Women and government in the Philippines

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Women and government in the Philippines describes the trend on how women in the Philippines participate in the politics and governance of the Republic of the Philippines throughout its history. There had been a gradual increase in the number of Filipino women participating in Philippine politics, both at the local and national level. [1] Female involvement in the political environment of the Philippines was highlighted by the election of two women as President of the Philippines, namely Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Women in the Philippines

The role of women in the Philippines is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the family unit, businesses, government agencies and haciendas.

The Political history of the Philippines are chronicles which describes the history of the islands, starting from the beginning of civilization and up to the present day period.

Government of the Philippines national government of the unitary state of the Republic of the Philippines

The Government of the Philippines is the national government of the Philippines. It is governed as unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic and a constitutional republic where the President function as both the head of state and the head of government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.

Contents

Representation and integration of Filipino women in Philippine politics at the local and national levels had been made possible by legislative measures such as the following: the Local Government Code of 1991, the Party List Law, the Labor Code of 1989, the Women in Nation Building Law (Philippine Republic Act No. 7192 of 1991), the Gender and Development Budget (GAD), the 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, the Philippine Republic Act No. 7688 of 1994, the 1990 Day Care Law (Republic Act No. 6972), the 1996 Paternity Leave Act, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law (Republic Act No. 7877 of 1995), the Philippine Republic Act No. 7822 of 1995, the Philippine Republic Act No. 8353 of 1997, the Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive Development (1995-2025), and the Philippine Plan for Women which includes the Framework Plan for Women (FPW). [1]

Composition

The following percentage figures demonstrate the number of female participants from 1991 to 2001 in Philippine politics and government:

Voters, elected candidates, and appointments

There had been 76.7% of female registered voters in the 2001 elections. In 1999, the percentage of Filipino women in public service are 34.6% at the first level, 71.9% at the second level, 34.8 % at the third level, and 18.2% at the cabinet level (as heads of governmental departments). In 2001, there had been 7.7% of Filipino women in the Philippine Senate, 19.0% in the Philippine Congress, 19.5% serving as governors, 13.0% as vice-governors, 16.5% as board members, 15.6% as mayors, 12.4% as vice-mayors, 17.4% as councilors. In Philippine courts, there were 21.4% Filipino women judges in 2001. [1]

A governor is, in most cases, a public official with the power to govern the executive branch of a non-sovereign or sub-national level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and may be either appointed or elected. The power of the individual governor can vary dramatically between political systems, with some governors having only nominal or largely ceremonial power, while others having a complete control over the entire government.

The preceding figures translates that 90,714 positions (out of 354,387) had been occupied by Filipino women. Directly quoting Mylene Hega's report titled Participation of Women in Philippine Politics and Society: A Situationer written in March 2003, this means that there had been 16 Filipino female governors (out of 79), eight vice governors (out of 79), 97 board members, 16 city mayors (out of 114), nine city vice mayors (out of 114), 182 city councilors, 225 municipal mayors (out of 1,493), 144 municipal vice mayors and 1,731 councilors, 5,350 Punong Barangays or heads of barangays (out of 41,917), 64,142 Sangguniang Barangay leaders, and 18,794 Sangguniang Kabataan chairpersons. Hega further mentioned that, at those times, there were 49,173 Filipino women who were appointed as secretaries and treasures for the barangay. Out of 49,173, female barangay secretaries were at 23,983; while 25,190 were barangay treasurers. [1]

Barangay administrative division in the Philippines

A barangay or baranggay, formerly referred to as barrio, is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. In metropolitan areas, the term often refers to an inner city neighbourhood, a suburb or a suburban neighborhood. The word barangay originated from balangay, a kind of boat used by a group of Austronesian peoples when they migrated to the Philippines.

The Sangguniang Barangay known commonly as the Barangay Council, and formerly as the Rural Council and then the Barrio Council, is the legislative body of a barangay, the lowest elected government in the Philippines.

Sangguniang Kabataan

Sangguniang Kabataan, is a council meant to represent the youth in each barangay in the Philippines. It was put "on hold", but not quite abolished, prior to the 2013 barangay elections. In January 2016, the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Law was signed into law which made some significant changes to the SK and schedules new elections for October 2016.

Decision-makers and diplomats

In terms of decision-making positions and diplomatic posts, there had been 138 female Filipino diplomats, wherein 37 were ambassadors (chiefs of missions), 21 were minister-counsellors, and 80 were foreign service officers. [2] According to a Statement of the Philippine Commission on Women: On International Women's Day on March 11, 2013, Filipino women had been appointed by the Philippine president to "top strategic and non-traditional government posts" including positions such as Chief Justice, as Secretary of Justice, and as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. [3]

Philippine Commission on Women

The Philippine Commission on Women, is a government agency run by the government of the Philippines with the intention of promoting and protecting the rights of the Women in the Philippines. It was established on January 7, 1975 through Presidential Decree No. 633.

International Womens Day Holiday to recognize women globally

International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a focal point in the movement for women's rights.

Military and policing

In relation to the number of women in the Philippine military and in the Philippine police forces, 7 Filipino women had been among the 147 people who graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1995, meaning that 3.1% of the 2,658 police were females. [2]

Women were initially granted the right to serve in the Philippine military only in the reserve ranks and the technical services as part of the Women's Auxiliary Corps established in 1963. In 1993, women were granted the rights to become trained combat soldiers in the Philippine military when the Republic Act No. 7192 was passed, which granted women in the Philippines to become cadets in the Philippine Military Academy in April that year.

Philippine Military Academy

The Philippine Military Academy is the Philippine military school of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It was established on December 21, 1936 by the virtue of Commonwealth Act № 1 or the National Defense Act. The Academy is located in the city of Baguio. It is the training school for future officers of the AFP.

Labor unions

In 1993, there were 41.4% registered labor union female members in the private industry sector. From 1994 to 1996, there was about 60% registered labor union female members in the public sector. 20.7% of the registered women members in the public sector were holding positions as labor union presidents. [2]

Obstacles

Among the hindrances in participation of women in Philippine politics identified by Helga in her 2003 report include Philippine society's definition of women's role in the community. This role describes women in the Philippines as persons more appropriate for secondary roles such as being supporters of their politician husbands, become "diplomatic entertainers" for their husband's constituents, being providers of charity work and social welfare functions, their maternal role as caretakers of the next male generation of male politicians, and the access to resources for those who were elected to decision-making positions. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hega, Mylene. "Participation of Women in Philippine Politics and Society: A Situationer" (PDF). A Paper written by Mylene Hega, Secretary General of MAKALAYA (Women Workers Network) for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Philippine Office, March 2003. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Philippine Office. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "REPORT ON THE STATE OF WOMEN IN URBAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT PHILIPPINES" (PDF). Philippines Report. UNESCAP. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Statement of the Philippine Commission on Women: On International Women's Day". Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), Office of the President of the Philippines. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
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