CEDAW/C/PHL/7-8
of daily and weekly rest and paid annual leaves of workers in accordance with
national laws, taking into account the special characteristics of domestic work.
21. While not in the WPLA, the following were also passed during the 15th
Congress:
(a) An Act Allowing the Employment of Night Workers. Aside from
expanding their employment options, the law also provides for mandatory facilities
for night workers’ safety and protects pregnant women from discrimination on
account of their pregnancy;
(b) Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 10364), amending and
strengthening the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003; An Act Declaring
November Twenty-Five of Every Year as “National Consciousness Day for the
Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children” (RA 10398).
(c) The Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009 (RA 9995) which
makes it unlawful for a person to take a photo or a video of a sexual act or to
“capture an image of a person’s private parts under circumstances in which the
person/s has/have a reasonable expectation of privacy.” Prohibited acts under this
law are to copy or reproduce, to sell or distribute and to publish or broadcast such
coverage “notwithstanding that consent to record or take photo or video coverage of
the same was given by such person/s;” and
(d) The Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 (RA 10028), which
provides incentives to all government and private health institutions with rooming
in and breastfeeding practices, among others.
22. Despite the challenges in correcting discriminatory laws, some of which
challenge traditional belief systems and patriarchal attitudes, the State Party sustains
its efforts along this end and promotes a collaborative work, including gender
sensitizing legislators, or at least their key technical staff responsible for research
and drafting of bills, where appropriate, with concerned government institutions and
with CSOs and other stakeholders.
On discriminatory provisions under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws
23. The MCW mandates that customary laws related to marital relations shall be
respected, provided that they do not discriminate against women. In the Philippines,
this primarily affects Presidential Decree 1038 or the Code of Muslim Personal
Laws (CMPL) as it contains “discriminatory” provisions relating to early marriage,
polygamy and divorce as well as unequal inheritance rights. For example, Article 27
of the CMPL states that no Muslim male can have more than one wife unless he can
deal with them with equal companionship and just treatment as enjoined by Islamic
law and only in exceptional cases. Some Moro women clai m that men contracting
subsequent marriages often disregard these conditions. Divorce is allowed under the
CMPL, but while equal rights to divorce are given to both spouses by Articles
46-53, a Moro man is also allowed to divorce his wife for no reason at all; an option
that is not available for women.
24. The State Party through the PCW organized a consultation among Muslim
women and men to discuss ways to address the discriminatory provisions under the
CMPL. The consultation surfaced the differing opinions of both women and men on
said provisions, making it difficult to agree on measures acceptable to all. Women,
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