N e w s
|
N e w s |
Half of People Power are
women
A Term Report (1992-1998) by Imelda M.
Nicolas
Chair, National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW)
February 26, 1999, Asian Center, University of the Philippines
 |
|
| Ms. Imelda Nicolas (left) receiving the UKP award from Ms. Daphne D. Roxas. |
AFTER more than a decade in government service, I am now back where I started, ready to resume my place in civil society. These twelve years in government were exhilarating, enlightening years for me, fulfilling as well as humbling.
Government may appear to be that monolithic, humongus behemoth of an institution, with its own foreign language and alien culture, sometimes forgetting that people is its reason for being.
But I have witnessed too the awesome power of government used for the good of its constituents. I have seen how it can lay down the foundation that would change the essence and substance of our lives and the generations to come. I have observed how it can reverse the insidious, ill effects of policies and programs unwisely put in place by previous administrations.
Thus, for us, gender advocates who became part of the bureaucracy, in order to succeed in behalf of our clients, the Filipino women, we had to learn how to navigate through the bureaucratic maze, learn their language, establish beachheads in strategic government agencies, identify and recruit allies throughout the organization, to eventually reach a critical mass who could infiltrate the body politic with the good virus of GAD (Gender and Development).
And just like in any process of change, powerful catalysts had to be found to set things in motion.
I am heartened to note that during the five years that I was a member of the Board of Commissioners (1987-1992), under the leadership of then Chair Patricia Licuanan, and the six years that I was Chair (1992-1998) of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), we had several critical elements on our side.
Both Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos played pivotal roles in moving GAD forward, to bring it to the front and center of the government's agenda. It is an understatement but, a push from the bureaucracy' s top official, namely, the President, towards this goal, was decisive.
A second source of strength and inspiration and at the same time a prod for us to stay on track, were our sisters in the movement, in the academe, our partners and fellow advocates, both in and out of government. They were there when we needed them, whether for consultation or advice, whether for critical collaboration or outright support, for reactions that were honest as they were wise.
In appreciation for and in behalf of these GAD catalysts, I am pleased to present by way of a term report, the Commission's summary of accomplishments during my watch. These achievements are really very much theirs, and yours, as they are ours.
During this past decade, we were able to make government acknowledge that gender issues are not only the so-called "soft" issues of education, health, social welfare but all those that confront the nation, from economic to political, from urban to rural development, from the global arena to the barrios.
Through a directive of President Ramos, the women's agenda was made a key result area in government agencies' annual performance reports to the President. This was just one of the tools we discovered and used to accomplish the mission we set for our term: "to make government work for gender equality."
 |
|
| Mary Grace Tirona (center) receiving the award from Civil Service Commission Chair Corazon Alma de Leon and NCRFW Commissioner Esther Vibal. |
We have gone a long way in making the bureaucracy recognize that gender must become a crosscutting theme in its day-to-day, minutiae of governance. This covers the gamut of policy formulation, planning and implementation of programs and projects, the allocation of resources and the evaluation and monitoring of programs particularly with respect to their impact on people, sometimes different for women and men.
It is with a certain pride that I report to you now, that GAD mainstreaming, introduced during the term of President Aquino, was maintained and enhanced during the Ramos administration. Let me highlight a few concrete milestones in advancing GAD mainstreaming during our term as Chair:
Adoption of the Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive Development, 1995-2025 (or PPGD). This is the government's thirty-year blueprint of policies, programs, projects and strategies wherein women, are both major participants and beneficiaries in national development. Why this "Mother of All Plans", you may ask? We, at the Commission, saw it fitting and strategic that PPGD extends well into the next millennium, conscious of the reality that it will take an entire generation to root out the systemic inequality now existing between women and men and at the same time, transform the hearts and minds of people, from the highest echelon of government to the hinterlands of our communities, to finally accept and actualize in their lives, in their relationships, the principle that women and men are equal.
Inclusion, since 1996, of the so-called GAD or WOMEN' S BUDGET as a section in the General Appropriations Act (GAA, or more commonly known as the government's budget). This directs all government agencies to allocate five percent of their annual budgets to address gender issues. I have always said that government must put its money where its mouth is. In more elegant terms, "The Women's Budget Report" (1995-1996) stated that "the most reliable measure of government's political will to respond to women's concerns is … how much it spends on them."
The latest 1997 GAD Budget reports are very encouraging. The number of reporting agencies rose to 71, "more than twice the combined figures for 1995 and 1996, which were 19 and 15, respectively." GAD Budget appropriations increased to P2.93 Billion, almost double the P1.5 Billion reported in 1996. Although the largest share of the GAD Budget still went to women-specific projects (P1.35 Billion or 48.6 percent), a close second (P1.21 Billion or 43.2 percent) was allocated to gender mainstreaming or the integration of GAD into key programs, projects and services. This was a big jump from that of previous year.
