|
By Nora O. Gamolo, Former Senior Desk Editor
and Columnist
The recent alleged beating of Rachel Tiongson, former live-in
partner of Deputy National Security Adviser Luis Chavit Singson,
hammers home the gains and gaps in the newly enacted Magna Carta of
Women (MCW). Feminists now ask: Will the state really use its legal
powers and force to punish the rich and powerful, including
political cronies and state functionaries, who commit crimes against
women?
This question cuts more sharply in the case of
the battered Tiongson, and Gabriela Womens party-list Rep. Liza Maza
is strongly criticizing Malacañangs soft handling of her alleged
battering done by the deputy national security adviser. Malaca–angs
soft handling of Tiongsons case itself violates Republic Act 9262,
or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act and the newly
passed Magna Carta of Women, charged Maza. She decried that Malacañangs
statement that the issue is a domestic problem and it is up for
Singson, a former Ilocos Sur governor, who is closely associated
with the Arroyo administration, if he wants to take a leave of
absence from his post feigns ignorance of the law that says any form
of violence against women in a sexual relationship is a public crime
under the MCW.
Singsons boss, National Security Adviser
Norberto Gonzales, has refused to fire or force Singson to take a
leave, a stance Filipino feminists see as a bad message for women.
Malacañangs statement urging Deputy National Security Adviser Luis
Chavit Singson to take a leave of absence condones the act of
violence against women. It is clear the Magna Carta of Women,
Chapter 3, Section 5, says that the state as the primary duty-bearer
shall protect women against discrimination and from violation of
their rights, Maza said.
Malaca–ang had said it could not just slap
Singson with a preventive suspension because the case had nothing to
do with his job in the Cabinet, and this is tantamount to washing
its hands clean of responsibility, contrary to the MCW, asserted
Maza. She noted that the MCW, and local and international laws
mandate the government to fulfill these duties through law, policy,
regulatory instruments, administrative guidelines and other
appropriate measure including temporary special measures.
Signed on August 14, the MCW is meant to be a
comprehensive law on womens human rights that is expected to
strengthen existing laws on violence against women and children,
rape, labor migration and many others.
Said National Commission on the Role of Filipino
Women Chairman Myrna Yao, [It] is a landmark law because the
Philippines will now have a national framework for the
implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women [CEDAW],
considered as the international bill of rights for women.
One prominent provision is Section 13 on equal
access and elimination of discrimination in education, scholarships
and training. The provision prohibits any school from dismissing and
expelling students who became pregnant out of wedlock. Part of
Section13 (c) reads: No school on the account of her having
contrasted pregnancy outside of marriage during her term in school.
It also provides a special leave that may extend up to two months
for women who had to undergo surgery because of gynecological
orders.
Some provisions under Section 32 on the
protection of the girl-child also mandate the equal access of Moro
and indigenous girl-children in madaris (plural of madrasa, Muslim
schools), schools of living culture and traditions, and the regular
schools as well as the development of gender-sensitive curriculum,
including legal literacy and books in any educational centers.
Yet, many feminists remain unhappy with the
process behind the MCW.
Ana Maria Nemenzo of Task Force Magna Carta
admits being disgusted and frustrated with the intervention of the
church in corrupting a secular and credible legislative process,
alleging that the Catholic hierarchy inserted terms not in the
reconciled bill of the two houses of congress, the House of
Representatives and the Senate. After a reconciled bill, which
should have been the final version was produced, a cardinal is said
to have insisted the inclusion of the word ethical in the section on
reproductive health. Section 17 (b) (3), pertaining to Comprehensive
Health Information and Education, now reads: The State shall provide
women in all sectors with appropriate, timely, complete and accurate
information and education on . . . womens health . . . with due
regard . . . to ethical, legal, safe and effective family planning.
Said feminist nongovernment organization, Isis
International, It is for this reason that some feminists have opted
to disengage with the process that it believes resulted in the
omission of a definition of gender, now regarded as a weakness in
the law, especially in appreciating gender-based violence and
discrimination. Nemenzo did not attend the signing of R.A. 9710 in
the presidential palace, though she reportedly considers the MCW a
good framework bill.
She is also known for her opposition to the
President who is touted to be unsupportive of the more crucial
reproductive health bill that remains pending in Congress. Still,
many feminists remain keen in participating in the drafting of the
laws implementing rules and regulations, or implementing mechanisms
and in pursuing other equally important womens issues.
Citing the Task Forces contribution of important
provisions to the Magna Carta of Women, Nemenzo has remarked, One
can still do something [in enriching the law].
The MCW is expected to promote the economic
rights and well-being of women, especially those in the marginalized
sectors, it ensures they will be given equal rights in food security
and resources for food production that include the titling of land
and issuance of stewardship contracts and patents.
It mandates that women will also be given equal
opportunities for employment, livelihood, credit, capital and
technology as well as in skills training and scholarships including
those for women migrant workers.
Marginalized sectors are those who belong to the
disadvantaged or vulnerable groups who live in poverty and have no
access to basic social and economic services such as health care,
education, water and sanitation, employment, housing, physical
infrastructure and the justice system.
The law now mandates government financing and
credit agencies to step up their micro-finance programs so that they
can lend more money to women, especially those in the rural areas,
who want to go into small businesses or livelihood projects.
Filipino women are known for their entrepreneurial ways, and the
womens sector is one of the heralded pillars of the economy.
MCW also provides an opportunity for a stronger
state agency, since the NCRFW, to be renamed as the Philippine
Commission on Women (PCW), is now coordinating with the Commission
on Human Rights and other concerned departments and agencies,
nongovernment organizations, civil society groups and
representatives from both houses of Congress in formulating the MCWs
implementing rules and regulations.
The enactment into law of MCW is just a step in
the legislative mill concerning women. There remains important tasks
for advocates, like ensuring that other laws like the Family Code,
the Civil Code and the Revised Penal Code would now be revised to
ensure womens fullest protection under the law.
This was the main gist of the review conducted
in 2006 by a committee of the United Nations (UN) on the Philippines
compliance with the CEDAW.
For one, many have pointed out that there are
existing discriminatory provisions of the Code of Muslim Personal
Laws, permitting marriage of girls under 18, polygamy and arranged
marriages. These are accepted cultural practices that have been
decried as subverting womens rights, based on local and
international legal standards.
Feminists have long decried that the Philippine
government had long been remiss in its mandated task under the CEDAW
to undertake a systematic review of all legislation and their
loopholes and weaknesses, and initiate all necessary revisions to
achieve full compliance with CEDAWs provisions.
The country still needs to increase awareness of
all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence,
marital rape and incest, and the unacceptability of all such
violence. The CEDAW Review Committee recommended that the Anti-Rape
Law of 1997 be reassessed, and its provision pertaining to the
extinguishing of the criminal action be repealed.
The government should enhance data collection on
various forms of violence against women, especially domestic
violence. It should also conduct research on the prevalence, causes
and consequences of domestic violence to serve as basis for its
targeted interventions.
The last-mentioned is now a particularly sour
point for both Filipino women and the Philippine government, as
shown in the dramatic case of the brutalized Rachel Tiongson.
Said Emmi de Jesus, Gabriela Womens Alliance
secretary-general, Ultimately, womens collective action to be
vigilant on guarding the governments implementation of the law will
determine its success in advancing and uplifting womens rights and
welfare.
|
