Article 44Labor and Agrarian Laws and Social Legislation, p. 44

LABOR LAWS AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION SPECIAL LAWS AND IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

workplace, and providing maternity leave pursuant to the

Labor Code and other pertinent laws;

(3)

Membership

in

unions

regardless

of

status

of

employment and place of employment; and

(4) Respect for the observance of indigenous peoples'

cultural practices even in the workplace.

(c) In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas

work, the State shall exert all efforts to address the causes

of out-migration by developing local employment and

other

economic

opportunities

for

women

and

by

introducing measures to curb violence and forced and

involuntary displacement of local women. The State shall

ensure the protection and promotion of the rights and

welfare of migrant women regardless of their work status,

and

protect

them

against

discrimination

in

wages,

conditions of work, and employment opportunities in

host countries.

Section 23. Right to Livelihood, Credit, Capital, and

Technology . - The State shall ensure that women are

provided with the following:

(a) Equal access to formal sources of credit and capital;

(b) Equal share to the produce of farms and aquatic

resources; and

(c)

Employment

opportunities

for

returning

women

migrant workers taking into account their skills and

qualifications. Corollarily, the State shall also promote

skills and entrepreneurship development of returning

women migrant workers.

Section 24. Right to Education and Training . - The State

shall ensure the following:

(a) Women migrant workers have the opportunity to

undergo skills training, if they so desire, before taking on

a foreign job, and possible retraining upon return to the

country:

(b) Gender-sensitive training and seminars; and

(c) Equal opportunities in scholarships based on merit

and fitness, especially to those interested in research and

development

aimed

towards

women-friendly

farm

technology.

Section 25. Right to Representation and Participation .

-

The

State

shall

ensure

women's

participation

in

policy-making or decision-making bodies in the regional,

national, and international levels. It shall also ensure the

participation of grassroots women leaders in decision and

policy-making

bodies

in

their

respective

sectors

including, but not limited to, the Presidential Agrarian

Reform

Council

(PARC)

and

its

local

counterparts;

community-based

resource

management

bodies

or

mechanisms on forest management and stewardship;

the

National

Fisheries

and

Aquatic

Resources

Management

Council

(NFARMC)

and

its

local

counterparts; the National Commission on Indigenous

Peoples; the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor;

the

National

Anti-Poverty

Commission;

and,

where

applicable, the local housing boards.

Section 26. Right to Information . - Access to information

regarding

policies

on

women,

including

programs,

projects, and funding outlays that affect them, shall be

ensured.

Section 27. Social Protection . -

(a) The Social Security System (SSS) and the Philippine

Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) shall support

indigenous

and

community-based

social

protection

schemes.

(b) The State shall institute policies and programs that

seek to reduce the poverty and vulnerability to risks and

enhance the social status and rights of the marginalized

women by promoting and protecting livelihood and

employment, protecting against hazards and sudden;

loss

of

income,

and

improving people's capacity to

manage risks.

(c) The State shall endeavor to reduce and eventually

eliminate

transfer

costs of remittances from abroad

through

appropriate

bilateral

and

multilateral

agreements. It shall likewise provide access to investment

opportunities

for

remittances

in

line

with

national

development efforts.

(d) The State shall establish a health insurance program

for senior citizens and indigents.

(e) The State shall support women with disabilities on a

community-based social protection scheme.

Section 28. Recognition and Preservation of Cultural

Identity and Integrity . - The State shall recognize and

respect the rights of Moro and indigenous women to

practice,

promote,

protect,

and

preserve

their

own

culture, traditions, and institutions and to consider these

rights in the formulation and implementation of national

policies and programs. To this end, the State shall adopt

measures in consultation with the sectors concerned to

protect

their

rights

to

their

indigenous

knowledge

systems and practices, traditional livelihood, and other

manifestations of their cultures and ways of life: Provided,

That

these

cultural

systems

and

practices

are

not

discriminatory to women.

Section

29.

Peace and Development . - The peace

process

shall

be

pursued

with

the

following

considerations:

(a)

Increase

the number of women participating in

discussions and decision-making in the peace process,

including

membership

in

peace

panels

recognizing

women's role in conflict- prevention and peace-making

and in indigenous system of conflict resolution;

(b) Ensure the development and inclusion of women's

welfare and concerns in the peace agenda in the overall

peace

strategy

and

women's

participation

in

the

planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of

rehabilitation and rebuilding of conflict-affected areas;

(c) The institution of measures to ensure the protection of

civilians in conflict-affected communities with special

consideration for the specific needs of women and girls:

(d)

Include

the

peace perspective in the education

curriculum and other educational undertakings; and

(e) The recognition and support for women's role in

conflict-prevention,

management,

resolution

and

peacemaking, and in indigenous systems of conflict

resolution.

Section

30.

Women

in

Especially

Difficult

Circumstances . - For purposes of this Act, "Women in

Especially Difficult Circumstances" (WEDC) shall refer to

victims and survivors of sexual and physical abuse, illegal

recruitment,

prostitution,

trafficking,

armed

conflict,

women in detention, victims and survivors of rape and

incest, and such other related circumstances which have

incapacitated them functionally. Local government units

are therefore mandated to deliver the necessary services

and

interventions

to

WEDC

under

their

respective

jurisdictions.

Section 31. Services and Interventions . - WEDC shall be

provided with services and interventions as necessary

such as, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Temporary and protective custody;

(b) Medical and dental services;

(c) Psychological evaluation;

(d) Counseling;

(e) Psychiatric evaluation;

(f) Legal services;

(g) Productivity skills capability building;

(h) Livelihood assistance;

(i) Job placement;

(j) Financial assistance: and

(k) Transportation assistance.

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