights to enter into and leave marriages or common law
relationships referred to under the Family Code without prejudice to personal
or religious beliefs;

(b)          the same rights to choose freely a spouse and to enter into marriage
only with their 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 between spouses or common law spouses
including the right to choose freely a profession and an occupation;

(e)          the same rights for both spouses or common law spouses in respect
of 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; and

(g)          women shall have equal rights with men to acquire, change, or retain
their nationality. The State shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to
an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall
automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force
upon her the nationality of the husband. Various statutes of other countries
concerning dual citizenship that may be enjoyed equally by women and men
shall likewise be considered.

Customary laws shall be respected: Provided, however, that they do not

discriminate against women.

CHAPTER V

Rights and Empowerment of Marginalized Sectors

Women in marginalized sectors are hereby guaranteed all civil, political,

social, and economic rights recognized, promoted, and protected under
existing laws including, but not limited to, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act,
the Urban Development and Housing Act, the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law, the Fisheries Code, the Labor Code, the Migrant Workers Act,
the Solo Parents Welfare Act, and the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation
Act.

SECTION 20.       Food Security and Productive Resources. — The State

recognizes the contribution of women to food production and shall ensure its
sustainability and sufficiency with the active participation of women. Towards
this end, the State shall guarantee, at all times, the availability in the market of
safe and health-giving food to satisfy the dietary needs of the population,
giving particular attention to the specific needs of poor girl-children and
marginalized women, especially pregnant and lactating mothers and their
young children. To further address this, the State shall ensure:

(a)          Right to Food. — The State shall guarantee the availability of food in
quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, the
physical and economic accessibility for everyone to adequate food that is
culturally acceptable and free from unsafe substances and culturally
accepted, and the accurate and substantial information to the availability of
food, including the right to full, accurate, and truthful information about safe
and health-giving foods and how to produce and have regular and easy
access to them;

(b)          Right to Resources for Food Production. — The State shall

guarantee women a vital role in food production by giving priority to their rights
to land, credit, and infrastructure support, technical training, and technological
and marketing assistance. The State shall promote women-friendly
technology as a high priority activity in agriculture and shall promote the right
to adequate food by proactively engaging in activities intended to strengthen
access to, utilization of, and receipt of accurate and substantial information on
resources and means to ensure women’s livelihood, including food security:

(1)          Equal status shall be given to women and men, whether married or
not, in the titling of the land and issuance of stewardship contracts and
patents;

(2)          Equal treatment shall be given to women and men beneficiaries of

the agrarian reform program, wherein the vested right of a woman agrarian
reform beneficiary is defined by a woman’s relationship to tillage, i.e., her
direct and indirect contribution to the development of the land;

(3)          Customary rights of women to the land, including access to and

control of the fruits and benefits, shall be recognized in circumstances where
private ownership is not possible, such as ancestral domain claims;

(4)          Information and assistance in claiming rights to the land shall be

made available to women at all times;

(5)          Equal rights to women to the enjoyment, use, and management of

land, water, and other natural resources within their communities or ancestral
domains;

(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;

(7)          Equal status shall be given to women and men 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 which may include providing support to women-
engaged coastal resources;

(8)          There shall be no discrimination against women in the deputization of

fish wardens;

(9)          Women-friendly and sustainable agriculture technology shall be

designed based on accessibility and viability in consultation with women’s
organizations;
(10)        Access to small farmer-based and controlled seeds production and
distribution shall be ensured and protected;

(11)        Indigenous practices of women in seed storage and cultivation shall

be recognized, encouraged, and protected;

(12)        Equal rights shall be given to women to be members of farmers’

organizations to ensure wider access to and control of the means of
production;

(13)        Provide opportunities for empowering women fishers to be involved

in the control and management, not only of the catch and production of
aquamarine resources but also, to engage in entrepreneurial activities which
will add value to production and marketing ventures; and

(14)        Provide economic opportunities for the indigenous women,

particularly access to market for their produce.

In the enforcement of the foregoing, the requirements of law shall be observed

at all times.

SECTION 21.       Right to Housing. — The State shall develop housing

programs for women that are localized, simple, accessible, with potable water,
and electricity, secure, with viable employment opportunities and affordable
amortization. In this regard, the State shall consult women and involve them in
community planning and development, especially in matters pertaining to land
use, zoning, and relocation.

SECTION 22.       Right to Decent Work. — The State shall progressively

realize and ensure decent work standards for women that involve the creation
of jobs of acceptable quality in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and
human dignity.

(a)          Decent work involves opportunities for work that are productive and
fairly remunerative as family living wage, security in the workplace, and social
protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social
integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize, participate
in the decisions that affect their lives, and equality of opportunity and
treatment for all women and men.

(b)          The State shall further ensure:

(1)          Support services and gears to protect them from occupational and
health hazards taking into account women’s maternal functions;

(2)          Support services that will enable women to balance their family
obligations and work responsibilities including, but not limited to, the
establishment of day care centers and breast-feeding stations at the
workplace, and providing maternity leave pursuant to the Labor Code and
other pertinent laws;

(3)          Membership in unions regardless of status of employment and place

of employment; and

(4)          Respect for the observance of indigenous peoples’ cultural practices

even in the workplace.

(c)           In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas work, the State

shall exert all efforts to address the causes of out-migration by developing
local employment and other economic opportunities for women and by
introducing measures to curb violence and forced and involuntary
displacement of local women. The State shall ensure the protection and
promotion of the rights and welfare of migrant women regardless of their work
status, and protect them against discrimination in wages, conditions of work,
and employment opportunities in host countries.

SECTION 23.       Right to Livelihood, Credit, Capital, and Technology. — The

State shall ensure that women are provided with the following:

(a)          Equal access to formal sources of credit and capital;

(b)          Equal share to the produce of farms and aquatic resources; and

(c)           Employment opportunities for returning women migrant workers

taking into account their skills and qualifications. Corollarily, the State shall
also promote skills and entrepreneurship development of returning women
migrant workers.

SECTION 24.       Right to Education and Training. — The State shall ensure
the following:

(a)          Women migrant workers have the opportunity to undergo skills

training, if they so desire, before taking on a foreign job, and possible
retraining upon return to the country;
(b)          Gender-sensitive training and seminars; and

(c)           Equal opportunities in scholarships based on merit and fitness,

especially to those interested in research and development aimed towards
women-friendly farm technology.

SECTION 25.       Right to Representation and Participation. — The State

shall ensure women’s participation in policy-making or decision-making bodies
in the regional, national, and international levels. It shall also ensure the
participation of grassroots women leaders in decision and policy-making
bodies in their respective sectors including, but not limited to, the Presidential
Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) and its local counterparts; community-based
resource management bodies or mechanisms on forest management and
stewardship; the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management
Council (NFARMC) and its local counterparts; the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples; the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor; the
National Anti-Poverty Commission; and, where applicable, the local housing
boards.

SECTION 26.       Right to Information. — Access to information regarding

policies on women, including programs, projects, and funding outlays that
affect them, shall be ensured.

SECTION 27.       Social Protection. —

(a)          The Social Security System (SSS) and the Philippine Health
Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) shall support indigenous and community-
based social protection schemes.

(b)          The State shall institute policies and programs that seek to reduce
the poverty and vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status and rights
of the marginalized women by promoting and protecting livelihood and
employment, protecting against hazards and sudden loss of income, and
improving people’s capacity to manage risks.

(c)           The State shall endeavor to reduce and eventually eliminate transfer
costs of remittances from abroad through appropriate bilateral and multilateral
agreements. It shall likewise provide access to investment opportunities for
remittances in line with national development efforts.

(d)          The State shall establish a health insurance program for senior
citizens and indigents.
(e)          The State shall support women with disabilities on a community-
based social protection scheme.

SECTION 28.       Recognition and Preservation of Cultural Identity and

Integrity. — The State shall recognize and respect the rights of Moro and
indigenous women to practice, promote, protect, and preserve their own
culture, traditions, and institutions and to consider these rights in the
formulation and implementation of national policies and programs. 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.

SECTION 29.       Peace and Development. — The peace process shall be

pursued with the following considerations:

(a)          Increase the number of women participating in discussions and

decision-making in the peace process, including membership in peace panels
recognizing women’s role in conflict-prevention and peace-making and in
indigenous system of conflict resolution;

(b)          Ensure the development and inclusion of women’s welfare and

concerns in the 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;

(c)           The institution of measures to ensure the protection of civilians in

conflict-affected communities with special consideration for the specific needs
of women and girls;

(d)          Include the peace perspective in the education curriculum and other
educational undertakings; and

(e)          The recognition and support for women’s role in conflict-prevention,

management, resolution and peacemaking, and in indigenous systems of
conflict resolution.

SECTION 30.       Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances. — For

purposes of this Act, “Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances” (WEDC)
shall refer to victims and survivors of sexual and physical abuse, illegal
recruitment, prostitution, trafficking, armed conflict, women in detention,
victims and survivors of rape and incest, and such other related
circumstances which have incapacitated them functionally. Local government
units are therefore mandated to deliver the necessary services and
interventions to WEDC under their respective jurisdictions.

SECTION 31.       Services and Interventions. — WEDC shall be provided with

services and interventions as necessary such as, but not limited to, the
following:

(a)          Temporary and protective custody;

(b)          Medical and dental services;

(c)           Psychological evaluation;

(d)          Counseling;

(e)          Psychiatric evaluation;

(f)           Legal services:

(g)          Productivity skills capability building;

(h)          Livelihood assistance;

(i)            Job placement;

(j)           Financial assistance; and

(k)          Transportation assistance.

SECTION 32.       Protection of Girl-Children. — (a) The State shall pursue

measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girl-children in
education, health and nutrition, and skills development.

(b)          Girl-children shall be protected from all forms of abuse and

exploitation.

(c)           Equal access of Moro and indigenous girl-children in the Madaris,

schools of living culture and traditions, and the regular schools shall be
ensured.
(d)          Gender-sensitive curriculum, including legal literacy, books, and
curriculum in the Madaris and schools of living culture and traditions shall be
developed.

(e)          Sensitivity of regular schools to particular Moro and indigenous

practices, such as fasting in the month of Ramadan, choice of clothing
(including the wearing of hijab), and availability of halal food shall be ensured.

SECTION 33.       Protection 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
special protective mechanisms and support services against violence, sexual
abuse, exploitation, and discrimination of older women.

SECTION 34.       Women are entitled to the recognition and protection of their
rights defined and guaranteed under this Act including their right to
nondiscrimination.

SECTION 35.       Discrimination Against Women is Prohibited. — Public and

private entities and individuals found to have committed discrimination against
women shall be subject to the sanctions provided in Section 41 hereof.
Violations of other rights of women shall be subject to sanctions under
pertinent laws and regulations.

CHAPTER VI

Institutional Mechanisms

SECTION 36.       Gender Mainstreaming as a Strategy for Implementing the

Magna Carta of Women. — Within a period prescribed in the implementing
rules and regulations, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women
(NCRFW) shall assess its gender mainstreaming program for consistency with
the standards under this Act. It shall modify the program accordingly to ensure
that it will be an effective strategy for implementing this Act and attaining its
objectives.

All departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state

universities and colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations,
local government units, and other government instrumentalities shall adopt
gender mainstreaming as a 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 limited to,
the following:

(a)          Planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation for GAD. GAD

programs addressing gender issues and concerns shall be designed and
implemented based on the mandate of government agencies and local
government units, Republic Act No. 7192, gender equality agenda of the
government and other GAD-related legislation, policies, and commitments.
The development of GAD programs shall proceed from the conduct of a
gender audit of the agency or the local government unit 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
gender/women’s rights advocates and agency/women clientele. The cost of
implementing GAD programs shall be the agency’s or the local government
unit’s GAD budget which shall be at least five percent (5%) of the agency’s or
the local government unit’s total budget appropriations.

