Overview
The Philippines has been lauded as one of the countries where women enjoy a good latitude of
freedom to exercise their rights. The 2017 Gender Global Gap of the World Economic Forum, for
instance, ranked the country 10th out of 144 countries in terms of the women’s status, relative to
men, in in the areas of health, economics, education and politics. The 2016 UNDP Gender
Development Index, which takes into consideration the overall human development situation in the
country when it assesses the status of women as regards lifespan, per capita income and literacy,
placed the country in the medium development category, while its Gender Inequality Index (GDI),
which takes note of women’s status as regards reproductive health, empowerment and economic
activity, ranked the Philippines 96th out of 155 countries.
As noteworthy as these global rankings are, a caveat to their appreciation is that they are limited in
their representation of the realities of Filipino women. At most they can represent a national trend; a
critical detail missing in the picture is the nuanced experiences of diverse groups of women across
income, social status, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identities, among others.
Particular to reproductive health, the global indices often feature only maternal health mortality
indicators, which do not capture the quality of life of women throughout their lifespan, and within
their specific and intersectional identities and contexts, that have a direct and indirect effect on their
choices and opportunities to attain the highest standard of reproductive health.
Reproductve health is an important dimension of general well-being of people as it reflects their
state of health in infancy and childhood; it becomes a critical aspect of their health in adolescence
and (for women) in their child-bearing years; and it sets the foundations for the health of the next
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generation. The Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and
Development (1994) defined reproductive health as, “a state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and...not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to
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the reproductive system and its functions and processes at all stages of life.” Further, the document
states: “reproductive health ... implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and
that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do
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so.”
This definition was guided the provisions of the Magna Carta of Women (2009) on women’s health.
It was adopted en toto in the Republic Act 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive
Health Law of 2012 (hereinafter referred to as the RH Law) which defined RH as:
Reproductive Health (RH) refers to the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to
its functions and processes. This implies that people are able to have a responsible, safe, consensual
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Guidelines on Reproductive Health (n.d.) UN Population Information Network.
International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action (1994)
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Prior to the ICPD, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
referred to women’s reproductive health when it enjoins States Parties to take appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination of women in the field of health, citing specifically health care services related to family planning,
pregnancy, confinement and post-natal interventions (Article 12). The UN CEDAW however did not explicitly define
reproductive health.
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RH Situationer: Phlippines (November 2017)