The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure t...

“The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men”. This spirit continues to permeate the public sphere. The incumbent President is a woman, our second in approximately 25 years. The Supreme Court, during my tenure as Chief Justice, undertook unprecedented moves to ensure that women benefit equally from and participate directly in the judiciary's structures, processes and development programmes and activities. Just last August, the Congress of the Philippines passed a Magna Carta for Women, which mandates the representation and participation of women in policymaking.