Pursuant to Republic Act No. 7192, otherwise known as the Women in

Development and Nation Building Act, which allocates five percent (5%) to
thirty percent (30%) of overseas development assistance to GAD, government
agencies receiving official development assistance should ensure the
allocation and proper utilization of such funds to gender-responsive programs
that complement the government GAD funds and annually report
accomplishments thereof to the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).

The utilization and outcome of the GAD budget shall be annually monitored
and evaluated in terms of its success in influencing the gender-responsive
implementation of agency programs funded by the remaining ninety-five
percent (95%) budget.

The Commission on Audit (COA) shall conduct an annual audit on the use of
the GAD budget for the purpose of determining its judicious use and the
efficiency, and effectiveness of interventions in addressing gender issues
towards the realization of the objectives of the country’s commitments, plans,
and policies on women empowerment, gender equality, and GAD.

Local government units are also encouraged to develop and pass a GAD
Code based on the gender issues and concerns in their respective localities
based on consultation with their women constituents and the women’s
empowerment and 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, bureaus,
state universities and colleges, government-owned and -controlled
corporations, local government units, and other government instrumentalities.

To move towards a more sustainable, gender-responsive, and performance-

based planning and budgeting, gender issues and concerns shall be
integrated in, among others, the following plans:

(1)          Macro socioeconomic 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, bureaus, state universities and colleges, and government-owned and
-controlled corporations; and

(3)          Local plans and 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 (GFP). All
departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state
universities and colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations,
local government units, and other government instrumentalities shall establish
or strengthen their GAD Focal Point System or similar GAD mechanism to
catalyze and accelerate gender mainstreaming within the agency or local
government unit.

The GAD Focal Point System shall be composed of the agency head or local
chief executive, an executive committee with an Undersecretary (or its
equivalent), local government unit official, or office in a strategic decision-
making position as Chair; and a technical working group or secretariat which
is composed of representatives from various divisions or offices within the
agency or local government unit.

The tasks and functions of the members of the GFP shall form part of their
regular key result areas and shall be given due consideration in their
performance evaluation.
(c)           Generation and Maintenance of GAD Database. All departments,
including their attached agencies, offices, 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.

SECTION 37.       Gender Focal Point Officer in Philippine Embassies and

Consulates. — An officer duly trained on GAD shall be designated as the
gender focal point in the consular section of Philippine embassies or
consulates. Said officer shall be primarily responsible in handling gender
concerns of women migrant workers. Attached agencies shall cooperate in
strengthening the Philippine foreign posts’ programs for the delivery of
services to women migrant workers.

SECTION 38.       National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women

(NCRFW). — The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women
(NCRFW) shall be renamed as the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW),
the primary policy-making and coordinating body of the women and gender
equality concerns under the Office of the President. The PCW shall be the
overall monitoring body and oversight to ensure the implementation of this
Act. In doing so, the PCW may direct any government agency and
instrumentality, as may be necessary, to report on the implementation of this
Act and for them to immediately respond to the problems brought to their
attention in relation to this Act. The PCW shall also lead in ensuring that
government agencies are capacitated on the effective implementation of this
Act. The chairperson shall likewise report to the President in Cabinet meetings
on the implementation of this Act.

To the extent possible, the PCW shall influence the systems, processes, and
procedures of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government
vis-à-vis GAD to ensure the implementation of this Act.

To effectively and efficiently undertake and accomplish its functions, the PCW
shall revise its structure and staffing pattern with the assistance of the
Department of Budget and Management.

SECTION 39.       Commission on Human Rights (CHR). — The Commission,

acting as the Gender and Development Ombud, consistent with its mandate,
shall undertake measures such as the following:
(a)          Monitor with the PCW and other state agencies, among others, in
developing indicators and guidelines to comply with their duties related to the
human rights of women, including their right to nondiscrimination guaranteed
under this Act;

(b)          Designate one (1) commissioner and/or its Women’s Human Rights
Center to be primarily responsible for formulating and implementing programs
and activities related to the promotion and protection of the human rights of
women, including the investigations and complaints of discrimination and
violations of their rights brought under this Act and related laws and
regulations;

(c)           Establish guidelines and mechanisms, among others, that will

facilitate access of women to legal remedies under this Act and related laws,
and enhance the protection and promotion of the rights of women, especially
marginalized women;

(d)          Assist in the filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions,

or establishments that violate the provisions of this Act; and

(e)          Recommend to the President of the Philippines or the Civil Service

Commission any possible administrative action based on noncompliance or
failure to implement the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 40.       Monitoring Progress and Implementation and Impact of this

Act. — The PCW, in coordination with other state agencies and the CHR,
shall submit to Congress regular reports on the progress of the
implementation of this Act highlighting the impact thereof on the status and
human rights of women: Provided, That the second report shall include an
assessment of the effectiveness of this Act and recommend amendments to
improve its provisions: Provided, finally, That these reports shall be submitted
to Congress every three (3) years or as determined in the implementing rules
and regulations.

SECTION 41.       Penalties. — Upon finding of the CHR that a department,

agency, or instrumentality of government, government-owned and -controlled
corporation, or local government unit has violated any provision of this Act and
its implementing rules and regulations, the sanctions under administrative law,
civil service, or other appropriate laws shall be recommended to the Civil
Service Commission and/or the Department of the Interior and Local
Government. The person directly responsible for the violation as well as the
head of the agency or local chief executive shall be held liable under this Act.
If the violation is committed by a private entity or individual, the person directly
responsible for the violation shall be liable to pay damages.

Filing a complaint under this Act shall not preclude the offended party from
pursuing other remedies available under the law and to invoke any of the
provisions of existing laws especially those recently enacted laws protecting
women and children, including the Women in Development and Nation
Building Act (Republic Act No. 7192), the Special Protection of Children
Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act (Republic Act No.
7610), the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7877), the
Anti-Rape Law of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8353), the Rape Victim Assistance
and Protection Act of 1998 (Republic Act No. 8505), the Anti-Trafficking in
Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9208) and the Anti-Violence Against
Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9262). If violence
has been proven to be perpetrated by agents of the State including, but not
limited to, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and internal
displacements, such shall be considered aggravating offenses with
corresponding penalties depending on the severity of the offenses.

SECTION 42.       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.

SECTION 43.       Funding. — The initial funding requirements for the

implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current appropriations
of the agencies concerned. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for
the implementation of this Act shall be included in the agencies’ yearly
budgets under the General Appropriations Act.

The State shall prioritize allocation of all available resources to effectively fulfill
its obligations specified under this Act. The State agencies GAD budgets,
which shall be at least five percent (5%) of their total budgetary allocation,
shall also be utilized for the programs and activities to implement this Act.

SECTION 44.       Implementing Rules and Regulations. — As the lead

agency, the PCW shall, in coordination with the Commission on Human
Rights and all concerned government departments and agencies including, as
observers, both Houses of Congress through the Committee on Youth,
Women and Family Relations (Senate) and the Committee on Women and
Gender Equality (House of Representatives) and with the participation of
representatives from nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and civil society
groups with proven track record of involvement and promotion of the rights
and welfare of Filipino women and girls identified by the PCW, formulate the
implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this Act within one hundred eighty
(180) days after its effectivity.

SECTION 45.       Separability Clause. — If any provision or part hereof is

held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provisions not
otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 46.       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.

SECTION 47.       Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: August 14, 2009

Q & A: Magna Carta of Women (Republic

Act No. 9710)
Release Date: 
Monday, March 15, 2010
 

What is Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No. 9710)?

The Magna Carta of Women is comprehensive women’s human rights law

that seeks to eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing,
protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially
those in marginalized sector.

What is discrimination against women?

The Magna Carta of Women defines discrimination against women as:

• any gender-based distinction, exclusion, or restriction which has the
effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or
exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of
equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field;

• any act or omission, including by law, policy, administrative measure, or

practice, that directly or indirectly excludes or restricts women in the
recognition and promotion of their rights and their access to and enjoyment
of opportunities, benefits, or privileges;

• a measure or practice of general application that fails to provide for

mechanisms to offset or address sex or gender-based disadvantages or
limitations of women, as a result of which women are denied or restricted in
the recognition and protection of their rights and in their access to and
enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges; or women, more than
men are shown to have suffered the greater adverse effects of those
measures or practices; and

• discrimination compounded by or intersecting with other grounds, status,

or condition, such as ethnicity, age, poverty, or religion.

What are the rights of women guaranteed under the Magna Carta of Women?

All rights in the Philippine Constitution and those rights recognized under
international instruments duly signed and ratified by the Philippines, in
consonance with Philippine laws shall be rights of women under the Magna
Carta of Women. These rights shall be enjoyed without discrimination since
the law prohibits discrimination against women, whether done by public and
private entities or individuals.

The Magna Carta of Women also spells out every woman's right to: 
 
•  Protection from all forms of violence, including those committed by the
State. This includes the incremental increase in the recruitment and training
of women in government services that cater to women victims of gender-
related offenses. It also ensures mandatory training on human rights and
gender sensitivity to all government personnel involved in  the protection
and defense of women against gender-based violence, and mandates local
government units to establish a Violence Against Women Desk in every
barangay to address violence against women cases;
 
•  Protection and security in times of disaster, calamities and other crisis
situations, especially in all phases of relief, recovery, rehabilitation and
construction efforts, including protection from sexual exploitation and other
sexual and gender-based violence. 
 
•  Participation and representation, including undertaking temporary special
measures and affirmative actions to accelerate and ensure women's
equitable participation and representation in the third level civil service,
development councils and planning bodies, as well as political parties and
international bodies, including the private sector. 
 
•  Equal treatment before the law, including the State's review and when
necessary amendment or repeal of existing laws that are discriminatory to
women; 
 
•  Equal access and elimination of discrimination against women
in education, scholarships and training. This includes revising educational
materials and curricula to remove gender stereotypes and images, and
outlawing the expulsion, non-readmission, prohibiting enrollment and other
related discrimination against women students and faculty due to pregnancy
outside of marriage; 
 
•  Equal participation in sports. This includes measures to ensure
that gender-based discrimination in competitive and non-competitive sports
is removed so that women and girls can benefit from sports development; 
 
•  Non-discrimination in employment in the field of military, police and
other similar services. This includes according the same promotional
privileges and opportunities as their men counterpart, including pay
increases, additional benefits, and awards, based on competency and
quality of performance. The dignity of women in the military, police and
other similar services shall always be respected, they shall be accorded with
the same capacity as men to act in and enter into contracts, including
marriage, as well as be entitled to leave benefits for women such as
maternity leave, as provided for in existing laws;
 
•  Non-discriminatory and non-derogatory portrayal of women in media and
film to raise the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the
dignity of women and the role and contribution of women in family,
community, and the society through the strategic use of mass media; 
 
•  Comprehensive health services and health information and education
covering all stages of  a woman's life cycle, and which addresses the major
causes of women's mortality and morbidity, including access to among
others,  maternal care, responsible, ethical, legal, safe and effective
methods of family planning, and 
encouraging healthy lifestyle activities to prevent diseases; 
 
•  Leave benefits of two (2) months with full pay based on gross monthly
compensation, for women employees who undergo surgery caused by
gynecological disorders, provided that they have rendered continuous
aggregate employment service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve
(12) months; 
 
•  Equal rights in all matters relating to marriage and family relations. The
State shall ensure the same rights of women and men to: enter into and
leave marriages, freely choose a spouse, decide on the number and spacing
of their children, enjoy personal rights including the choice of a profession,
own, acquire, and administer their property, and acquire, change, or retain
their nationality. It also states that the betrothal and marriage of a child
shall have no legal effect. The Magna Carta of Women also guarantees the
civil, political and economic rights of women in the marginalized sectors,
particularly their right to: 
 
•  Food security and resources for food production, including equal rights in
the titling of the land and issuance of stewardship contracts and patents; 
 
•  Localized, accessible, secure and affordable housing; 
 
•  Employment, livelihood, credit, capital and technology; 
 
•  Skills training, scholarships, especially in research and development
aimed towards women friendly farm technology; 
 
•  Representation and participation in policy-making or decisionmaking
bodies in the regional, national, and international levels; 
 
•  Access to information regarding policies on women, including programs,
projects and funding outlays that affect them; 
 
•  Social protection;
 
•  Recognition and preservation of cultural identity and integrity provided
that these cultural systems and practices are not discriminatory to women; 
 
•  Inclusion in discussions on peace and development;
 
•  Services and interventions for women in especially difficult circumstances
or WEDC; 
 
•  Protection of girl-children against all forms of discrimination in education,
health and nutrition, and skills development; and 
 
•  Protection of women senior citizens. 
 
