CEDAW/C/SR.327 English Page 3 6. Ms. NICOLAS (Philippines), introducing the third and fourth periodic reports of the Philippines (CEDAW/C/PHI/1 and CEDAW/C/PHI/4), said that the reports and the answers to the Committee’s questions were the product of the collaborative effort of government organizations and non-governmental organizations. She wished to draw the Committee’s attention to two recent developments in her country. The first was the passing by the Senate of an anti-rape bill, which was now under consideration by the bicameral committee to harmonize the versions of the Senate and the House of Representatives. By the end of the first quarter of 1997, her country should have an anti-rape law. The second development, consistent with the Committee’s General Recommendation No. 17, concerned the meeting by the heads of all government statistical agencies to set up the parameters for research on how to measure and value the unremunerated work of women. 7. In spite of her country’s remarkable economic recovery, most women, particularly rural women, bore a disproportionate burden of poverty. That was reflected in the continuing feminization of overseas employment: in 1994, 60 per cent of Filipino workers going abroad were women. Women’s poverty remained a continuing concern of her Government. The fact that the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women had gained access to the Social Reform Council would enable the Commission to champion women’s concerns in the framework of the implementation of the Government’s anti-poverty strategy. The aim of the social reform agenda was to address the inequitable distribution of economic gains and to devise safety nets for the disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors, including women. 8. Under the 1996 and 1997 General Appropriations Act, government agencies were mandated to allocate 5 per cent of their regular budget for the implementation of gender and development programmes and projects. In 1996, the biggest share, 1.4 billion Philippine pesos, went to direct services and programmes in such areas as women’s health, education and credit facilities. The second largest share, 86.4 million Philippine pesos, was spent on research supporting the formulation and review of gender-responsive policies and plans. 9. Her Government had also set aside at least 20 per cent of the national budget for social programmes and services which ultimately benefited women. Already 31 per cent of the 1996 national budget had been allocated to such programmes and services as education, welfare and employment. 10. As far as the situation of Philippine migrant women workers was concerned, although the Government had repeatedly declared that labour migration was not its long-term policy, it had had to take measures that would respond to the pressing needs and problems of workers overseas, especially women. In 1995, the Government had adopted the Magna Carta for Migrant Workers, providing among other things, legal counselling and welfare assistance for returning overseas workers. The Department of Labour was conducting a study on the migration of women workers and the psycho-social impact of such migration on their families. It had also issued a policy to protect female household workers and performing artists deployed overseas. Given the dimension and seriousness of the problem, until the Philippines reached a satisfactory level of economic prosperity, the measures taken to protect the rights of women, especially those in extreme poverty and those working overseas, would be inadequate. / ...