The proposed Philippine Magna Carta of Women is now in the process of being finalised in a bicameral conference. The two houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate are reconciling their respective versions of the bill, which has been met with stiff opposition from the Catholic church and critiques among women's groups.

The proposed Magna Carta intends to be a comprehensive law on women, further strengthening existing special laws such as those on violence against women and family relations. It includes provisions on increased participation and representation; and comprehensive health services and access to health information, among others.

Pilipina, a national organisation of feminists in coordination with Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)-Watch, Nisa Ul Haqq, National Coalition of Women in Rural Areas (PKKK) and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) lobbied for the bill and ran consultations with various women's groups throughout the country. Many women's groups though were dissatisfied with the draft, finding a number of provisions weak and even contentious.

As Ana Maria “Princess” Nemenzo of WomanHealth said, “Many women wanted a clearer women's human rights framework, State accountabilities, provisions on family planning, maternal health, gender and sexuality.” “We found the provisions on cultural relativism problematic because this can undermine the rights of women,” she added.

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago introduced new amendments especially on women's human rights principles and substantive equality and enforcement mechanisms which were accepted by the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations. But the Committee also accommodated the inputs of the Catholic hierarchy which for many feminists, watered down the important provisions of the bill.

Beth Yang of Pilipina agreed that the Senate version is better, save for the glaring provision on gender which has been defined as “physiologio-social differentiated roles, characteristics, and expectations attributed by nature and culture to women and men.”

As a power player in Philippine politics, the Catholic church is seen to have influence on election outcomes, that lawmakers are careful not to cross it, even if the public is more open to issues such as family planning and reproductive health. “Legislators are still timid because of a false fear that their political future is at risk if they displease the church,” Nemenzo pointed out.

Following what was seen as an improvement of the House version of the Magna Carta bill and the Senate's modulated definition of gender, the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) and the Office of Women of the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) criticised what they deemed as “anti-life” and “anti-family” provisions of the bill. It questioned gender as a result of culture and choice; the proposed assistance in post-abortion management; and the emphasis of the law's secularism, including the government's compliance with CEDAW.

In a joint statement, they argued, “while Christian charity encourages us to be understanding and compassionate to those whose physiologico-social qualities may not be the same as everyone else’s, we have to take exception to a Bill which seeks to replace a person’s divinely ordained sexual identity with a self-constructed gender arising from one’s sexual preference or orientation.” They further asserted that, “a Magna Carta of Women, to be worth its name, must first of all protect and uphold her natural calling to marriage, family life and motherhood.”

However, Yang shared some bishops have “their own way of thinking,” adding that some confirmed that a prominent lobbyist of the Catholic hierarchy “does not speak on behalf of the bishop but beyond the position of the CBCP.”

Reflecting on the process of the bill from the House of Representatives until the bicameral conference, Yang expressed, “Everybody has the right to lobby against the bill. But it is wrong to use a disproportionate power to push for an agenda.”

The proposed Magna Carta of Women is expected to be signed into law in time for the International Women's Day.

Sources:
Interview with Beth Yang, Pilipina (11 February 2009).
Interview with Princess Nemenzo, Woman Health (11 February 2009).
Episcopal Commission on Family and Life and the Office on Women of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. (25 January 2009). “The dignity of women is divinely ordained.” URL: http://www.rcam.org/cbcp/2009/the_dignity_of_women_is_divinely_ordained.html
Philippine House of Representatives. (2008). “House Bill 4273 (Committee Report 636): Magna Carta of Women.” Copytext.
Philippine Senate. (2009). “Senate Bill 2396 (Committee Report 76): Magna Carta of Women.” Copytext.