The Magna Carta of Women defines the marginalized sectors as those
who belong to the basic, disadvantaged, or vulnerable groups who are
mostly living in poverty and have little or no access to land and other
resources, basic social and economic services such as health care,
education, water and sanitation, employment and livelihood opportunities,
housing security, physical infrastructure and the justice system. These
include, but are not limited to women in the following sectors or groups:
Small farmers and rural workers, Fisherfolk, Urban poor, Workers in the
formal economy, Workers in the informal economy, Migrant workers,
Indigenous Peoples, Moro, Children, Senior citizens, Persons with
disabilities, and Solo parents. 
 
How can Filipino women living abroad benefit from this law? 
 
Statistics show that more and more Filipino women are migrating
for overseas employment. In many places, women migrant workers
have limited legal protections or access to information about their
rights, rendering them vulnerable to gender-specific discrimination,
exploitation and abuse. Section 37 of the Magna Carta of Women mandates
the designation of a gender focal point in the consular section of Philippine
embassies or 
consulates. The said officer who shall be trained on Gender
and Development shall be primarily responsible in handling gender concerns
of women migrant workers, especially those in distress. Other agencies
(e.g. the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of
Social Welfare and Development) are also mandated to cooperate in
strengthening the Philippine foreign posts' programs for the delivery of
services to women migrant workers, consistent with the one-country team
approach in Foreign Service. 
 
Who will be responsible for implementing the Magna Carta of Women? 
 
The State, the private sector, society  in general, and all individuals
shall contribute to the recognition, respect and promotion of the rights of
women defined and guaranteed in the Magna Carta of Women. The
Philippine Government shall be the primary duty-bearer in implementing the
said law. This means that all government offices, 
including local government units and government-owned and
controlled corporations shall be responsible to implement the provisions of
Magna Carta of Women that falls within their mandate, particularly those
that 
guarantee rights of women that require specific action from the State. As
the primary duty-bearer, the Government is tasked to: 
 
•  refrain from discriminating against women and violating their rights;  
•  protect women against discrimination and from violation of their rights by
private corporations, entities, and individuals; 
•  promote and fulfill the rights of women in all spheres, including their
rights to substantive equality and non-discrimination.
 
The Government shall fulfill these  duties through the development
and implementation of laws, policies,regulatory instruments,
administrative guidelines, and other appropriate measures, including
temporary special measures. It shall also establish mechanisms to promote
the coherent and integrated implementation of the Magna Carta of Women
and other related laws and policies to effectively stop discrimination against
Filipino women.
 
What are the specific responsibilities of government under the Magna Carta of
Women?
 
The Magna Carta of Women mandates all government offices,
including government-owned and controlled corporations and local
government units to adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy for
implementing the law and attaining its objectives. It also mandates (a)
planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation for gender and
development, (b) the creation and/or strengthening of gender and
development focal points, and (c) the generation and maintenance of
gender statistics and sex-disaggregated databases to aid in planning,
programming and policy formulation. 
 
Under this law, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino
Women which will be renamed as the Philippine Commission on Women
(PCW) shall be the overall monitoring and oversight body to ensure the 
implementation of the law. As an agency under the Office of the
President of the Philippines, it will be the primary policy-making and
coordinating body for women and gender  equality concerns and shall lead in
ensuring that government agencies are capacitated on the effective
implementation of the Magna Carta of Women. 
 
Consistent with its mandate, the Commission on Human Rights shall act
as the Gender and Development Ombud to ensure the promotion
and protection of women's human rights. The Commission on Audit
shall conduct an annual audit on the government offices' use of their gender
and 
development budgets for the purpose of determining its judicious use
and the efficiency, and effectiveness of interventions in addressing
gender issues. Local government units are also encouraged to develop and
pass a 
gender and development code to address the issues and concerns of
women in their respective localities based on consultation with their
women constituents. 
 
What are the penalties of violators? 
 
If the violation is committed by a government agency or any
government office, including government-owned and controlled corporations
and local government units, the person directly responsible for the
violation, as well as the head of the agency or local chief executive shall be
held liable under the Magna Carta of Women. The sanctions under
administrative law, civil service or other appropriate laws shall be
recommended by the Commission on Human Rights to the Civil Service
Commission and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.  
 
Further, in cases where violence has been proven to be perpetrated
by agents of the State, such shall be considered aggravating offenses
with corresponding penalties depending on the severity of the offenses. 
 
If the violation is committed by a private entity or individual, the
person directly responsible for the violation shall be liable to pay
damages. Further, the offended party can also pursue other remedies
available under the law and can invoke any of the other provisions of
existing laws, especially those that protect the rights of women. 
 
How will the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women be funded? 
 
The Magna Carta of Women provides that the State agencies should
utilize their gender and development budgets for programs and activities
to implement its provisions. Funds necessary for the implementation of
the Magna Carta of Women shall be charged against the current
appropriations of the concerned agencies, and shall be included in their
annual budgets for the succeeding years. 
 
The Magna Carta of Women also mandates the State to prioritize
allocation of all available resources to effectively fulfill its obligations under
the said law. 
 
When is the effectivity of the Magna Carta of Women? 
 
The Magna Carta of Women shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
 
Who will formulate the Implementing Rules and Regulations? 
 
The Philippine Commission on Women, in coordination with the Commission
on Human Rights and all concerned departments and agencies including, as
observers, both Houses of Congress, and with the participation of
representatives from non-government organizations and civil society groups
shall formulate the implementing rules and regulations of the Magna Carta
of Women within one hundred eighty (180) days after its effectivity.
 
 
MAY 14, 2012 DO 40, S. 2012 – DEPED CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
May 14, 2012

DO 40, s. 2012

DepEd Child Protection Policy

To: Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Bureau Directors
Directors of Services, Centers and Heads of Unit
Regional Secretary, ARMM
Regional Directors
Schools Division/City Superintendents
Chiefs of Divisions
Heads, Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Schools
All Others Concerned

1. For the information and guidance of all concerned, the Department of

Education (DepEd) issues the enclosed copy of the Policy and
Guidelines on Protecting Children in School from Abuse, Violence,
Exploitation, Discrimination, Bullying and Other Forms of Abuse
entitled “DepEd Child Protection Policy.”
2. Pursuant to Section 26 thereof, this DepEd Order shall take effect
immediately upon issuance.
3. All Orders, Memoranda and other related issuances inconsistent with
these policy and guidelines are deemed amended accordingly upon its
effectivity.
4. Immediate dissemination of and strict compliance with this Order is
directed.

Encl.: As stated
Reference: DepEd Memorandum No. 297, s. 2006

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:

LEGISLATIONS
RULES & REGULATIONS
POLICY
STUDENTS
PUPILS
TEACHERS

Here’s a quick look at the principles that govern the DepEd Child Protection
Policy (DepEd Order No. 40, s 2012).
Good news await parents, educators and our children. There is now a
Department of Education policy to protect children from bullying. A Child
Protection Committee (CPC) will be established in all private and public
elementary and secondary schools. The committee will be composed of
school officials, teachers, parents, students, and a community representative.

House Bill 5496, the Anti-Bullying Act of 2012 was approved on May
requiring all elementary and secondary schools to adopt anti-bullying
policies. The bill requires that “anti-bullying policies be included in the
school’s student and employee handbook; details of the policies should be
posted in school websites and school walls; schools shall submit their anti-
bullying policies to the Department of Education (DepED) within six months
upon effectivity of the law; bullying incidents in schools must be reported to
the division superintendents, who in turn shall report to the Education
Secretary; and the DepEd must submit a report on bullying incidents to the
appropriate congressional committee and impose sanctions on school
administrators who do not implement anti-bullying policies.”

The objective of the policy is to observe and promote zero tolerance on any
act of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, bullying, and other
forms of abuse in school,” said DepEd secretary Armin Luistro.

Parents are lucky these days. For so long, parents like me were helpless in
communicating with the school officials.

It is the responsibility of the school to develop and maintain a safe and caring
community by providing a comprehensive, school wide framework for the
prevention of bullying or any form of discrimination or harassment. The
school needs to ensure that students are given a consistent, coordinated, and
strong message by everyone in the school that bullying will not be tolerated
and that bullying can be prevented if all work together.
AN ACT INSTITUTING A FRAME WORK OF GOVERNANCE FOR BASIC EDUCATION,
ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, RENAMING THE DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS AS THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

Congress assembled:
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Governance of Basic Education Act
of 2001."

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect and
promote the right of all citizens to quality basic education and to make such education
accessible to all by providing all Filipino children a free and compulsory education in the
elementary level and free education in the high school level. Such education shall also
include alternative learning systems for out-of-school youth and adult learners. It shall be
the goal of basic education to provide them with the skills, knowledge and values they need
to become caring, seIf-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens.

The school shall be the heart of the formal education system. It is where children learn.
Schools shall have a single aim of providing the best possible basic education for all
learners.

Governance of basic education shall begin at the national level it is at the regions, divisions,
schools and learning centers herein referred to as the field offices - where the policy and
principle for the governance of basic education shall be translated into programs, projects
and services developed, adapted and offered to fit local needs.

The State shall encourage local initiatives for improving the quality of basic education. The
State shall ensure that the values, needs and aspirations of a school community are
reflected in the program of education for the children, out-of-school youth and adult
learners. Schools and learning centers shall be empowered to make decisions on what is
best for the learners they serve.

Section 3. Purposes and Objectives. - The purposes and objectives of this Act are:

(a) To provide the framework for the governance of basic education which shall set the
general directions for educational policies and standards and establish authority,
accountability and responsibility for achieving higher learning outcomes;

(b) To define the roles and responsibilities of and provide resources to, the field offices
which shall implement educational programs, projects and services in communities they
serve;

(c) To make schools and learning centers the most important vehicle for the teaching and
learning of national values and for developing in the Filipino learners love of country and
pride in its rich heritage;

(d) To ensure that schools and learning centers receive the kind of focused attention they
deserve and that educational programs, projects and services take into account the
interests of all members of the community;

(e) To enable the schools and learning centers to reflect the values of the community by
allowing teachers/learning facilitators and other staff to have the flexibility to serve the
needs of all learners;
(f) To encourage local initiatives for the improvement of schools and learning centers and to
provide the means by which these improvements may be achieved and sustained; and

(g) To establish schools and learning centers as facilities where schoolchildren are able to
learn a range of core competencies prescribed for elementary and high school education
programs or where the out-of-school youth and adult learners are provided alternative
learning programs and receive accreditation for at least the equivalent of a high school
education.

