Quezon City (8 August) -- The Philippine Government is scheduled to present its combined 5th and 6th periodic report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) during the 36th session of the CEDAW Committee at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 7 to 25 August 2006.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Esperanza Cabral will head the Philippine Delegation, with National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) Chairperson Myrna Yao as co-head, and Commissioners Amaryllis Torres and Evelyn Dunuan, Exec. Dir. Emmeline Verzosa, DOH Usec. Ethelyn Nieto, DOLE Usec. Luzviminda Padilla and CEDAW expert and former NCRFW Chairperson Aurora de Dios as members.
Among the key issues on the 5th and 6th report are as follows: adoption of a policy creating safe and protected jobs for women; information and support services to women overseas workers; sex disaggregation of data and measuring the effects of government policies and programs; gender discrimination of laws on prostitution and alternative job opportunities for women; violence against women; reproductive and sexual health services for all women in all regions; and the need to increase the participation of women in political and public life.
In preparation for the event, the NCRFW held an orientation briefing with CEDAW Chairperson Amb. Rosario G. Manalo, for the members of the delegation last July 6. A mock session for CEDAW reporting is also scheduled on July 21.
Some of the notable gains achieved during the reporting period (1996 to 2004) include the passage of the following laws to address violence against women and related discrimination:
The Philippines as signatory to the Convention reports to CEDAW every four years on the various measures it has undertaken to ensure that women enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Noteworthy is the fact that the first draft of the CEDAW Convention that made discrimination against women a human rights issue came from the Philippines through the efforts of former Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani. To date, four Filipino women have served in the CEDAW Committee as follows: Justice Irene Cortes, Teresita Quintos-Deles, Aurora Javate – de Dios, and Ambassador Rosario Manalo, who is the current Chairperson of the CEDAW Committee.
NCRFW presents CEDAW to the Cabinet
As part of the heightened advocacy on CEDAW during Women's Month celebration, the NCRFW presented the questions raised on the 5th and 6th CEDAW Philippine Progress Report, in the Cabinet Meeting held last March 28.
Based on the gaps identified by NCRFW for the effective implementation of the Women's Convention, the President and her Cabinet committed among others, to prioritize a bill to repeal the Labor Code's prohibition of night work for women workers. The Heads of Department of Justice and the Philippine National Police were tasked to take necessary measures to respond to the need to develop a harmonized documentation system for assessing existing policies and programs on Violence against Women (VAW). The President also said that she would certify the Magna Carta for Women Bill as urgent. On another note, the President applauded the GREAT Women Project, which is focused on women in microenterprise development. (NCRFW)
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