Spain to fund Sarangani’s implementation of Magna Carta of Women

Tuesday 31st of July 2012

ALABEL, Sarangani, July 31 (PIA) -- The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) has partnered with Sarangani province as among its pilot provinces for the implementation of the country’s three-year cooperation agreement with the government of Spain in addressing gender discrimination issues.

The partnership is aimed at strengthening the institutional capacities of national and local governance on human rights and economic empowerment with a gender focus on the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women called the PCW-AECID Project.

AECID or the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation supports the PCW’s mandate under the Magna Carta as the over-all monitoring and oversight agency in ensuring the implementation of the law.

The Magna Carta of Women, known otherwise as Republic Act 9710, is the Philippines’ national translation of the international human rights treaty which seeks to “eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and promoting their rights especially those in the marginalized sectors.”

The memorandum of agreement, signed on July 25, spelled out Sarangani’s potentials to support women’s economic empowerment as a “fulfillment of the women’s human rights through the development and implementation of convergence programs for this purpose.”

Governor Migs Dominguez however took it as a challenge of how to provide substance and a “heart and soul” to the Magna Carta and the Gender And Development (GAD) program with only a very few percentage of the population being aware of this law.

In his conversation with PCW executive director Emmeline Versoza, Dominguez could hardly believe that out of the 100 million Filipinos, only 10,000 reported cases on the VAWC (Violence Against Women and Their Children) were filed recently in which he disclosed there might be more unreported cases only that victims were hesitant or unaware of the said law.

Versoza said the project would not just cover the violence issues but would cover as well other issues like health, education and economic.

“It is now important also to provide and recognize the women’s productive capabilities because they do have economic rights and that if they are economically productive according to PNoy in his SONA, there should be responsible parenthood,” Versoza said.

“Our hope,” she said, “is that we make real what is called the rights-based approach because the Magna Carta of Women follows human rights. As government workers, as government officials signing these international treaties and signing into these laws, this means that we have the duty and the obligation to observe, protect, and provide the rights that are translated into programs and services.”

Versoza reiterated that they have to reach out to the communities especially the women and tell them they are the rights holders.

"They should know that they have rights. They should know to demand these services from us who have the duty to do so,” Versoza added.

Other pilot provinces are Albay, Aklan, Oriental Mindoro, Iloilo and Surigao del Norte. For Sarangani, the PCW-AECID project would be implemented in the municipalities of Alabel and Malungon in which AECID will download P1.3M by early September as the first tranche of release to fund the project. (Beverly C. Paoyon/Sarangani Information Office/PIA General Santos City)