Women at the forefront

The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) has cited the social benefits that the Filipino women can get out of the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) besides economic and political empowerment.

In a statement, NCRFW Chairman Myrna Yao said that with the effectivity of the law, Filipino women will no longer be discriminated against in the workplace, schools and even in their own homes.

The Magna Carta was signed by President Gloria Arroyo in Malacañang on August 14. It will become effective 15 days after its publication in at least two newspapers of general circulation.

Chairman Yao said that under the MCW, there will be equal treatment for men and women before the law and that the state is mandated to review and, if necessary, to amend or repeal existing laws that are discriminatory to women.

One significant aspect of the new law, according to Yao, is that schools, including those run by religious groups, are now prohibited from expelling, refusing admission or engaging in other discriminatory acts against women students or faculty due to pregnancy outside of marriage.

Yao said that the MCW also provides comprehensive health services in all stages of a woman’s life cycle, thus addressing the major causes of women’s mortality.

This would include, among others, maternal care, responsible, ethical, legal, safe and effective methods of family planning, and encouraging healthy lifestyle activities to prevent diseases among women.

She said that an employed woman will be given a two-month leave with full benefits based on gross monthly compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders, provided that she has rendered a total of at least six months of continuous employment for the last 12 months.

The law, according to Yao, also gives equal rights to women on matters pertaining to marriage and family relations such as entering and leaving a marriage relationship, choosing a spouse, deciding on the number and spacing of children, enjoying personal rights, including the choice of profession and owning properties.

Under this law, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, which will be renamed as the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), will act as the oversight body to ensure the implementation of the law.

The PCW will coordinate with the Commission on Human Rights and consult with other concerned departments and agencies, non-government organizations, civil society groups and representatives from both houses of Congress in formulating the MCW’s implementing rules and regulations with six months after it becomes effective. –Manila Tim