Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 7192)
The short title of Republic Act No. 7192 is the 'Women in Development and Nation Building Act.'
The Act declares that the State recognizes the role of women in nation building and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men, providing women rights and opportunities equal to that of men.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is primarily responsible for ensuring the participation of women as recipients in foreign aid, grants, and loans.
Government departments are required to ensure women benefit equally and participate directly in development programs and projects, specifically those funded under official foreign development assistance. They must review and revise regulations and procedures to remove gender bias.
NEDA, with the assistance of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, must ensure government departments formulate and prioritize rural development programs benefiting women, include assessments on women's integration, ensure active participation of women and women's organizations, collect sex-disaggregated data, design programs with proportional assistance to women, and assist women in activities critical to their self-reliance.
Women of legal age, regardless of civil status, have the capacity to act and enter into contracts equal to that of men under similar circumstances, including borrowing, obtaining loans, and entering insurance contracts.
Married women have equal rights with married men in contractual situations, including applying for passports and travel documents without the consent of their spouses.
Women shall enjoy equal access to membership in all social, civic, and recreational clubs, committees, associations, and similar organizations, and are entitled to the same rights and privileges as their spouses if they belong to the same organization.
Women shall be accorded equal opportunities for appointment, admission, training, graduation, and commissioning in all military or similar schools of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police within four academic years following the Act's approval, subject only to essential physiological adjustments.
Married persons managing household affairs full-time are entitled, upon the working spouse’s consent, to voluntary Pag-IBIG, GSIS, or SSS coverage to the extent of one-half of the working spouse’s salary, with contributions deducted from the working spouse's salary.
Government departments and agencies must submit a report to Congress within six months from the Act's effectivity and every six months thereafter on their compliance with the Act.
If any section or provision is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not affected shall continue to be in full force and effect (separability clause).
Provisions of Republic Act No. 386 (Civil Code), the Family Code (Executive Order No. 209), and all laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules, and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are repealed.
The rights of women and all provisions of this Act took effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or in two newspapers of general circulation.