Section 4. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the terms or phrases used shall
mean or be understood as follows:

(a) Alternative Learning System -is a parallel learning system to provide a viable alternative

to the existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both the nonformal and informal
sources of knowledge and skills;

(b) Basic Education - is the education intended to meet basic learning needs which lays the
foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses early childhood,
elementary and high school education as well as alternative learning systems four out-of-
school youth and adult learners and includes education for those with special needs;

(c) Cluster of Schools - is a group of schools which are geographically contiguous and

brought together to improve the learning outcomes;

(d) Formal Education - is the systematic and deliberate process of hierarchically structured

and sequential learning corresponding to the general concept of elementary and secondary
level of schooling. At the end of each level, the learner needs a certification in order to enter
or advance to the next level;

(e) Informal Education - is a lifelong process of learning by which every person acquires

and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences at home,
at work, at play and from life itself;

(f) Integrated School. - is a school that offers a complete basic education in one school site
and has unified instructional program;

(g) Learner - is any individual seeking basic literacy skills and functional life skills or support
services for the improvement of the quality of his/her life;

(h) Learning Center - is a physical space to house learning resources and facilities of a

learning program for out-of-school youth and adults. It is a venue for face-to-face learning
and activities and other learning opportunities for community development and improvement
of the people's quality of life;

(i) Learning Facilitator - is the key learning support person who is responsible for
supervising/facilitating the learning process and activities of the learner;
(j) Non-Formal Education - is any organized, systematic educational activity carried outside
the framework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to a segment of
the population;

(k) Quality Education - is the appropriateness, relevance and excellence of the education

given to meet the needs and aspirations of an individual and society;

(I) .School - is an educational institution, private and public, undertaking educational

operation with a specific age-group of pupils or students pursuing defined studies at defined
levels, receiving instruction from teachers, usually located in a building or a group of
buildings in a particular physical or cyber site; and

(m) .School Head - is a person responsible for the administrative and instructional

supervision of the school or cluster of schools.

CHAPTER 1
GOVERNANCE OF BASIC EDUCATION

Section 5. Principles of Shared Governance. - (a) Shared governance is a principle which

recognizes that every unit in the education bureaucracy has a particular role, task and
responsibility inherent in the office and for which it is principally accountable for outcomes;

(b) The process of democratic consultation shall be observed in the decision-making

process at appropriate levels. Feedback mechanisms shall be established to ensure
coordination and open communication of the central office with the regional, division and
school levels;

(c) The principles of accountability and transparency shall be operationalized in the

performance of functions and responsibilities at all levels; and

(d) The communication channels of field offices shall be strengthened to facilitate flow of
information and expand linkages with other government agencies, local government units
and nongovernmental organizations for effective governance.

Section 6. Governance. - The Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall

henceforth be called the Department of Education. It shall be vested with authority,
accountability and responsibility for ensuring access to, promoting equity in, and improving
the quality of basic education. Arts, culture and sports shall be as provided for in Sections 8
and 9 hereof.

Section 7. Powers, Duties and Functions. - The Secretary of the Department of Education
shall exercise overall authority and supervision over the operations of the Department.

A. National Level In addition to his/her powers under existing laws, the Secretary of
Education shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for the following:

(1) Formulating national educational policies;

 (2) Formulating a national basic education plan;

(3) Promulgating national educational Standards;

(4) Monitoring and assessing national learning outcomes;

(5) Undertaking national educational research and studies;

(6) Enhancing the employment status, professional competence, welfare and

working conditions of all personnel of the Department; and

(7) Enhancing the total development of learners through local and national programs
and/or projects.

The Secretary of Education shall be assisted by not more than four (4) undersecretaries
and not more than four (4) assistant secretaries whose assignments, duties and
responsibilities shall be governed by law. There shall be at least one undersecretary and
one assistant secretary who shall be career executive service officers chosen from among
the staff of the Department.

B. Regional Level

There shall be as many regional offices as may be provided by law. Each regional office
shall have a director, an assistant director and an office staff for program promotion and
support, planning, administrative and fiscal services.

Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards, the regional director
shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for the following:

(1) Defining a regional educational policy framework which reflects the values, needs
and expectations of the communities they serve;

(2) Developing a regional basic education plan;

(3) Developing regional educational standards with a view towards bench-marking

for international competitiveness;

(4) Monitoring, evaluating and assessing regional learning outcomes;

(5) Undertaking research projects and developing and managing region wide
projects which may be funded through official development assistance and/or or
other finding agencies;

(6) Ensuring strict compliance with prescribed national criteria for the recruitment,
selection and training of all staff in the region and divisions.
 (7) Formulating, in coordination with the regional development council, the budget to
support the regional educational plan which shall take into account the educational
plans of the divisions and districts;

(8) Determining the organization component of the divisions and districts and
approving the proposed staffing pattern of all employees in the divisions and
districts;

(9) Hiring, placing and evaluating all employees in the regional office, except for the
position of assistant director;

(10) Evaluating all schools division superintendents and assistant division

superintendents in the region;

(II) Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical
and fiscal resources of the regional office, including professional staff development.;

(12) Managing the database and management information system of the region;

(13) Approving the establishment of public and private elementary and high schools
and learning centers; and

(14) Preforming such other functions as may be assigned by proper authorities.

C. Division Level

A division shall consist of a province or a city which shall have a schools division
superintendent, at least one assistant schools division superintendent and an office staff for
programs promotion, planning, administrative, fiscal, legal, ancillary and other support
services.

Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards the schools division
superintendents shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for the following:

(1) Developing and implementing division education development plans;

(2) Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical
and fiscal resources of the division, including professional staff development;

(3) Hiring, placing and evaluating all division supervisors and schools district
supervisors as well as all employees in the division, both teaching and non-teaching
personnel, including school heads, except for the assistant division superintendent;

(4) Monitoring the utilization of funds provided by the national government and the
local government units to the schools and learning centers;
 (5) Ensuring compliance of quality standards for basic education programs and for
this purpose strengthening the role of division supervisors as subject area
specialists;

(6) Promoting awareness of and adherence by all schools and learning centers to
accreditation standards prescribed by the Secretary of Education;

(7) Supervising the operations of all public and private elementary, secondary and
integrated schools, and learning centers; and

(8) Performing such other functions as may be assigned by proper authorities.

D. Schools District Level

Upon the recommendation of the schools division superintendents, the regional director
may establish additional schools district within a schools division. School districts already
existing at tile time of the passage of the law shall be maintained. A schools district shall
have a schools district supervisor and an office staff for program promotion.

The schools district supervisor shall be responsible for:

(1) Providing professional and instructional advice and support to the school heads
and teachers/facilitators of schools and learning centers in the district or cluster
thereof;

(2) Curricula supervision; and

(3) Performing such other functions as may be assigned by proper authorities.

E. School Level

There shall be a school head for all public elementary schools and public high schools or a
cluster thereof. The establishment of integrated schools from existing public elementary and
public high schools shall be encouraged.

The school head, who may be assisted by an assistant school head, shall be both an
instructional leader and administrative manager. The school head shall form a them with the
school teachers/learning facilitators for delivery of quality educational programs, projects
and services. A core of nonteaching staff shall handle the school's administrative, fiscal and
auxiliary services.

Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards, the school heads
shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for the following:

(1) Setting the mission, vision, goals and objectives of the school;

(2) Creating an environment within the school that is conducive to teaching and
learning;
 (3) Implementing the school curriculum and being accountable for higher learning
outcomes;

(4) Developing the school education program and school improvement plan;

(5) Offering educational programs, projects and services which provide equitable
opportunities for all learners in the community;

(6) Introducing new and innovative modes of instruction to achieve higher learning
outcomes;

(7) Administering and managing all personnel, physical and fiscal resources of the
school;

(8) Recommending the staffing complement of the school based on its needs;

(9) Encouraging staff development;

(10) Establishing school and community networks and encouraging the active
participation of teachers organizations, nonacademic personnel of public schools,
and parents-teachers-community associations;

(11) Accepting donations, gifts, bequests and grants for the purpose of upgrading
teachers' learning facilitators' competencies, improving ad expanding school facilities
and providing instructional materials and equipment. Such donations or grants must
be reported to the appropriate district supervisors and division superintendents; and

(12) Performing such other functions as may be assigned by proper authorities.

The Secretary of Education shall create a promotions board, at the appropriate levels,
which shall formulate and implement a system of promotion for schools decision
supervisors, schools district supervisors, and school heads. Promotion of school heads
shall be based on educational qualification, merit and performance rather than on the
number of teachers/learning facilitators and learners in the school.

The qualifications, salary grade, status of employment and welfare and benefits of school
heads shall be the same for public elementary, secondary and integrated schools.

No appointment to the positions of regional directors, assistant regional directors, schools

division superintendents and assistant schools division superintendents shall be made
unless file appointee is a career executive service officer who preferably shall have risen
from the ranks.

CHAPTER 2
TRANSFER OF CULTURAL AGENCIES

SEC. 8. Cultural Agencies. - The Komisyon ng Wikang Pilipino, National Historical Institute,

Records Management and Archives Office and the National Library shall now be
administratively attached to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and
no loner with the Department of Education. The program for school arts and culture shall
remain part of the school curriculum.

CHAPTER 3
ABOLITION OF THE BUREAU OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SCHOOL SPORTS

Section 9. Abolition of BPESS. - All functions, programs and activities of the Department of
Education related to sports competition shall be transferred to the Philippine Sports
Commission (PSC). The program for school sports and physical fitness shall remain part of
the basic education curriculum.

The Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports (BPESS) is hereby abolished. The
personnel of the BPESS, presently detailed with the PSC, are hereby transferred to the
PSC without loss of rank, including the plantilla positions they occupy. All other BPESS
personnel shall be retained by the Department.

CHAPTER 4
SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE OF OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Section 10. The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Budget and Management
shall, within ninety (90) days from the approval of this Act, jointly promulgate the guidelines
on the allocation, distribution and utilization of resources provided by thenational
government for the field offices, taking into consideration the uniqueness of the working
conditions of the teaching service.

The Secretary of the Department of Education shall ensure that resources appropriated for
the field offices are adequate and that resources for school personnel, school desks and
textbooks and other instructional materials intended are allocated directly and released
immediately by the Department of Budget and Management to said offices.

Section 11. The Secretary of the Department of Education, subject to civil service laws and
regulations, shall issue appropriate personnel policy rules and regulations that will best
meet the requirements of the teaching profession taking into consideration the uniqueness
of the working conditions of the teaching service.

Section 12. The Commission on Audit, in the issuance of audit rules and regulations that
will govern the utilization of all resources as well as the liquidation, recording and reporting
thereof, shall take into account the different characteristics and distinct features of the
department's field offices, its organizational set up as well as the nature of the operations of
schools and learning centers.

CHAPTER 5
FINAL PROVISIONS

Section 13. Governance in the ARMM; - The Regional Education Secretary for the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) shall exercise similar governance
authority over the divisions, districts, schools and learning centers in the region as may be
provided in the Organic Act. without prejudice to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9054,
entitled "An Act to Strengthen and Expand tile Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No.6734, entitled' An Act
Providing for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as amended"'.

