Republic Act 9710

Magna Carta of Women

The MCW is a comprehensive women's human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination through
the recognition, protection, fulfillment and promotion of the rights of Filipino women, especially those
belonging in the marginalized sectors of the society. It conveys a framework of rights for women based directly
on international law.

The MCW establishes the Philippine government’s pledge of commitment to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women's (CEDAW) Committee in its 36th Session in 2006
and to the UN Human Rights Council on its first Universal Periodic Review in 2009. It is the local translation
of the provisions of the CEDAW, particularly in defining gender discrimination, state obligations, substantive
equality, and temporary special measures. It also recognizes human rights guaranteed by the international
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

Salient features of the law include:

 Increasing the number of women in third level positions in government to achieve a fifty-fifty (50-50)
gender balance within the next five years while the composition of women in all levels of development
planning and program implementation will be at least 40 percent;

 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;

 Non-discrimination in employment in the field of military, police and other similar services that include
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.

 Provision for equal access and elimination of discrimination in education, scholarships, and training. Thus,
"expulsion, non-readmission, prohibiting enrollment, and other related discrimination of women students
and faculty due to pregnancy out of marriage shall be outlawed.

 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;

 Equal status given to men and women on the titling of the land and issuance of stewardship contracts and
patents.

In addition to guaranteeing substantive rights, the MCW establishes the responsibility of the government to
take actions in order to end discrimination against women. It provides that the Philippines government must
"ensure the substantive equality of men and women" and mandates the State to take steps to review, amend or
repeal existing laws that are discriminatory towards women.
 The Government, in its entirety, shall fulfill these duties through the development and implementation of
laws, policies, regulatory instruments, administrative guidelines, and other appropriate measures. It shall also
establish mechanisms to promote the coherent and integrated implementation of the MCW and other related
laws and policies to effectively stop discrimination against Filipino women.

The MCW 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.

The various existing laws and policies to empower and protect women, and ensure equal rights and
opportunities for men and women, have been strengthened further with the enactment of Republic Act No.
9710, otherwise known as The Magna Carta of Women.
The 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. It was signed into
law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on August 14, 2009.
Full text of R.A. 9710 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (from the PCW website)

Salient provisions

Women’s rights are human rights - “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 8)

Equal employment opportunities

- “Within the next (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.”
(Section 9A)
- “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.” (Section 10A)
“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 9C)

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 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…
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 15)

Special leave privileges - “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 18)

Gender and development (GAD) budget - “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.” (Section 36A)