Integration of women's concerns into the Social Reform Agenda (SRA), President Ramos' centerpiece program to address the problems of marginalized members of society. Agencies were directed to launch a "Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services" to meet the needs of women in impoverished communities. To name a few of these programs are those designed to expand economic opportunities for women, measures to counteract violence against them and the setting up of day-care centers.
Violence Against Women (VAW) was recognized as a social development issue. Women's groups and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO' s) moved to the forefront of the struggle to sensitize the public to the nature, prevalence and pervasiveness of these crimes.
The NCRFW shifted into high gear to get the government to put in place policies and measures to deal with VAW. In the absence of an existing law specifically dealing with domestic violence, President Ramos signed, in consultation with all the agencies, a Directive to respond to the problem of domestic violence in the bureaucracy including the local governments.
With the persistent and intense lobbying of women NGO's and in answer to the experiences of the women victims themselves, Congress enacted new laws. Among them was a landmark Anti-Rape Law, its companion law, the Act of Providing Assistance and Protection to Rape Victims, and the Family Court Act, which covers cases of domestic violence. The Philippine National Police set up women's desks in their precincts, staffed by police officers (mostly policewomen) who themselves had undergone sensitivity training.
The Department of Health began a pilot project, with the involvement of the East Avenue Medical Center and the Women's Crisis Center, an NGO, to develop a model for a crisis center to be based in government hospitals.
In the Executive Branch, a deliberate effort was mounted to have women represented in all decision-making bodies. The Department of Interior and Local Governments issued an administrative order stipulating a 30 per cent representation by women in all barangay assemblies, and in all mandatory consultations within local governments and in the national government.
In the Lower House of Congress, a party-list representation was implemented, as provided in the Constitution. It allowed under-represented sectors -- including women -- to elect their parties to Congress. At the moment, one of our women representatives, voted through this party list system, is now a member of Congress and was appointed as chair of the Committee on Women and Family Relations, Congresswoman Patricia Sarenas.
The Migrant Workers Act was enacted and adopted. It provided for higher standards of protection for, and the promotion of the welfare of migrant workers -- 60 per cent of whom are women -- and their families. The Law provides, among other things, for livelihood programs for returning overseas workers, legal counseling and welfare assistance, and support services for victims of trafficking and sexual abuses.
Under President Aquino, "focal points" were established, defined as the "basic machinery for integrating gender concerns into policies, programs and projects of government agencies."
But "machinery" needs oil, tools, supporting and enabling mechanisms, constant strengthening and capability building. Allow me to name some of these mechanisms now in place in our government:
 |
|
| Mary Grace Tirona delivering the paper. |
Training of the bureaucracy. With the adoption of the Philippine Development Plan for Women (PDPW), the predecessor of the PPGD, in 1989, NCRFW was faced with the task of undertaking "massive consciousness raising and technical training for people in government." The training design, eventually developed by the Commission, now covers gender analysis and gender sensitivity modules, gender-responsive planning and more customized modules to fit the specific culture, systems and situations of the different agencies undertaking the training.
Again, given its mandate, its limited resources and its decision not to become a "GAD training academy", NCRFW, under my term, started to transfer its training technology (from framework to methodologies) and lessons learned, along the way. The Development Academy of the Philippines, the different training institutes of agencies and a growing and highly capable and motivated network of gender trainers, women and men, both in and out of government are recipients as well as co-designers of this Philippine-adopted training technology.
Gender-responsive Statistical System. Whether we like or not, people who make policies, end up any presentation of situation and problem with the questions, "What is the dimension of the problem? Where is your data to prove your point? What are your benchmark figures to base the impact of your proposed intervention? What is the bottom line?" We felt that data is what will concretize GAD in the eyes of government bureaucrats. And so, in 1989, then NCRFW Executive Director Remmy Rikken sought out what she called "the statistics sorority", which became the "Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Statistics." A program of action labeled "The Development of a Philippine Data on Women Indicators and Statistics" and the first edition on "Statistics on Filipino Women" were just a few of the outputs of this exciting initiative.
In 1992, NCRFW and ADB entered into a "Technical Assistance Agreement for the Development of Sex-Disaggregated Data Base System" which aims, among others, to assess available data sources and gaps, compile and computerize statistics from census, surveys and other administrative reports.
Meanwhile, the National Census and Statistics Board, the policy making body for all the statistical agencies of government, decided in 1997 to undertake several trail-blazing researches which include studying ways and means of "valuing" unpaid women's labor for inclusion in the national statistical system and recommendations for research modules in gathering data on crimes of violence against women.
Devolution of GAD in the Regions. As many of you may know, gender mainstreaming in the regions is in its infancy stage. I mention it, however, to bring home the fact that NCRFW is very much aware that our efforts will be for naught, if at the end of the day, its effects will not be felt by the majority of our people, the women and men who live in our towns and barrios, by our farmers and fisherfolks, by our indigenous and upland communities.