Section 14. Rules and Regulations. - The Secretary of Education shall promulgate the
implementing rules and regulations within ninety (90) days after the approval of this
Act: Provided, That the Secretary of Education shall fully implement the principle of shared
governance within two (2) years after the approval of this Act.

Section 15. Separability Clause. - If for any reason, any portion or provision of this Act shall
be declared unconstitutional, other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby
shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 16 Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations,
part or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

Section 17. Effectivity Clause. - This Act. shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd)

FRANKLIN M. DRILON
President of the Senate

(Sgd)

JOSE DE VENECIA, JR.

Speaker of the House of Representatives

(Sgd)
OSCAR G. YARES
Secretary of the Senate

(Sgd)

ROBERTO P. NAZARENO
Secretary General
House of Representatives

Approved: August 11, 2001

(Sgd)

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines

Philippine education system had undergone several stages of development wherein there’s
a lot of revision and changes that has been made in order to sustain the needs of each
individual and to the society as well. I’ve learned that our Philippine education system
started from crude education, which means started from informal, unstructured and devoid
of method from pre-Spanish period. As generation and races passed by, our Philippine
education is continuing its development and progress until such time where the government
and the society come up with an organized educational system which is now known as the
K+12. The said program is spearheaded by the Department of Education (DepEd) and is
connected to the declaration of EFA 2015 that aims at providing functional literacy and
producing globally competitive graduates.
By learning all of these, I’ve realized that education is really a great change towards the
betterment of the lives of the Filipino citizens and to the progress of our society as well. If
we’re going to compare the education before, there’s really a big change in our education
system today. Now, it is more organized and has given much attention by our government.
I’ve also realized that we can only achieve the goals and vision of our present educational
system through active participation and cooperation of all the people within the society. Part
of the history of the Philippine Education System is the Governance of Basic Education Act
(R.A. 9155) the revision of the former Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)
to what is now the Department of Education (DepEd) which covers the principles of shared
governance. I’ve realized that the principles of shared governance paved way to the
enhancement of the sense of cooperation and teamwork of all the sectors in the society
which is very essential in the realization of the goals and vision of education. In connection
with this, the principals have the power to execute those policies, goals, and projects to their
respective schools for the fulfillment of the educational objectives. As a realization also, I
can say that the teachers, who are in the actual field have the biggest and crucial role in the
attainment of the present educational system. As a teacher, I must perform my role, duties
and responsibilities to the best of my ability towards my pupils because in the end, teachers
are the ones accountable for their learning outcomes. To be able to relate and perhaps,
meet the needs of our pupils, we must open our eyes to the realities of the kind of
environment where they live. Teachers must be culture sensitive especially those who were
assigned to remote areas where the people have such culture that is totally different from
that of the teachers. Through this, we can understand our pupils well, why they are
behaving in such ways and doing those things so that we can help them overcome
inferiority complex and most importantly, we can help them improve the quality of life they
have. We can also give them the quality basic education that will enable them to acquire
skills, to gain knowledge and to have values that are vital for them to become caring, self
reliant, productive and patriotic citizens.

Being enrolled in the graduate school is my way of upgrading and enhancing the knowledge
and skills that I have. I strongly believed that it’s an avenue for me to grow professionally
and to become a good and effective mentor, not only to my pupils but to the community as
well. Being the torch bearer, I believed that teachers must have enough knowledge, skills
and values in order to do our roles and responsibilities well toward the betterment of the
pupils, community and our country indeed. Being a “catalyst of change”, it must emanate
within ourselves.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533]

AN ACT ENHANCING THE PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM BY

STRENGTHENING ITS CURRICULUM AND INCREASING THE NUMBER
OF YEARS FOR BASIC EDUCATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines

in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013”.
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State shall establish, maintain and
support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to
the needs of the people, the country and society-at-large.

Likewise, it is hereby declared the policy of the State that every graduate of
basic education shall be an empowered individual who has learned, through a
program that is rooted on sound educational principles and geared towards
excellence, the foundations for learning throughout life, the competence to
engage in work and be productive, the ability to coexist in fruitful harmony with
local and global communities, the capability to engage in autonomous,
creative, and critical thinking, and the capacity and willingness to transform
others and one’s self.

For this purpose, the State shall create a functional basic education system
that will develop productive and responsible citizens equipped with the
essential competencies, skills and values for both life-long learning and
employment. In order to achieve this, the State shall:

(a) Give every student an opportunity to receive quality education that is

globally competitive based on a pedagogically sound curriculum that is at par
with international standards;

(b) Broaden the goals of high school education for college preparation,
vocational and technical career opportunities as well as creative arts, sports
and entrepreneurial employment in a rapidly changing and increasingly
globalized environment; and

(c) Make education learner-oriented and responsive to the needs, cognitive

and cultural capacity, the circumstances and diversity of learners, schools and
communities through the appropriate languages of teaching and learning,
including mother tongue as a learning resource.

SEC. 3. Basic Education. — Basic education is intended to meet basic

learning needs which provides the foundation on which subsequent learning
can be based. It encompasses kindergarten, elementary and secondary
education as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school learners
and those with special needs.

SEC. 4. Enhanced Basic Education Program. — The enhanced basic

education program encompasses at least one (1) year of kindergarten
education, six (6) years of elementary education, and six (6) years of
secondary education, in that sequence. Secondary education includes four (4)
years of junior high school and two (2) years of senior high school education.

Kindergarten education shall mean one (1) year of preparatory education for
children at least five (5) years old as a prerequisite for Grade I.

Elementary education refers to the second stage of compulsory basic

education which is composed of six (6) years. The entrant age to this level is
typically six (6) years old.

Secondary education refers to the third stage of compulsory basic education.

It consists of four (4) years of junior high school education and two (2) years
of senior high school education. The entrant age to the junior and senior high
school levels are typically twelve (12) and sixteen (16) years old, respectively.

Basic education shall be delivered in languages understood by the learners as

the language plays a strategic role in shaping the formative years of learners.

For kindergarten and the first three (3) years of elementary education,
instruction, teaching materials and assessment shall be in the regional or
native language of the learners. The Department of Education (DepED) shall
formulate a mother language transition program from Grade 4 to Grade 6 so
that Filipino and English shall be gradually introduced as languages of
instruction until such time when these two (2) languages can become the
primary languages of instruction at the secondary level.

For purposes of this Act, mother language or first Language (LI) refers to
language or languages first learned by a child, which he/she identifies with, is
identified as a native language user of by others, which he/she knows best, or
uses most. This includes Filipino sign language used by individuals with
pertinent disabilities. The regional or native language refers to the traditional
speech variety or variety of Filipino sign language existing in a region, area or
place.

SEC. 5. Curriculum Development. — The DepED shall formulate the design

and details of the enhanced basic education curriculum. It shall work with the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to craft harmonized basic and
tertiary curricula for the global competitiveness of Filipino graduates. To
ensure college readiness and to avoid remedial and duplication of basic
education subjects, the DepED shall coordinate with the CHED and the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
To achieve an effective enhanced basic education curriculum, the DepED
shall undertake consultations with other national government agencies and
other stakeholders including, but not limited to, the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the
private and public schools associations, the national student organizations,
the national teacher organizations, the parents-teachers associations and the
chambers of commerce on matters affecting the concerned stakeholders.

The DepED shall adhere to the following standards and principles in

developing the enhanced basic education curriculum:

(a) The curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and developmentally

appropriate;

(b) The curriculum shall be relevant, responsive and research-based;

(c) The curriculum shall be culture-sensitive;

(d) The curriculum shall be contextualized and global;

(e) The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist,
inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative;

(f) The curriculum shall adhere to the principles and framework of Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which starts from where the
learners are and from what they already knew proceeding from the known to
the unknown; instructional materials and capable teachers to implement the
MTB-MLE curriculum shall be available;

(g) The curriculum shall use the spiral progression approach to ensure
mastery of knowledge and skills after each level; and

(h) The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to
localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective
educational and social contexts. The production and development of locally
produced teaching materials shall be encouraged and approval of these
materials shall devolve to the regional and division education units.

SEC. 6. Curriculum Consultative Committee. — There shall be created a

curriculum consultative committee chaired by the DepED Secretary or his/her
duly authorized representative and with members composed of, but not limited
to, a representative each from the CHED, the TESDA, the DOLE, the PRC,
the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and a representative
from the business chambers such as the Information Technology – Business
Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry association. The consultative
committee shall oversee the review and evaluation on the implementation of
the basic education curriculum and may recommend to the DepED the
formulation of necessary refinements in the curriculum.

SEC. 7. Teacher Education and Training. — To ensure that the enhanced

basic education program meets the demand for quality teachers and school
leaders, the DepED and the CHED, in collaboration with relevant partners in
government, academe, industry, and nongovernmental organizations, shall
conduct teacher education and training programs, as specified:

(a) In-service Training on Content and Pedagogy — Current DepED teachers

shall be retrained to meet the content and performance standards of the new
K to 12 curriculum.

The DepED shall ensure that private education institutions shall be given the
opportunity to avail of such training.

(b) Training of New Teachers. — New graduates of the current Teacher

Education curriculum shall undergo additional training, upon hiring, to upgrade
their skills to the content standards of the new curriculum. Furthermore, the
CHED, in coordination with the DepED and relevant stakeholders, shall
ensure that the Teacher Education curriculum offered in these Teacher
Education Institutes (TEIs) will meet necessary quality standards for new
teachers. Duly recognized organizations acting as TEIs, in coordination with
the DepED, the CHED, and other relevant stakeholders, shall ensure that the
curriculum of these organizations meet the necessary quality standards for
trained teachers.

(c) Training of School Leadership. — Superintendents, principals, subject area

coordinators and other instructional school leaders shall likewise undergo
workshops and training to enhance their skills on their role as academic,
administrative and community leaders.

Henceforth, such professional development programs as those stated above

shall be initiated and conducted regularly throughout the school year to
ensure constant upgrading of teacher skills.

SEC. 8. Hiring of Graduates of Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering

and Other Specialists in Subjects With a Shortage of Qualified Applicants,
Technical-Vocational Courses and Higher Education Institution Faculty. —
Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 26, 27 and 28 of Republic Act No.
7836, otherwise known as the “Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of
1994”, the DepED and private education institutions shall hire, as may be
relevant to the particular subject:

(a) Graduates of science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, music and

other degree courses with shortages in qualified Licensure Examination for
Teachers (LET) applicants to teach in their specialized subjects in the
elementary and secondary education. Qualified LET applicants shall also
include graduates admitted by foundations duly recognized for their expertise
in the education sector and who satisfactorily complete the requirements set
by these organizations: Provided, That they pass the LET within five (5) years
after their date of hiring: Provided, further, That if such graduates are willing to
teach on part-time basis, the provisions of LET shall no longer be required;

(b) Graduates of technical-vocational courses to teach in their specialized

subjects in the secondary education: Provided, That these graduates possess
the necessary certification issued by the TESDA: Provided, further, That they
undergo appropriate in-service training to be administered by the DepED or
higher education institutions (HEIs) at the expense of the DepED;

(c) Faculty of HEIs be allowed to teach in their general education or subject

specialties in the secondary education: Provided,That the faculty must be a
holder of a relevant Bachelor’s degree, and must have satisfactorily served as
a full-time HEI faculty;

(d) The DepED and private education institutions may hire practitioners, with
expertise in the specialized learning areas offered by the Basic Education
Curriculum, to teach in the secondary level; Provided, That they teach on part-
time basis only. For this purpose, the DepED, in coordination with the
appropriate government agencies, shall determine the necessary qualification
standards in hiring these experts.

