CHR urges Arroyo to sign Magna Carta for Women bill

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Monday urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to sign the newly-ratified Magna Carta for Women. In support of the Magna Carta – which was ratified by Congress Wednesday last week – the CHR stressed that the measure is “vital" in protecting women, especially since they are the ones who usually bear the brunt of more sensitive issues in society. “Women and girls, as human beings, have the equal right as men and boys to enjoy civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Because there are certain issues that are more problematic for women than men, there needs to be stronger protections for them," the CHR said in a statement. CHR chairperson Leila de Lima said that aside from ensuring that laws are not biased against women, laws should also be crafted to specifically protect women’s rights and promote the development of their well-being. “Equality and non-discrimination are not achieved by having gender-neutral laws per se, or by having laws that are ‘equally applicable to men and women," De Lima said. “Instead, equality and non-discrimination are fulfilled by having laws that, in their implementation allow both genders to live their lives in dignity and in full enjoyment of their human rights," she added. In March 3, the Bicameral Conference Committee reconciled the disagreeing and contentious provisions of the bill, which had been pending in Congress for more than a decade. Under the ratified measure, the CHR is required to create a special agency that will specifically handle women’s rights concerns. The measure also declares women’s rights as being a scope of human rights. Aside from the Magna Carta for Women, the CHR also urged law enforcing agencies and the judiciary to fully apply Republic Act 9262 of 2004, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act. “Some judges and police officers have been reluctant to apply this law, feeling that it is not applicable to Filipino families," the statement read. The CHR said that critics of the anti-VAWC should not put law into their hands and instead bring up the matter of amending or repealing the law before Congress or the Supreme Court. “Personal feelings aside, the anti-VAWC law is already part of Philippine law and therefore all law enforcers and members of the bench –as well as government agencies such as the DOJ, DSWD are required to apply existing law," said Commissioner Cecilia Quisumbing. The Supreme Court has yet to decide on a 2006 petition seeking to declare the anti-VAWC as unconstitutional. Women's protest march The UN Day for Women and International Peace was observed last Sunday, with members of the Babae Ka (You are a Woman) Movement staging a protest marathon around the Elliptical Road in Quezon City. “Gusto naming turuan ang mga kababaihan ng tamang paggastos, tamang pag-iimpok tamang pangkabuhayan para makatulongtayo sa kaunaran n gating bansa at sa ating mga pamilya," Babae Ka president Ruth Vasquez told GMA News. Echoing Babae Ka’s appeal, another group of women from the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) held a protest march along Morayta Street to denounce the continuing prevalence of cases of violence against women in the country. “Dapat magkaroon [din] ng genuine job creation para ma-sustain an gating kalagayan," PLM spokeperson Portia Ariesgado said in her appeal the government to pay specific attention to t he needs of women being laid off from work as a result of the global economic recess. Gabriela, another women’s group, took the time not only to commemorate the UN Day for Women and International Peace but also to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Showing up at the women’s protest march – which started from Welcome Rotunda in Quezon City and ended near the Don Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) Bridge – were Madrigal, party-list Representatives Liza Masa and Luzviminda Ilagan, as well as Senate whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun" Lozada. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV