CEDAW/C/SR.748 (A) did the remittances sent back to the Philippines by migrant workers benefit their communities of origin, and did the Government receive a share of that money? 8. Turning to the question of abortion, she said that so-called “natural” methods of family planning could actually benefit women, insofar as they did not involve the ingestion of toxic chemicals and facilitated the involvement of men in decision-making processes. In that connection, she requested further details about the natural family planning methods used in the State party. Ms. Padilla (Philippines) said that, since the 9. Philippine Government respected the right of individuals to seek all kinds of employment, working abroad would continue to be an option. However, a comprehensive set of measures had been introduced with a view to protecting overseas workers at every stage of employment, from recruitment to repatriation. For instance, only licensed recruitment agencies were able to contract migrant workers, and such agencies were jointly and severally liable with the foreign employer. Furthermore, Philippine embassies had appointed labour attachés responsible for verifying and approving employment contracts for overseas workers, and Philippine Overseas Labour Officers were posted in countries with high concentrations of Filipino workers. Twenty Philippine resource centres had also been set up in Asia, Europe and the Middle East to provide support and training for overseas workers. The centres also served as “halfway houses” for individuals in distress. 10. Referring to the question put by the Chairperson, she said that 13 bilateral agreements on migrant workers were currently in force. Those agreements were designed to promote and protect the rights of overseas workers, and their conclusion gave the Philippine Government an opportunity to discuss relevant issues with potential host countries. 11. Ms. Yao (Philippines) said that, although globalization had had a negative impact on the labour market in the Philippines, the Government was actively encouraging companies to employ more women. President Arroyo was promoting microenterprise with a view to ensuring that women who were unable to find work elsewhere could generate some income, but under 10 per cent of the country’s female population currently benefited from such projects. The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) 06-46703 was mandated to focus on the economic empowerment of women and, to that end, had launched the GREAT Women Project, which was designed to support women’s enterprises. Partnerships between the Government, NGOs and the private sector were another effective way of promoting female employment. 12. Ms. Torres (Philippines) clarified the different types of informal work carried out by women, not always with the support of microcredit, which had initially been geared towards poor rural women. Another type of informal sector worker had emerged as part of the trend towards globalization, and was more vulnerable to exploitation: the subcontractor who made toys, garments or even electrical products in or near her home. In the Philippines such homeworkers had organized themselves into a National Network of Homeworkers, which was internationally active and supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO). One of the successes of that organization had been the enactment of a law giving homeworkers the right to social security benefits, including paid maternity leave, as stated in the country’s last report. Another kind of informal work was often taken up by women who had been displaced from the formal labour sector: direct sales, often for multinational companies. Allied to that type of work were catering, freelance sewing, selling insurance and telemarketing. It was simply not possible to have a minimum wage in a global subcontracting system with a wide variety of working conditions. Until the country’s formal economy strengthened, the informal sector would continue to provide a kind of safety net, however imperfect. 13. As to whether there was employment discrimination based on religion, Muslim women were among the country’s most active retailers. Nor was there discrimination in the extension of credit by private banks or Government agencies; on the contrary, there was often affirmative action to make better provision for minorities than for others. 14. Ms. Padilla (Philippines) hastened to correct the erroneous impression that remittances from overseas workers went to the Government: they went directly to the families of the workers, and benefited the economy only when spent by the families. The Government’s long-term goal was, of course, to enable women to stay in the Philippines, but for the moment it was forced to respect their right to work abroad and, when they chose to do so, provided the same protections that it offered 3