SEC. 9. Career Guidance and Counselling Advocacy. — To properly guide

the students in choosing the career tracks that they intend to pursue, the
DepED, in coordination with the DOLE, the TESDA and the CHED, shall
regularly conduct career advocacy activities for secondary level students.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 27 of Republic Act No. 9258,
otherwise known as the “Guidance and Counselling Act of 2004”, career and
employment guidance counsellors, who are not registered and licensed
guidance counsellors, shall be allowed to conduct career advocacy activities
to secondary level students of the school where they are currently
employed; Provided, That they undergo a training program to be developed or
accredited by the DepED.

SEC. 10. Expansion of E-GASTPE Beneficiaries. — The benefits accorded

by Republic Act No. 8545, or the “Expanded Government Assistance to
Students and Teachers in Private Education Act”, shall be extended to
qualified students enrolled under the enhanced basic education.

The DepED shall engage the services of private education institutions and
non-DepED schools offering senior high school through the programs under
Republic Act No. 8545, and other financial arrangements formulated by the
DepED and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) based on the
principles of public-private partnership.

SEC. 11. Appropriations. — The Secretary of Education shall include in the

Department’s program the operationalization of the enhanced basic education
program, the initial funding of which shall be charged against the current
appropriations of the DepED. Thereafter, the amount necessary for the
continued implementation of the enhanced basic education program shall be
included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 12. Transitory Provisions. — The DepED, the CHED and the TESDA
shall formulate the appropriate strategies and mechanisms needed to ensure
smooth transition from the existing ten (10) years basic education cycle to the
enhanced basic education (K to 12) cycle. The strategies may cover changes
in physical infrastructure, manpower, organizational and structural concerns,
bridging models linking grade 10 competencies and the entry requirements of
new tertiary curricula, and partnerships between the government and other
entities. Modeling for senior high school may be implemented in selected
schools to simulate the transition process and provide concrete data for the
transition plan.

To manage the initial implementation of the enhanced basic education

program and mitigate the expected multi-year low enrolment turnout for HEIs
and Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs) starting School Year 2016-2017,
the DepED shall engage in partnerships with HEIs and TVIs for the utilization
of the latter’s human and physical resources. Moreover, the DepED, the
CHED, the TESDA, the TVIs and the HEIs shall coordinate closely with one
another to implement strategies that ensure the academic, physical, financial,
and human resource capabilities of HEIs and TVIs to provide educational and
training services for graduates of the enhanced basic education program to
ensure that they are not adversely affected. The faculty of HEIs and TVIs
allowed to teach students of secondary education under Section 8 hereof,
shall be given priority in hiring for the duration of the transition period. For this
purpose, the transition period shall be provided for in the implementing rules
and regulations (IRR).

SEC. 13. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Enhanced Basic

Educational Program (K to 12 Program). — There is hereby created a Joint
Oversight Committee to oversee, monitor and evaluate the implementation of
this Act.

The Oversight Committee shall be composed of five (5) members each from
the Senate and from the House of Representatives, including Chairs of the
Committees on Education, Arts and Culture, and Finance of both Houses. The
membership of the Committee for every House shall have at least two (2)
opposition or minority members.

SEC. 14. Mandatory Evaluation and Review. — By the end of School Year

2014-2015, the DepED shall conduct a mandatory review and submit a
midterm report to Congress as to the status of implementation of the K to 12
program in terms of closing the following current shortages: (a) teachers; (b)
classrooms; (c) textbooks; (d) seats; (e) toilets; and (f) other shortages that
should be addressed.

The DepED shall include among others, in this midterm report, the following
key metrics of access to and quality of basic education: (a) participation rate;
(b) retention rate; (c) National Achievement Test results; (d) completion rate;
(e) teachers’ welfare and training profiles; (f) adequacy of funding
requirements; and (g) other learning facilities including, but not limited to,
computer and science laboratories, libraries and library hubs, and sports,
music and arts.

SEC. 15. Commitment to International Benchmarks. — The DepED shall

endeavor to increase the per capita spending on education towards the
immediate attainment of international benchmarks.

SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety (90) days

after the effectivity of this Act, the DepED Secretary, the CHED Chairperson
and the TESDA Director-General shall promulgate the rules and regulations
needed for the implementation of this Act.
 SEC. 17. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the
other provisions hereof.

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. — Pertinent provisions of Batas Pambansa Blg.

232 or the “Education Act of 1982”, Republic Act No. 9155 or the “Governance
of Basic Education.

Act of 2001″, Republic Act No. 9258, Republic Act No. 7836, and all other
laws, decrees, executive orders and rules and regulations contrary to or
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 19. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR. (Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE

Speaker of the House President of the Senate
of Representatives

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3286 and House Bill No.
6643 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on
January 30, 2013.

(Sgd.) MARILYN BARUA-YAP (Sgd.) EDWIN B. BELEN

Secretary General Acting Senate Secretary
House of Representatives

Approved: MAY 15 2013

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines

Glance on Republic Act No. 10533

May 23, 2013 | Published by: Teacher Leann C. Luna | Posted in: Essay on Education

President Benigno Aquino signed into law Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhance Basic
Education Act of 2013 last May 15, 2013. A law that implements K to 12 Program which covers
kindergarten and 12 years of basic education.
The enhance basic curriculum aims to produce Filipino graduates who are holistically developed
with 21th century skills. This curriculum also gives great chance to all graduate to acquire
middle-level skills for better work opportunities.

Under Republic Act No. 10533, mother tongue language is the language of instruction from
kindergarten to Grade 3 to attain mastery of learning competencies. On the other hand, starting
Grade 4 to Grade 6 teachers will use English and Filipino as their medium of instruction.

Enhance Basic Education Act of 2013 is final and it is real. Department of Education and the
whole nation come across the gigantic challenge in our educational system.

IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

OF THE ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2013

(REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533)

Pursuant to Section 16 of Republic Act No. 10533, entitled “An Act Enhancing

the Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening Its Curriculum and
Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds
Therefor and for Other Purposes,” otherwise known as the “Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013,” approved on May 15, 2013, and which took effect on
June 8, 2013, the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), hereby issue the following rules and
regulations to implement the provisions of the Act.

RULE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Title. These rules and regulations shall be referred to as

the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the “Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013” (Republic Act No. 10533).

Section 2. Scope and Application. The provisions of this IRR shall primarily

apply to all public and private basic educational institutions and learning
centers. This IRR shall also apply to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs),
Technical-Vocational Institutions (TVIs), duly recognized organizations acting
as Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs), and foundations.

Section 3. Declaration of Policy. This IRR shall be interpreted in light of the

Declaration of Policy found in Section 2 of the Act.
Section 4. Definition of Terms. For purposes of this IRR, the following terms
shall mean or be understood as follows:

(a) Act refers to Republic Act No. 10533, entitled “An Act Enhancing the
Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening Its Curriculum and
Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds
Therefor and for Other Purposes,” otherwise known as the “Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013.”

(b) Learning Center refers to a physical space to house learning resources

and facilities of a learning program for out-of-school youth and adults. It is a
venue for face-to-face learning activities and other learning opportunities for
community development and improvement of the people’s quality of life. This
may also be referred to as “Community Learning Center” authorized or
recognized by the DepEd.

(c) Learner refers to a pupil or student, or to a learner in the alternative

learning system.

(d) Mother Language or First Language (L1) refers to the language or

languages first learned by a child, which he/she identifies with, is identified as
a native language user of by others, which he/she knows best, or uses most.
This includes Filipino sign language used by individuals with pertinent
disabilities. The regional or native language refers to the traditional speech
variety or variety of Filipino sign language existing in a region, area or place.

(e) Non-DepEd Public School refers to a public school offering basic

education operated by an agency of the national government other than the
DepEd, or by a local government unit.

Section 5. Basic Education. Pursuant to Section 3 of the Act, basic

education is intended to meet basic learning needs which provides the
foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses
kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education as well as alternative
learning systems for out-of-school learners and those with special needs
under Section 8 of this IRR.

Section 6. Enhanced Basic Education Program. For purposes of this IRR

and pursuant to Section 4 of the Act, the enhanced basic education program
encompasses at least one (1) year of kindergarten education, six (6) years of
elementary education, and six (6) years of secondary education, in that
sequence. Secondary education includes four (4) years of junior high school
and two (2) years of senior high school education. The enhanced basic
education program may likewise be delivered through the alternative learning
system.

Kindergarten Education is the first stage of compulsory and mandatory

formal education which consists of one (1) year of preparatory education for
children at least five (5) years old as a prerequisite for Grade 1.

Elementary Education refers to the second stage of compulsory basic

education which is composed of six (6) years. The entrant age to this level is
typically six (6) years old.

Secondary Education refers to the third stage of compulsory basic

education. It consists of four (4) years of junior high school education and two
(2) years of senior high school education. The entrant age to the junior and
senior high school levels are typically twelve (12) and sixteen (16) years old,
respectively.

The DepEd may allow private educational institutions flexibility in adopting the
program provided that they comply with the DepEd-prescribed minimum
standards consistent with the Act.

Section 7. Compulsory Basic Education. It shall be compulsory for every

parent or guardian or other persons having custody of a child to enroll such
child in basic education, irrespective of learning delivery modes and systems,
until its completion, as provided for by existing laws, rules and regulations.

Section 8. Inclusiveness of Enhanced Basic Education. In furtherance of

Section 3 of the Act, inclusiveness of enhanced basic education shall mean
the implementation of programs designed to address the physical, intellectual,
psychosocial, and cultural needs of learners, which shall include, but shall not
be limited to, the following:

8.1. Programs for the Gifted and Talented. These shall refer to

comprehensive programs for the gifted and talented learners in all levels of
basic education.

8.2. Programs for Learners with Disabilities. These shall refer to the

comprehensive programs designed for learners with disabilities which may be
home-, school-, center- or community-based.
8.3. Madrasah Program. This shall refer to the comprehensive program using
the Madrasah curriculum prescribed by the DepEd, in coordination with the
Commission on Muslim Filipinos, for Muslim learners in public and private
schools.

8.4. Indigenous Peoples (IP) Education Program. This shall refer to the

program that supports education initiatives undertaken through formal, non-
formal, and informal modalities with emphasis on any of, but not limited to, the
key areas of: Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices and community
history; indigenous languages; Indigenous Learning System (ILS) and
community life cycle-based curriculum and assessment; educational goals,
aspirations, and competencies specific to the Indigenous Cultural Community
(ICC); engagement of elders and other community members in the teaching-
learning process, assessment, and management of the initiative, recognition
and continuing practice of the community’s ILS; and the rights and
responsibilities of ICCs.

8.5. Programs for Learners under Difficult Circumstances. This shall refer

to the timely and responsive programs for learners under difficult
circumstances, such as, but not limited to: geographic isolation; chronic
illness; displacement due to armed conflict, urban resettlement, or disasters;
child abuse and child labor practices.

Section 9. Acceleration. Acceleration of learners in public and private basic

educational institutions shall be allowed, consistent with DepEd rules and
regulations.

RULE II. CURRICULUM

Section 10. Basic Education Curriculum Development. In the development

of the Basic Education Curriculum, the DepEd shall be guided by the
following:

10.1. Formulation and Design. Pursuant to Section 5 of the Act, the DepEd

shall formulate the design and details of the enhanced basic education
curriculum. The DepEd shall work with the CHED and TESDA to craft
harmonized basic, tertiary, and technical-vocational education curricula for
Filipino graduates to be locally and globally competitive.

