AN ACT PROMOTING THE INTEGRATION OF WOMEN AS FULL AND EQUAL PARTNERS OF MEN IN DEVELOPMENT AND NATION BUILDING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Fifth Regular Session

[ REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7192, January 12, 1992 ]

AN ACT PROMOTING THE INTEGRATION OF WOMEN AS FULL AND EQUAL PARTNERS OF MEN IN DEVELOPMENT AND NATION BUILDING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title. - This Act shall be cited as the "Women in Development and Nation Building Act."

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes the role of women in nation building and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men. The State shall provide women rights and opportunities equal to that of men.

To attain the foregoing policy:

Section 3. Responsible Agency. - The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) shall primarily be responsible for ensuring the participation of women as recipients in foreign aid, grants and loans. It shall determine and recommend the amount to be allocated for the development activity involving women.

Section 4. Mandate. - The NEDA, with the assistance of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, shall ensure that the different government departments, including its agencies and instrumentalities which, directly, or indirectly, affect the participation of women in national development and their integration therein:

Section 5. Equality in Capacity to Act. - Women of legal age, regardless of civil status, shall have the capacity to act and enter into contracts which shall in every respect be equal to that of men under similar circumstances.

In all contractual situations where married men have the capacity to act, married women shall have equal rights.

To this end:

In all other similar contractual relations, women shall enjoy equal rights and shall have the capacity to act which shall in every respect be equal to those of men under similar circumstances.

Section 6. Equal Membership in Clubs. - Women shall enjoy equal access to membership in all social, civic and recreational clubs, committees, associations and similar other organizations devoted to public purpose. They shall be entitled to the same rights and privileges accorded to their spouses if they belong to the same organization.

Section 7. Admission to Military Schools. - Any provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, consistent with the needs of the services, women shall be accorded equal opportunities for appointment, admission, training, graduation and commissioning in all military or similar schools of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police not later than the fourth academic year following the approval of this Act in accordance with the standards required for men except for those minimum essential adjustments required by physiological differences between sexes.

Section 8. Voluntary Pag-IBIG, GSIS and SSS Coverage. - Married persons who devote full time to managing the household and family affairs shall, upon the working spouse's consent, be entitled to voluntary Pag-IBIG (Pagtutulungan-Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) or Social Security System (SSS) coverage to the extent of one-half (1/2) of the salary and compensation of the working spouse. The contributions due thereon shall be deducted from the salary of the working spouse.

The GSIS or the SSS, as the case may be, shall issue rules and regulations necessary to effectively implement the provisions of this section.

Section 9. Implementing Rules. - The NEDA in consultation with the different government agencies concerned shall issue rules and regulations as may be necessary for the effective implementation of Sections 2, 3 and 4 of this Act within six (6) months from its effectivity.

Section 10. Compliance Report. - Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act and every six (6) months thereafter, all government departments, including its agencies and instrumentalities, shall submit a report to Congress on their compliance with this Act.

Section 11. Separability Clause. - If for any reasons any section or provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 12. Repealing Clause. - The provisions of Republic Act No. 386, otherwise known as the Civil Code of the Philippines, as amended, and of Executive Order No. 209, otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines, and all laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

Section 13. Effectivity Clause. - The rights of women and all the provisions of this Act shall take effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 22466 and Senate Bill No. 1200 was finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on December 11, 1991.

Approved: February 12, 1992

CORAZON C. AQUINO
President of the Philippines