Filipino women could look forward to better protection from discrimination and abuse as well as enjoy equal opportunities and access to resources after President Arroyo Friday signed into law the Magna Carta of Women.

Republic Act No. 9710, otherwise known as the Magna Carta of Women, seeks to guarantee and protect the basic rights and freedoms of Filipino women, especially those in the marginalized sector, and promote the development of their well-being whether here or abroad.

After seven years of debates in Congress, the President inked the landmark law, which declares women’s rights as human rights, in simple rites in Malacañang with House Speaker Prospero Nograles, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, representatives of women’s groups, in attendance. Also present in the signing ceremony were National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) chairwoman Myrna Yao and Commission on Human Rights chairwoman (CHR) Leila de Lima.

The Magna Carta of Women, which takes effect 15 days after publication in two national newspapers, also sought to protect women from all forms of violence, including those committed by the state. It mandates training on human rights and gender sensitivity by all government personnel involved in the protection of women against gender-based violence.

It also spelled out every women’s rights to protection in times of disasters, participation and representation in civil service and private organizations, equal treatment before the law, equal access to education and training, equal participation in sports, non-discrimination in employment in the military and other uniformed services, comprehensive health services, and equal rights in maters related to marriage and family.

Among the salient features of the law are provision of special leave benefits of two months for female employees undergoing gynecological surgeries, increase within the next five years the number of women in third-level positions in government, and nondiscriminatory and nonderegatory portrayal of women in media and film.

The rights of women to food security, housing, employment, skills training, access to information, social protection, recognition of cultural identity, inclusion in peace and development discussions, and protection of women senior citizens are also upheld by the new law.

“The Magna Carta of Women is a landmark law because the Philippines will now have a national framework for the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), considered as the international bill of rights of women,” Yao said.

Yao said the law also contains a novel provision that mandates all local government units to establish a special desk in every barangay to address cases related to violence against women.

Under the law, the NCRFW will be renamed the Philippine Commission on Women and will be the overall monitoring and oversight body to ensure the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women. The human rights commission was also designated as the Gender and Development Ombud that will receive complaints and recommend actions for violations of the law. The NCRFW and CHR were also assigned to formulate the implementing rules and regulations of the Magna Carta of Women.

“For the first time, there’s a provision there which categorically acknowledges that women’s rights are human rights and therefore yung mga principles of human rights are there such as non-discrimination, equality, participation,” De Lima said.

The law also mandated all government offices to adopt “gender mainstreaming” as a strategy for implementing the law and attaining its objectives. It mandates planning, budgeting, and evaluation for gender and development; creation and strengthening of gender and development focal points; and generation and maintenance of gender statistics and databases to aid in policy formation.

Any government office and individual found to have committed discrimination against women will be subject to sanctions under administrative law and civil service regulations. Private entity or individual responsible for violation of the law will be liable to pay damages.

An awards and incentives system will also be established to deserving government agencies, LGUs, and other entities for outstanding performance in upholding women’s rights.