10.2. Standards and Principles. The DepEd shall adhere to the following

standards and principles, when appropriate, in developing the enhanced basic
education curriculum:
(a) The curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and developmentally
appropriate;

(b) The curriculum shall be relevant, responsive and research-based;

(c) The curriculum shall be gender- and culture-sensitive;

(d) The curriculum shall be contextualized and global;

(e) The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist,
inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative;

(f) The curriculum shall adhere to the principles and framework of Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which starts from where the
learners are and from what they already know proceeding from the known to
the unknown; instructional materials and capable teachers to implement the
MTB-MLE curriculum shall be available. For this purpose, MTB-MLE refers to
formal or non-formal education in which the learner’s mother tongue and
additional languages are used in the classroom;

(g) The curriculum shall use the spiral progression approach to ensure
mastery of knowledge and skills after each level; and

(h) The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to
localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective
educational and social contexts.

10.3. Production and Development of Materials. The production and

development of locally produced teaching and learning materials shall be
encouraged. The approval of these materials shall be devolved to the regional
and division education unit in accordance with national policies and standards.

10.4. Medium of Teaching and Learning. Pursuant to Sections 4 and 5 of

the Act, basic education shall be delivered in languages understood by the
learners as language plays a strategic role in shaping the formative years of
learners.

The curriculum shall develop proficiency in Filipino and English, provided that
the first and dominant language of the learners shall serve as the fundamental
language of education. For Kindergarten and the first three years of
elementary education, instruction, teaching materials, and assessment shall
be in the regional or native language of the learners. The DepEd shall
formulate a mother language transition program from the mother/first
language to the subsequent languages of the curriculum that is appropriate to
the language capacity and needs of learners from Grade 4 to Grade 6. Filipino
and English shall be gradually introduced as languages of instruction until
such time when these two (2) languages can become the primary languages
of instruction at the secondary level.

10.5. Stakeholder Participation. To achieve an enhanced and responsive

basic education curriculum, the DepEd shall undertake consultations with
other national government agencies and other stakeholders including, but not
limited to, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Professional
Regulation Commission (PRC), private and public schools associations,
national student organizations, national teacher organizations, parents-
teachers associations, chambers of commerce and other industry
associations, on matters affecting the concerned stakeholders.

Section 11. Curriculum Consultative Committee. Pursuant to Section 6 of

the Act, a Curriculum Consultative Committee shall be created, to be chaired
by the DepEd Secretary or his/her duly authorized representative, and with
members composed of, but not limited to, a representative each from the
CHED, TESDA, DOLE, PRC, the Department of Science and Technology
(DOST), and a representative from business chambers such as the
Information Technology – Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry
association. The Consultative Committee shall oversee the review and
evaluation of the implementation of the enhanced basic education curriculum
and may recommend to the DepEd the formulation of necessary refinements
in the curriculum.

RULE III. TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS, TRAINING AND CONTINUING

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Section 12. Teacher Education and Training. To ensure that the enhanced
basic education program meets the demand for quality teachers and school
leaders, the DepEd, CHED, and TESDA shall conduct teacher education and
training programs, in collaboration with relevant partners in government,
academe, industry, and non-governmental organizations. Such professional
development programs shall be initiated, conducted and evaluated regularly
throughout the year to ensure constant upgrading of teacher skills. Teacher
education and training programs shall include, but shall not be limited to:

12.1. In-service Training on Content and Pedagogy. DepEd teachers who

will implement the enhanced basic education curriculum but have not
undergone pre-service education that is aligned with the enhanced basic
education curriculum shall be trained to meet the content and performance
standards of the enhanced basic education curriculum.

The DepEd shall ensure that private educational institutions shall be given the
opportunity to avail of such training.

12.2. Training of New Teachers. New graduates of the Teacher Education

curriculum not aligned with the enhanced basic education curriculum shall
undergo additional training, upon hiring, to upgrade their competencies and
skills to the content and performance standards of the new curriculum.
Furthermore, the CHED, in coordination with the DepEd and relevant
stakeholders, shall ensure that the Teacher Education curriculum offered in
these TEIs will meet the necessary quality standards for new teachers. Duly
recognized organizations acting as TEIs, in coordination with the DepEd,
CHED, and other relevant stakeholders, shall ensure that the curriculum of
these organizations meets the necessary quality standards for trained
teachers.

For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “duly recognized organizations

acting as TEIs” refers to organizations, other than schools or HEIs, contracted
out by the DepEd during the transition and for a fixed period, to provide
teacher training for purposes of retooling the graduates of the Teacher
Education curriculum, and only in such areas where there is a shortage of
trained teachers.

12.3. Training of School Leadership. Superintendents, principals, subject

area coordinators, and other instructional school leaders shall likewise
undergo workshops and training to enhance their skills on their roles as
academic, administrative, and community leaders.

12.4. Training of Alternative Learning System (ALS) Coordinators,

Instructional Managers, Mobile Teachers, and Learning Facilitators. ALS
coordinators, instructional managers, mobile teachers, and learning facilitators
shall likewise undergo workshops and training to enhance their skills on their
roles as academic, administrative, and community leaders.

Section 13. Hiring of Other Teachers. Notwithstanding the provisions of

Sections 26, 27 and 28 of Republic Act No. 7836, otherwise known as the
“Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994,” the DepEd and private
educational institutions shall hire, as may be relevant to the particular subject:
13.1. Graduates of science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, music and
other degree courses needed to teach in their specialized subjects in
elementary and secondary education with shortages in qualified applicants
who have passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET). They shall
also include graduates admitted by foundations duly recognized for their
expertise in the education sector and who satisfactorily complete the
requirements set by these organizations; Provided, That they pass the LET
within five (5) years after their date of hiring; Provided, further, That if such
graduates are willing to teach in basic education on part-time basis, the
provisions of LET shall no longer be required.

The term “foundations,” as used in this section, refers to non-stock, non-profit

organizations, which are not operating as educational institutions, contracted
out by the DepEd for a fixed period, to provide volunteers to teach in basic
education in areas where there is a shortage of qualified teachers. The DepEd
shall issue the guidelines and procedures for selection and eligibility of these
organizations.

13.2. Graduates of technical-vocational courses to teach in their specialized

subjects in the secondary education; Provided,That these graduates possess
the necessary certification issued by TESDA; Provided, further, That they
undergo appropriate in-service training to be administered by the DepEd or
HEIs at the expense of the DepEd. The DepEd shall provide administrative
support to private educational institutions for the in-service training of their
teachers on the enhanced basic education curriculum.

13.3. Faculty of HEIs to teach in their general education or subject specialties

in secondary education; Provided, That the faculty must be a holder of a
relevant Bachelor’s degree, and must have satisfactorily served as a full-time
HEI faculty;

13.4. The DepEd and private educational institutions may hire practitioners,

with expertise in the specialized learning areas offered by the enhanced basic
education curriculum, to teach in the secondary level: Provided, That they
teach on part-time basis only. For this purpose, the DepEd, in coordination
with the appropriate government agencies, shall determine the necessary
qualification standards in hiring these experts.

RULE IV. PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Section 14. Reasonable Supervision and Regulation. As a matter of policy

laid down in Article XIV, Section 5(1) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the
State recognizes the complementary roles of public and private institutions in
the educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and
regulation of all educational institutions.

Section 15. Issuance and Revocation of Permits and/or Recognition of

Private Senior High Schools. The DepEd shall regulate the offering of senior
high school in private educational institutions. Private educational institutions
may only offer senior high school when so authorized by the DepEd. The
DepEd shall prescribe the guidelines on the issuance and revocation of
permits and/or recognition of senior high schools.

Section 16. Specializations in Private Senior High School. Private

educational institutions may offer specializations in senior high school that are
essential to the economic and social development of the nation, region or
locality. Local planning in the development of educational policies and
programs shall be encouraged consistent with the State policy to take into
account regional and sectoral needs and conditions.

RULE V. CAREER GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING ADVOCACY

Section 17. Career Guidance and Counseling Programs. Consistent with

Section 9 of the Act, to properly guide the students towards becoming
productive and contributing individuals through informed career choices, the
DepEd, in coordination with the DOLE, TESDA, CHED, PRC, NYC, industry
associations, professional associations, and other relevant stakeholders, shall
pursue programs that expose students to the world and value of work, and
develop the capability of career counselors and advocates to guide the
students and equip them with the necessary life skills and values.

Section 18. Career Advocacy Activities. Career advocacy activities refer to

activities that will guide secondary level students in choosing the career tracks
that they intend to pursue. Career advocacy activities involve provision of
career information and experiences, advising, coordinating and making
referrals, and may include, but are not limited to, career talks, career and job
fairs, parents’ orientations, and seminar-workshops on career decision-
making.

Section 19. Career Advocates. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 27

of Republic Act No. 9258, otherwise known as the “Guidance and Counseling
Act of 2004,” career advocates shall be allowed to conduct career advocacy
activities for secondary-level students of the schools where they are currently
employed; Provided, That they undergo appropriate capacity building
programs developed and implemented by the DepEd, in coordination with the
DOLE, TESDA, CHED, PRC, NYC, student organizations, industry
associations, guidance and counseling associations, professional
associations, and other relevant stakeholders.

Career advocacy may be conducted by career advocates and peer facilitators.

Consistent with Section 9 of the Act, career advocates refer to career and
employment guidance counselors who are not registered and licensed
guidance counselors. Career advocates include homeroom advisers and
teachers of all learning areas who will implement career advocacy activities.
Peer facilitators are secondary-level students trained to assist career
advocates in implementing career advocacy activities.

Section 20. Role of the DepEd. The DepEd shall:

(a) Integrate career concepts in the curriculum and undertake teaching in

relevant learning areas;

(b) Conduct career assessments;

(c) Conduct regular career advocacy activities;

(d) Conduct continuous professionalization and capacity building of guidance

counselors, career advocates, and peer facilitators;

(e) Develop or accredit training programs on career advocacy;

(f) Establish a career advocacy unit and provide adequate office space in high
schools; and

(g) Designate guidance supervisors at the division level and career advocates
at the school level.

RULE VI. E-GASTPE BENEFICIARIES AND OTHER FINANCING

ARRANGEMENTS WITH PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND
NON-DEPED PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Section 21. Expansion of E-GASTPE Beneficiaries. Pursuant to Section 10

of the Act, the DepEd shall develop programs of assistance that will extend
the benefits accorded by Republic Act No. 8545, or the “Expanded
Government Assistance for Students and Teachers in Private Education
Act,” to qualified students enrolled in senior high school.
Section 22. Criteria for Assistance to Qualified Students. The programs of
assistance shall be made available primarily to students who completed junior
high school in public schools, taking into account the income background and
financial needs of students, available capacities of public, private and non-
DepEd public schools in the locality, socio-economic needs of regions, overall
performance of private and non-DepEd public schools, as well as geographic
spread and size of the student population.

The programs of assistance may also be made available to students who

completed junior high school in private educational institutions, whether these
students are E-GASTPE beneficiaries or not, subject to compliance with the
qualifications and guidelines to be determined by the DepEd.

