CEDAW/C/SR.32 English Page 6 (Mr. Moreno-Salcedo, Philippines) Implementation of that presidential directive was being closely monitored by the National Commission. 29. In an endeavour to promote participation by rural women and the urban poor in the national development effort, the National Commission had launched a special project whose main objective was to integrate women, men and young people into economic, social and cultural development through co-ordination of government and organized private efforts. The aim was to encourage women to become self-reliant through cottage industries, food production and vocational training. 30. Research, seminars and workshops were being conducted continuously by a number of organizations with a view to eliminating prejudices against women and the stereotyping of the roles of women. Some of the programmes started by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports specifically for that purpose were outlined on pages 12 to 13 of the report. 31. Despite a major effort to enhance further the status and role of Philippine women, the Civil Code still contained provisions that were discriminatory to women, particularly those concerning family law, and there was still a need to eliminate both de jure and de facto discrimination against women in the Philippines. 32. Ms. ILIC said that it would be desirable to place a document containing the information just provided orally by the representative of the Philippines in the file on the Philippines. She noted that it had not been possible for the Government of the Philippines to comply with the general guidelines regarding the form and contents of reports. 33. She was impressed by the number of proposed amendments to the legislation of the Philippines but felt in the case of Parliament Bill No. 1135, which dealt with the crime of rape under certain circumstances, that the proposed penalty was rather drastic. She would therefore appreciate further information on that matter. 34. Ms. BERNARD said that she supported the suggestion made by Ms. Ilic that the information provided orally by the representative of the Philippines should be placed in the file on the Philippines, as well as the remark made by Ms. Ilic concerning the form and content of the report. 35. She would be interested to know what measures were being taken to encourage women to fill high-level posts. She also wished to know whether boys and girls had equal opportunities in the education system and whether there was equal pay for equal work in the Philippines. It would be useful to know whether women had equal access to the courts when their marriages broke down, what the arrangements were for the custody of children and maintenance after divorce and whether there were family courts. Furthermore, she wondered whether prostitution was a problem in the Philippines and, if so, what steps were being taken to eliminate it. She would also like to know whether abortion was prohibited under the legislation of the Philippines and, if not, under what circumstances abortions could be obtained. Lastly, she wished to know whether cases of discrimination against women could be brought before the courts. I ...