CEDAW/C/SR.1405
The meeting was called to order at 10.05 a.m.
Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the
Convention
Combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of the Philippines
(CEDAW/C/PHL/7-8; CEDAW/C/PHL/Q/7-8 and Add.1)
1.
At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of the Philippines took places at the
Committee table.
2.
Ms. Rebong (Philippines) said that the Philippines had consistently been ranked
among the top 10 countries for gender equality in the Global Gender Gap Index during the
previous 10 years. In the previous six years, the Government had promoted gender equality
in all areas of life, leading to a significant improvement in the empowerment of women,
who were now well represented in the public and private sectors; the Supreme Court, Public
Attorney’s Office and Civil Service Commission, among others, were headed by women.
3.
The Convention was implemented through the Magna Carta of Women, which was
incorporated into public policies and programmes through the Women’s Empowerment,
Development and Gender Equality Plan for the period 2013-2016, under which local and
national agencies were required to devise gender development plans and allocate at least 5
per cent of their budget to implementing them.
4.
Gender and development principles were being included in curricula at various
levels of the education system, and public colleges and universities gave training in gender
sensitivity. The Commission on Higher Education had called on all higher education
establishments to include the gender perspective in their teaching, and Committees on
Decorum and Investigation had been set up to combat sexual harassment. The updated
guidelines on monitoring and evaluation procedures issued by the Commission on Human
Rights of the Philippines extended to persons with diverse sexual orientations, gender
identities and expressions of gender.
5.
The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law prioritized reproductive
health-care services for women and facilitated access to them for rural, indigenous and
Muslim women and women with disabilities. Employment opportunities and conditions for
women had been improved through the Domestic Workers’ Law and the repeal of the
prohibition of night work for women. The “JobStart” employment programme, one of
whose priority groups was young women, had been rolled out nationwide.
6.
Efforts to combat trafficking in persons had been bolstered through the Expanded
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and increased support for the Inter-Agency Council against
Trafficking. Since 2005, 238 persons had been convicted of trafficking in the Philippines.
The country had recently been upgraded to tier 1 in the United States Department of State
Trafficking in Persons Report, the highest ranking for efforts to comply with minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking, and had been ranked first in Asia in the Walk
Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index. The Philippines had acted as the lead country on
trafficking in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and had signed the
ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
7.
It was expected that legislation to combat the mail-order spouses industry, prevent
age discrimination in the workplace and provide sign language interpreters in the legal
system would be adopted soon. A holistic view was taken of matters relating to indigenous
persons. Women participated in, and indeed led, many of the peace processes in the country,
and the national action plan that was required under Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)
on women, peace and security was being implemented. Women were the main recipients of
conditional cash transfers, which were aimed at ensuring their children’s welfare. Couples
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