Section 23. Forms and Amount of Assistance. The forms of assistance that

may be provided by the DepEd may include any of the following:

(a) A voucher system, where government issues a coupon directly to students

to enable them to enroll in eligible private educational institutions or non-
DepEd public schools of their choice under a full or partial tuition or schooling
subsidy;

(b) Education Service Contracting (ESC), where the government enters into
contracts with private educational institutions or non-DepEd public schools to
shoulder the tuition and other fees of high school students who shall enroll in
private high schools under this program;

(c) Management contracts, where government enters into contractual

arrangements with private educational institutions or non-DepEd public
schools to manage the day-to-day operations of public schools under agreed
performance targets;

(d) Forms of assistance provided under Republic Act No. 8545; and

(e) Other forms of financial arrangements consistent with the principles of

public-private partnership.

The DepEd shall take into account the ability of program beneficiaries to cover
tuition differentials, if any, in setting the amount of the voucher, ESC, or other
forms of assistance. The amount of assistance to be given by the government
shall not exceed the determined per student cost in public schools.
Section 24. Participating Schools. Private educational institutions, non-
DepEd public schools, and other potential providers of basic learning needs
that may be authorized to offer senior high school are eligible to participate in
programs of assistance, as may be applicable, under the E-GASTPE program
and other financial arrangements formulated by the DepEd and DBM based
on the principles of public-private partnership. The continued participation of
said providers in the E-GASTPE program and other financial arrangements is
subject to their meeting minimum requirements and standards, including
student performance, as determined by the DepEd.

To promote partnership and greater cooperation between public and private

educational institutions, government will take into account existing and
potential capacities of private educational institutions in expanding public
school capacity.

Section 25. Implementation Mechanisms. The DepEd may enter into

contractual arrangements or establish new mechanisms for the design,
administration, and supervision of programs of assistance or aspects thereof,
subject to the approval of the appropriate government agencies. For this
purpose, the DepEd shall:

(a) Issue the appropriate guidelines for the implementation of the programs of
assistance;

(b) Ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of the

programs of assistance;

(c) Implement information and advocacy programs to inform the general public
and ensure greater participation and availment of the programs of assistance;
and

(d) Undertake periodic reviews of the program features and make

adjustments, as necessary, to ensure the successful, effective and
sustainable implementation of the program. The program features shall
include, among others, amount of subsidy, number of grantees, eligibility
requirements, and performance of participating schools.

Section 26. Funding Requirement. The budgetary requirement of the

programs under this Rule shall be ensured by the national government.

The DepEd shall encourage private and corporate donors to support the
programs of assistance in this section under the framework of Republic Act
No. 8525, entitled, “An Act Establishing An ‘Adopt-A-School Program,’
Providing Incentives Therefor, And For Other Purposes,” and other relevant
laws and policies.

Section 27. Timeframe. The DepEd shall implement the programs provided

in this Rule no later than the start of School Year 2016-2017.

Section 28. Additional Beneficiaries. The DepEd may develop similar

programs of assistance for kindergarten and elementary pupils and alternative
learning system learners in accordance with specific objectives, taking into
account the need and capacities of public and private educational institutions.

RULE VII. TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Section 29. Private Basic Educational Institutions’ Transition to the

Enhanced Basic Education Program. The DepEd shall ensure the smooth
transition of private elementary and high schools in the country that are not
aligned with the enhanced basic education program. Private educational
institutions or a group thereof shall develop their plans detailing how to
transition from their current basic education system to the enhanced basic
education program. The DepEd shall provide the appropriate guidelines on
the evaluation of the transition plans.

Private educational institutions offering twelve (12) to thirteen (13) years of

basic education prior to the enactment of this Act shall submit to the DepEd
their transition plans within twelve (12) months from the effectivity of this IRR,
subject to the guidelines that will be issued by the DepEd.

Section 30. Implementation Mechanisms and Strategies. Pursuant to

Section 12 of the Act, the DepEd, CHED and TESDA shall formulate the
appropriate strategies and mechanisms needed to ensure smooth transition
from the existing ten (10) years basic education cycle to the enhanced basic
education program. The strategies may cover, among others, changes in
physical infrastructure, human resource, organizational and structural
concerns, bridging models linking secondary education competencies and the
entry requirements of new tertiary curricula, and partnerships between the
government and other entities. Modeling for Senior High School (SHS) may
be implemented in selected schools to simulate the transition process and
provide concrete data for the transition plan following the guidelines set by the
DepEd. The results of the SHS modeling program may be considered in the
nationwide implementation of the SHS program in School Year 2016-2017.
30.1. Partnerships with HEIs and TVIs. To manage the initial
implementation of the enhanced basic education program and mitigate the
expected multi-year low enrolment turnout for HEIs and TVIs starting School
Year 2016-2017, the DepEd shall engage in partnerships with HEIs and TVIs
for the utilization of the latter’s human and physical resources, and issue
relevant guidelines on such partnerships. Moreover, the DepEd, CHED,
TESDA, TVIs and HEIs shall coordinate closely with one another to implement
strategies that ensure the academic, physical, financial, and human resource
capabilities of HEIs and TVIs to provide educational and training services for
graduates of the enhanced basic education program to ensure that they are
not adversely affected. The faculty of HEIs and TVIs allowed to teach students
of secondary education under Section 8 of the Act, shall be given priority in
hiring for the duration of the transition period.

30.2. Financing Framework for State Universities and Colleges During

the Transition Period. The CHED and DBM shall review the financing policy
framework for State Universities and Colleges in light of the Act with the end
in view of optimizing the use of government resources for education, the
results of which shall be covered by a joint administrative issuance.

30.3. Effects of Initial Implementation of the Enhanced Basic Education

Program on Industry Human Resource Requirements. The DOLE, CHED,
DepEd, TESDA and PRC, in coordination with industry associations and
chambers of commerce, shall develop a contingency plan, not later than the
start of School Year 2015-2016, to mitigate the effects of the enhanced basic
education program with respect to a potential reduction or absence of college
graduates to meet the human resource requirements of industry. The plan
shall contain mitigation strategies for industries to adjust their employment
policies as deemed necessary and expedient, and may include the adoption
of other relevant programs or appropriate qualifications.

Section 31. Labor and Management Rights. In the implementation of the

Act, including the transition period, the rights of labor as provided in the
Constitution, the Civil Service Rules and Regulations, Labor Code of the
Philippines, and existing collective agreements, as well as the prerogatives of
management, shall be respected. The DOLE, DepEd, CHED and TESDA
shall promulgate the appropriate joint administrative issuance, within sixty (60)
days from the effectivity of this IRR, to ensure the sustainability of the private
and public educational institutions, and the promotion and protection of the
rights, interests and welfare of teaching and non-teaching personnel.
For this purpose, the DOLE shall convene a technical panel with
representatives from the DepEd, CHED, TESDA and representatives from
both teaching and non-teaching personnel organizations, and administrators
of the educational institutions.

Section 32. Transition Period. The transition period shall be reckoned from

the date of the approval of this IRR until the end of School Year 2021-2022.

RULE VIII. JOINT CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

Section 33. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Enhanced

Basic Education Program. The Joint Congressional Oversight Committee
created under Section 13 of the Act shall be composed of five (5) members
each from the Senate and from the House, including Chairs of the
Committees on Education, Arts and Culture, and Finance of both Houses. The
membership of the Committee for every House shall have at least two (2)
opposition or minority members.

RULE IX. MANDATORY EVALUATION AND REVIEW

Section 34. Mandatory Evaluation and Review. By the end of School Year
2014-2015, the DepEd shall conduct a mandatory review and submit a
midterm report to Congress as to the status of implementation of the
Enhanced Basic Education Program in terms of closing the following current
shortages: (a) teachers; (b) classrooms; (c) textbooks; (d) seats; (e) toilets; (f)
other shortages that should be addressed.

The DepEd shall include among others, in this midterm report, the following
key metrics of access to and quality of basic education: (a) participation rate;
(b) retention rate; (c) National Achievement Test results; (d) completion rate;
(e) teachers’ welfare and training profiles; (f) adequacy of funding
requirements; and (g) other learning facilities including, but not limited to,
computer and science laboratories, libraries and library hubs; and sports,
music and arts.

RULE X. COMMITMENT TO INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS

Section 35. Commitment to International Benchmarks. The DepEd shall

endeavor to increase the per capita spending on education towards the
immediate attainment of international benchmarks. Towards this end, the
DepEd shall seek to:
a) engage local government units to efficiently use the special education fund
and other funds to advance and promote basic education;

b) implement programs that will enhance private sector participation and

partnership in basic education; and

c) propose an annual budget allocation in accordance with these goals. The

DepEd shall further develop a multi-year spending plan to ensure that the
UNESCO-prescribed standards on education spending are attained.

RULE XI. FINAL PROVISIONS

Section 36. Appropriations. Pursuant to Section 11 of the Act, the initial

funding for the operationalization of the Enhanced Basic Education Program
shall be charged against the current appropriations of the DepEd. Thereafter,
such sums which shall be necessary for the continued implementation of the
enhanced basic education program shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

Section 37. Implementing Details. The DepEd, CHED and TESDA may

issue such policies and guidelines as may be necessary to further implement
this IRR.

Section 38. Amendment. Amendments to this IRR shall be jointly

promulgated by the DepEd Secretary, CHED Chairperson, and TESDA
Director-General.

Section 39. Separability Clause. Should any provision of this IRR be

subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the
validity and effectivity of the other provisions.

Section 40. Repealing Clause. Pursuant to Section 18 of the Act, rules and
regulations implementing the pertinent provisions of Batas Pambansa Bilang
232 or the “Education Act of 1982,” Republic Act No. 9155 or
the “Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001,” Republic Act No. 9258,
Republic Act No. 7836, and all other laws, decrees, executive orders and
rules and regulations, contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of the Act
are deemed repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 41. Effectivity Clause. This IRR shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.
 This IRR shall be registered with the Office of the National Administrative
Register at the University of the Philippines Law Center, UP Diliman, Quezon
City.

Done this 4th day of September 2013.

(Sgd.) BR. ARMIN A. LUISTRO FSC (Sgd.) DR. PATRICIA B. LICUANAN

Secretary Chairperson
Department of Education Commission on Higher Education

(Sgd.) SEC. EMMANUEL JOEL J. VILLANUEVA

Director General

Technical Education and Skills Development 

R.A. 10533: the answer to perennial problems concerning

education and its effect to the nation.
Prior to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum guide, the Philippines was the only one in
Asia that still had only 10 years in basic education. This has always been seen as a disadvantage
for students who are competing in an increasingly global job market. I strongly believe that
education plays a very important role in developing learners from the inside out. The
Philippine education itself has been considered a perennial problem. However, for me, if there
is one problem that we need to focus on, it’s the education. Social issues like, high crime rate,
poverty, population explosion, low economic rate, etc., have been a problem in our country. I
believe that the root of all these problems is lack of education. The main goal of the K-12
program is to develop learners to become skilled, competent, and morally upright people. K-12
curriculum is carefully designed to make learners learn tasks by themselves with the guidance
of the teacher. Training the people would help the economic status of our country to be
progressive. Educating them with good moral principles makes them know what is right and
what is wrong. If they were able to be developed wholly, they would be able to act right in the
society. The spiral progression approach helps to ensure mastery of knowledge and skills. Since
they would be trained to act independently, they apply the skills they learn from school. There
will be higher standards and every one will meet that standard. There will be lesser
uneducated children, thus lesser crime. There will be more sufficient instructional time to do
subject related tasks which makes learners more prepared and well-trained on a certain
subject area; thus, they will not get low scores; instead international test results may
dramatically improve. Students will be more equipped with the skills needed in the workplaces,
more prepared to enter labor force, thus, adding up to nation’s manpower.  Graduates will be
recognized because we now follow the education standard as practiced by all nations.