Thus, baby steps toward devolution of GAD in the regions began with pilot programs in Regions 1, 8 and 10. Modest they may be but they are still gains to be proud of as we report some visible output of these pilot projects: from more appropriate gender training modules to a regional pool of trainers to the beginning of a gender database.
Under President Ramos' administration the Commission, with Executive Director Tessam Castillo in charge of day-to-day operations, took on itself the full-time task of making government THINK WOMEN in all its processes and activities.
Along the way, it gained a new confidence in claiming its role as the leading authority on gender concerns in the bureaucracy. It has evolved into a dynamic, proactive organization with a clear mission, equipped with an equally clear vision of its short and long-term goals. Its foundation is
strong because it is built on its unswerving commitment to the aspirations of the Filipino women for equality, development, and peace.
Today, however, as the immediate past Chair of the Commission, I cannot but be concerned about it.
Under President Aquino, NCRFW opened its portals to nonpartisan, non-political women's organizations and NGO's. During President Ramos' term, we opened the gate even much wider to more and diverse groups.
They were actively involved in selecting who among their ranks would be appointed as members of the Board of Commissioners. The result was a list submitted to the President that tried to be representative of the different sectors of society. Many of those appointed were respected leaders of the women's movement, many had made valuable contributions to the Cause, had a solid grasp
of sectoral issues and concerns. Undeniably, although there were some purely political appointees in the Board constituted both under Presidents Aquino and Ramos, I could honestly say, however, that they were more the exceptions rather than the rule.
It is therefore with trepidation that I observe the appointment and composition of the present Board.
First, there was the lack of consultation or any kind of process for input from the NGO's for the appointments of the commissioners.
Second, the majority of those appointed do not have a clue what NCRFW is all about. They do not know the issues of the sectors they are supposed to represent, and one or two have already expressed their negative attitudes towards "gender" in general and "gender mainstreaming", in particular.
Not everything, however, is doom and gloom in the present scenario. Dr. Amylou Benitez Reyes, the new NCRFW Chair, has supported the Management Committee's recommendation to maintain gender mainstreaming's central role in the Commission's mission; she accepts it to be the linchpin in government with which to win equality and development for women.
The other key element that seems to be lacking at present is the interest of supposedly NCRFW's main supporter, the President. After nine months in office, President Erap Estrada has not met with the Board, his administration has not articulated its women's agenda and has not come up with a detailed plan of action. A case of "benign neglect"?
Faced with this reality, the Commission must place the highest priority of consciousness raising and gender sensitizing in the Office of the President itself, beginning with the top leader himself and the NCRFW Board.
In spite of what NCRFW has achieved in this decade, gender mainstreaming, especially in the regions, is still in different levels of vulnerability and development.
The history of NCRFW (covering its birth till the end of my term), written by Jurgette Honculada and Inday Ofreneo, and available to the public soon, sums up the ingredients that make up a successful gender mainstreaming effort, whether it is the women's budget or gender-responsive planning, whether it is gender-based statistical system or gender mainstreaming in the line agencies.
First is determined and consistent advocacy ….
Second is a set of favorable laws and policies which can provide a clear mandate and a measurable target.
Third is the issuance of detailed explanations and guidelines that anticipate and clarify all possible questions, and illustrate the methods and procedures by which the relevant laws and policies can be realistically implemented.
Fourth is the technical competence and assistance that can enable agencies to come up with their own GAD plans and accompanying budgets.
Fifth is the evaluation and monitoring system to periodically and regularly assess compliance with these laws and policies."
All of these prove that we must remain vigilant if we are to claim gender equality in government as our legacy to the next generation. We owe it to our women martyrs who have shed their blood for us, from Gabriela Silang to Lorena Barros. The memories of our fellow advocates who toiled long and hard for the Women's Cause, but have gone ahead of us, from Aida Lava to Adul de Leon, do not allow us to rest on our laurels.
The years and days that led to People Power were heady, dramatic days. Someone has said that revolution is poetry while governing is prose.
That is where we are now at this stage of our struggle, and we just have to carry on.
In closing, allow me to quote from the Commission's term report (1992 to 1998) published June, 1998:
"The assumption to office of a new President is generally regarded as a new beginning for government. Though this is not a tabula rasa situation where everything will start on a clean slate, it nevertheless presents another opportunity to sustain the gains and close the gaps of the past, and carry out new initiatives for a more improved future. The true wealth of a country is its people, both women and men. No nation can claim that it has achieved progress if half of its population is lower in status than the other half. Development, if not engendered, is endangered. This is a basic truth that the new President of the Philippines must realize and affirm through his actions for women during his administration."
We were really fortunate that we served under two Presidents who believed in the same things that we do. It is my fervent hope that the new Chair and Commissioners of the NCRFW will eventually have the same opportunity.
On a more uplifting note, let me end with a quote I have always kept on my bulletin board, wherever I may be: "The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives - and the dream shall never die."
| HOME | NEWS | STATUS | AGENDA & ISSUES | HERSTORY | LINKS | MAILING LIST | SEARCH | |