XIII, Section 11) and the promotion of women’s rights and welfare in productive work (Article XIII, Section 14). Legislative and legal actions pushed forward a more progressive stance on various forms of gender-based discrimination that barred women’s full participation in the public sphere, particularly, violence against women. Notable in this regard are the laws against sexual harassment (R.A. 7877), rape (R.A. 8353 and 8505), human trafficking (R.A. 9208), abuse of women in intimate relationships (R.A. 9262), and cyber crime which includes violence against women through digital means (R.A. 10175). The Reproductive Health Law (R.A. 10354) also offered protection of women’s sexual rights through widening their access to reproductive and sexual health information, services and products, and establishing penalties for violations thereof. The Women in Nation-Building Act (R.A. 7192) paved the way for the annual enactment of a GAD Budget in all government agencies, as well as gender mainstreaming as an approach to achieving gender equality. There are also Local Government Code (R.A. 7160) and the Party List Act (R.A. 7941) which specified women as a marginalized sector that should be represented in local development councils, and in Congress, respectively. These laws are in addition to the other national laws which have specific provisions for women’s empowerment and protection of their human rights, such as the Migrant Workers Act (R.A. 8042) and Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (R.A. 8371). A landmark legislation in the country is the Magna Carta of Women which was enacted in 2009. It is a comprehensive law which lays down the State policy on gender equality and women’s human rights. Sections 2 (Declaration of Policy), 3 (Principles of Human Rights of Women), and 4 (Definition of Terms) are clearly imbued with human rights language, and adopts from the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) ideas such as discrimination on the basis of sex and other identities, substantive equality, affirmative action and establishment of temporary special measures, among others. The Magna Carta also emphasized the rights of marginalized groups of women under the following themes (Chapter V, Section 20-29): food security; housing; decent work; livelihood, credit, capital and technology; education and training; participation and representation; information; social protection; cultural identity and integrity; and peace and development.7 Legislation on gender equality has gained ground in recent years. Some of the notable laws enacted in the current administration included the Expanded Maternity Leave Law (R.A. 11210), and the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act (R.A. 11313) in 2019. The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (or more popularly called the RH Law) also stood on firmer ground with Executive Order No. 12 s.2017, which ordered the full implementation of the said policy to meet the needs of Filipino families for modern family Amparo Miciano / PKKK presentation, “Muling Pagbisita sa mga Karapatan ng Kababaihan sa Ika-10 na Taon ng Magna Carta of Women”, at the Leadership, Representation and Gender Justice: A Caucus on Women’s Legislative and Political Agenda for the 18th Congress, Quezon City, 02-03 December 2019. 7