PREAMBLE

We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring

the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a
just and humane society, and establish a
Government that shall embody our ideals
and aspirations, promote the common good,
conserve and develop our patrimony, and
secure to ourselves and our posterity, the
blessings of independence and democracy
under the rule of law and a regime of truth,
justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace,
do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.
Republic Act 9710: An Act Providing for the
Magna Carta of Women

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.