THE House of Representatives, in plenary session, has approved on third reading a bill declaring November 25 of every year as “National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.”
House Bill 4434 mandates heads of government agencies and instrumentalities, government-owned and -controlled corporations, local governments and employers in the private sector together with their employees to organize, engage or participate in activities designed to raise public awareness and elimination of violence against women (VAW).
Party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela, one of the authors of the bill, said the pervasive patriarchal culture that views and treats women as objects and properties of men must be transformed into one that looks and treats women as equal partners in development and nation building.
“A massive education and reorientation on gender roles in society and the important contributions specifically of women in society must be incessantly and systematically carried out,” said Ilagan.
She said a legislative measure is one of the instruments that can promote positive values toward women, uphold the dignity and human rights of every person in society and appreciate the vital contributions of women and men in national development.
The measure mandates the Presidential Communications Operations Office, Philippine Information Agency together with the Bureau of Broadcast and other members of the government media to allocate a minimum of one hour airtime for programs exclusively raising public awareness on the problem of violence against women, as well as the elimination of all forms of VAW.
It also provides that publishers of local newspapers and magazines shall be encouraged to highlight the problem of violence against women and the elimination of all forms of VAW.
As embodied in the bill, the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, in coordination with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) formerly the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, women nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and other NGOs advocating for women’s human rights shall lead public and private school communities at all levels in organizing consciousness raising activities on the problem of violence against women and the elimination of all forms of violence against women.
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City, another proponent of the bill, said the measure also mandates the National Statistics Office; the National Police; the departments of Social Welfare and Development, Labor and Employment, and Foreign Affairs; and all Philippine embassies and consulates in coordination with the PCW to undertake the data gathering and systematization of a database on all forms of violence against women, including Filipino women working and residing abroad.
“The bill creates a compliance and monitoring team composed of the PCW and the Interagency Committee on Anti-trafficking, the Interagency Committee on Anti-violence Against Women and Their Children, and the Regional Interagency Committee on Anti-trafficking and VAWC on the activities outlined in the annual 18-day campaign,“ Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the funds to be used for the campaign will be taken out of the 5-percent Gender and Development budget allocated to all government agencies and local government units for the implementation of activities, programs and projects.
