As delivered private sectors. Filipino women head the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the Ombudsman, the Peace Process Office, the Labor and Employment, the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue, the Human Rights Commission, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the Public Attorney’s Office, and the Civil Service Commission. Other offices, such as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, the Overseas Employment and Workers Welfare Boards and local legislative bodies require women participation. Madam Chair, In 2009, the Philippines achieved a milestone in women’s rights advocacy with the enactment of the Magna Carta of Women, which applies the CEDAW in Philippine affairs. This comprehensive piece of legislation specifies, among others, the rights of marginalized women, including a definition of discrimination, direct and indirect. It also establishes institutional mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the Convention. To ensure that the Magna Carta of Women is mainstreamed in Philippine policies and programs, the State crafted the Women’s Empowerment, Development and Gender Equality Plan, or, we call it, the Women’s EDGE Plan 2013-2016, which is part of the State’s 30-year Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive Development (1995-2025). The Women’s EDGE Plan covers appropriate programs and projects that address gender equality, women’s empowerment and their human rights. It also Page 4 of 16