CEDAW/C/SR.748 (A) Government had prepared modules to help women assert their rights and to enlighten husbands. As to why abortion had not been decriminalized, she explained that, under the Philippine Constitution, the unborn child, as well as the mother, had rights. The Government therefore preferred to focus on prevention. In that regard, it had designed a youth policy and prepared modules aimed at making couples more responsible. 29. Ms. Torres (Philippines) said that, as a result of advocacy by women’s groups and women in academia, land transfer certificates could now be issued in a woman’s name. Previously, all such certificates had been issued in a man’s name. However, women were sometimes reluctant to be registered as property owners. The Government was aware that more advocacy was required in that regard. 30. In response to the question on sex-disaggregated data at the barangay level, she said that local governments were being given a considerable amount of technical advice. The national machinery was also pushing for sex-disaggregated data to be included in the local government performance management system. Such data should also boost progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. 31. Regarding access to microcredit, she acknowledged that women did indeed receive only survival-level funds. However, the Government had set up credit assistance programmes aimed at giving women access to enough capital to become competitive. A number of local governments were implementing such programmes. There had also been some dramatic cases of women vendors becoming multimillionaires. However, success would depend not only on whether the Government provided avenues for progress; it would also depend on the talents and persistence of women. 32. Ms. Yao (Philippines) said that the Government was committed to improving the plight of rural women, who could receive credit under a number of targeted programmes. The Government was also committed to promoting asset reform, greater participation of women in governance, freedom from violence and social protection. Thousands of women had benefited from microfinance projects and an empowerment and self-employment project aimed specifically at women. Trade fairs and inter-agency meetings had been organized. The number of beneficiaries of 6 microfinance in the poorest provinces had gone up from 86,000 in 2004 to over 114,000 in 2005. She did not have data for 2006. Other initiatives included rural improvement clubs, the Home Economic Extension Programme, an all-woman dairy cooperative project and post-harvest technology demonstration centres. In short, there were many initiatives for rural and indigenous women. 33. Ms. Dunuan (Philippines) said that, as of June 2006, certificates of ancestral domain titles totalling over 800,000 hectares and over 200,000 beneficiaries had been approved and awarded to 44 indigenous tribes or communities. In addition, certificates of ancestral land titles totalling over 4,000 hectares had been awarded to 116 families, clans or individuals. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) had already surveyed over 700,000 hectares for ancestral domain claims and over 400 hectares for private ancestral land titles. Surveys were ongoing for over 700,000 hectares, while over 900,000 hectares were being prepared for survey and delineation. In total, 2.5 million hectares’ worth of claims were currently being processed. 34. For too long, the indigenous people of the Philippines had been sacrificed on the altar of so-called development. She admitted that, as a member of an indigenous community, she had been disappointed by the revival of the mining industry. However, since the Constitution called for a balancing of interests, it was a reality with which indigenous people had to contend. At the insistence of NCIP, the national policy agenda on revitalizing mining in the Philippines, as set out in Executive Order No. 270, had at least been amended to take account of the rights of indigenous communities. Now, before any development programme could be implemented in an ancestral domain, the written consent of the community concerned must be obtained first. In the event that a community gave its consent, the Government was responsible for managing the project and ensuring that the community benefited from it. 35. Ms. Cabral (Philippines) said that there was no excuse for the political murders referred to by Ms. Simms. The President had called for an immediate investigation and promised that the perpetrators would be punished, even if they were members of the police force or the military. 06-46703