Women's Suffrage In The Philippines
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Women and government in the Philippines describes the trend on how
women in the Philippines Women in the Philippines () may also be known as Filipinas or Filipino women. Their role includes the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is known to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly ru ...
participate in the
politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
and
governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...
of the
Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
throughout its
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
. There had been a gradual increase in the number of Filipino women participating in Philippine politics, both at the local and national level. Female involvement in the political environment of the Philippines was highlighted by the election of two women as
President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...
, namely
Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...
and
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
.


Legal basis

Representation and integration of Filipino women in Philippine politics at the local and national levels had been made possible by legislative measures such as the following: the Local Government Code of 1991, the Party List Law, the Labor Code of 1989, the Women in Nation Building Law (Philippine Republic Act No. 7192 of 1991), the Gender and Development Budget (GAD), the 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, the Philippine Republic Act No. 7688 of 1994, the 1990 Day Care Law (Republic Act No. 6972), the 1996 Paternity Leave Act, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law (Republic Act No. 7877 of 1995), the Philippine Republic Act No. 7822 of 1995, the Philippine Republic Act No. 8353 of 1997, the Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive Development (1995-2025), and the Philippine Plan for Women which includes the Framework Plan for Women (FPW).


Composition

The following percentage figures demonstrate the number of female participants from 1991 to 2001 in Philippine politics and government:


Voters, elected candidates, and appointments

There had been 76.7% of female registered voters in the 2001 elections. In 1999, the percentage of Filipino women in public service are 34.6% at the first level, 71.9% at the second level, 34.8% at the third level, and 18.2% at the cabinet level (as heads of governmental departments). In 2001, there had been 7.7% of Filipino women in the Philippine Senate, 19.0% in the
Philippine Congress The Congress of the Philippines () is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially, the term "Congre ...
, 19.5% serving as
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
s, 13.0% as vice-governors, 16.5% as board members, 15.6% as mayors, 12.4% as vice-mayors, 17.4% as councilors. In Philippine courts, there were 21.4% Filipino women judges in 2001. The preceding figures translates that 90,714 positions (out of 354,387) had been occupied by Filipino women. Directly quoting Mylene Hega's report titled ''Participation of Women in Philippine Politics and Society: A Situationer'' written in March 2003, this means that there had been 16 Filipino female governors (out of 79), eight vice governors (out of 79), 97 board members, 16 city mayors (out of 114), nine city vice mayors (out of 114), 182 city councilors, 225 municipal mayors (out of 1,493), 144 municipal vice mayors and 1,731 councilors, 5,350 '' Punong Barangays'' or heads of
barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
s (out of 41,917), 64,142 ''
Sangguniang Barangay The Sangguniang Barangay, known in English as the Barangay Council is the local government of a barangay, the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Each of the 42,004 barangays in the country has its respective Sangguniang Baran ...
'' leaders, and 18,794 ''
Sangguniang Kabataan A Sangguniang Kabataan (abbreviated as SK; ) is a community council that represents the youth in a barangay in the Philippines. Established to provide young people with a platform for civic engagement and participation in Local government in ...
'' chairpersons. Hega further mentioned that, at those times, there were 49,173 Filipino women who were appointed as secretaries and treasures for the barangay. Out of 49,173, female barangay secretaries were at 23,983; while 25,190 were barangay treasurers.


Decision-makers and diplomats

In terms of decision-making positions and diplomatic posts, there had been 138 female Filipino diplomats, wherein 37 were ambassadors (chiefs of missions), 21 were minister-counsellors, and 80 were foreign service officers. According to a Statement of the
Philippine Commission on Women The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), formerly the National Commission on the Role of the Filipino Women, is a Philippine government agency that is responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of the women in the Philippines. It was ...
: On
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...
on March 11, 2013, Filipino women had been appointed by the Philippine president to "top strategic and non-traditional government posts" including positions such as Chief Justice, as Secretary of Justice, and as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.


Military and policing

In relation to the number of
women in the Philippine military Women serve in the Philippine military including in combat roles since 1993. Background Women initially served in the Philippine military only in the reserve ranks and the technical services as part of the Women's Auxiliary Corps establish ...
and in the Philippine police forces, 7 Filipino women had been among the 147 people who graduated from the
Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...
in 1995, meaning that 3.1% of the 2,658 police were females.


Labor unions

In 1993, there were 41.4% registered labor union female members in the private industry sector. From 1994 to 1996, there was about 60% registered labor union female members in the public sector. 20.7% of the registered women members in the public sector were holding positions as labor union presidents.


Obstacles

Among the hindrances in participation of women in Philippine politics identified by Helga in her 2003 report include Philippine society's definition of women's role in the community. This role describes women in the Philippines as persons more appropriate for secondary roles such as being supporters of their politician husbands, become "diplomatic entertainers" for their husband's constituents, being providers of charity work and social welfare functions, their maternal role as caretakers of the next male generation of male politicians, and the access to resources for those who were elected to decision-making positions.


See also

*
Women in the Philippines Women in the Philippines () may also be known as Filipinas or Filipino women. Their role includes the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is known to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly ru ...


References


External links


PHILIPPINE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN: THE “BILL OF RIGHTS” OF FILIPINO WOMEN
presented by Teresita Sylvia M. Salud {{DEFAULTSORT:Women And Government In The Philippines Political history of the Philippines Women in the Philippines Women's rights in the Philippines