Question & AnswerQ&A (BSP CIRCULAR NO. 857)
Republic Act No. 9710 shall be known as "The Magna Carta of Women."
The State affirms the role of women in nation building and ensures substantive equality of women and men, promotes empowerment of women, pursues equal opportunities, and condemns discrimination against women in all forms.
It refers to any gender-based distinction, exclusion, or restriction impairing or nullifying women's rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of marital status, including laws, policies, or practices that exclude or restrict women compared to men.
It refers to the availability and accessibility of opportunities, services, and observance of human rights enabling women to actively participate and contribute to political, economic, social, and cultural development, and have equal access to resources and benefits in family, community, and society.
Marginalized refers to disadvantaged or vulnerable groups, mostly living in poverty with limited access to resources and services, including small farmers, fisherfolk, urban poor, workers in the formal and informal economy, migrant workers, indigenous peoples, Moro, children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents.
The State must refrain from discrimination, protect women against discrimination and rights violations by others, promote and fulfill women's rights through laws, policies, and measures including temporary special measures, and coordinate efforts to stop discrimination and advance women's rights.
The State ensures protection from all forms of violence, prioritizes defense and justice for victims of gender-based offenses, increases recruitment of women in related agencies, protects women in armed conflict, mandates training on human rights and gender sensitivity for officials, and establishes Violence Against Women's Desks in barangays.
Temporary special measures are mandated to accelerate women's participation and equitable representation, including increasing women in third-level government positions to 50%, ensuring 40% women membership in development councils, representation in policy-making bodies, international representation, political party integration, and encouragement of women leadership in the private sector.
The State shall ensure gender stereotypes are revised in educational materials, promote gender-sensitive language, provide capacity-building for educators on gender and development, encourage enrollment of women in nontraditional skills training, and prohibit expulsion or denial of admission to female students due to pregnancy outside of marriage.
Women employees who have rendered at least six months of continuous aggregate employment within the last 12 months are entitled to a special leave benefit of two months with full pay following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.
The State guarantees non-discrimination in marriage and family matters, including free consent in marriage, equal personal rights between spouses, joint decision on children spacing, equal rights to ownership and inheritance of property, and that marriage or change in nationality by one spouse does not automatically affect the other's nationality.
Violations by government agencies may lead to administrative sanctions recommended to the Civil Service Commission or Department of the Interior and Local Government; private entities or individuals may be liable for damages. Filing a complaint does not preclude other legal remedies. Aggravating penalties apply if violations are committed by State agents, including extrajudicial killings or torture.
The PCW is the primary policy-making and coordinating body on women and gender equality concerns, monitors implementation of the Act, directs government agencies to report and respond, leads capacity building, reports to the President, and revises structure to effectively implement the law.
All government agencies and instrumentalities shall adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy, establish or strengthen Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point Systems, conduct gender audits and analysis, integrate gender-responsive programs, allocate a minimum of five percent of their budgets for GAD, maintain gender statistics databases, and be subject to monitoring and audit by the Commission on Audit.