At 50 years, PH Commission on Women Conducts Dialogue for Institutional Strengthening
The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) is leading a herstoric shift in institutional empowerment, a direction it recently solidified through a consultative dialogue on the proposed PCW Strengthening Bill. Participated in by 60 representatives from the Executive and Legislative branches of government, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, UN Women Philippines, and PCW units, the consultative dialogue was held at the Bayleaf Hotel Intramuros, Manila on November 19, 2025.
“Your voices will greatly help us ensure that this bill becomes a truly transformative tool — one that empowers the PCW to guide, coordinate, and inspire gender equality efforts across all sectors with renewed strength and clarity of purpose,” PCW Chairperson Ermelita V. Valdeavilla told the participants as she formally opened the program.
Done with Being Small!
Setting the tone for the consultative dialogue, Chairperson Valdeavilla shared the Commission’s half-century history of achievement, noting its distinction as the first national women’s machinery in Asia (established 1975) and its innovations in gender-responsive planning and budgeting.
She noted that the Philippines is the only country in the world with two legislated Gender and Development (GAD) budget policies — 10 to 30 percent for Official Development Assistance (Republic Act 7192 or the Women and Development and Nation Building Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations), and at least five percent GAD budget under the annual General Appropriations Act. The Commission was also the first in the world to adopt a medium and long-term development plan for women. Chairperson Valdeavilla also emphasized the country’s pivotal role in international policy, citing Filipino women’s influence in drafting landmark agreements like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Chairperson Valdeavilla, however, lamented that although these showcases of national and global brilliance were achieved with a very lean human and financial resources, the Commission has now reached a breaking point and is already “crumbling inside”. The crux of the matter is the severe mismatch between mandate and capacity, highlighted by critical deficiencies: a staff of only 90 plantilla personnel, just one pilot office in Cagayan de Oro City, which covers Regions 9, 10, and CARAGA, and a budget representing a mere 0.063 per cent of the total budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
“For five decades, we have done extraordinary work with inadequate resources. We have been brilliant in our constraints. We have been gracious in our limitations. We are done with being small.
The PCW Strengthening Act is not about empire building. It is about capacity-matching, matching our mandate to our means, our vision to our reach, our promises to our authority and power,” Chairperson Valdeavilla stressed.
A Collective Reflection and Co-creation
The consultation ensured that the proposed bill is conceived as a cohesive, whole-of-government measure ready to confront megatrends women face, including artificial intelligence innovation and digitalization, care work, poverty, underrepresentation in leadership, food insecurity, and violence against women.
“This Consultative Dialogue on the PCW Strengthening Bill is a defining moment for us. It is a collective reflection on right-sizing the very institution that serves as the heart and voice of gender equality and women’s empowerment in our country. We want our Commission to remain as the government’s lead agency in policy development and advocacy, capacity and commitment building, and monitoring and reporting. We want to remain as an oversight,” Chairperson Valdeavilla declared.
Moving forward, the PCW is committed to integrating the feedback received and maintaining full transparency:
- Finalization of Mandate and Structure: The Commission will immediately address points raised for clarification, particularly concerning the Scope of Mandate, the Short Title of the Bill, and the proposed Composition of the Organization (including the establishment of a Vice Chairperson and three full-time Commissioners).
- Strengthening Local Reach: Clarification will be prioritized for the structure and function of Regional Offices and the composition and criteria for selecting Ex-Officio and Civil Society members of the advisory board.
- Continued Consultation: The Commission will finalize the draft based on the comments, disseminate the revised version to partners and experts for additional inputs, and schedule another round of consultation as deemed necessary to ensure the final measure is truly inclusive.
The consultation dialogue concluded with a strong call to action, emphasizing that the final measure will become a truly transformative tool through “collective refinement.”
Deputy Executive Director Anita E. Baleda summarized the principle of co-creation: “The integrity of this bill depends on the voices represented in this room – from national government agencies, local governments, civil society, academe, and grassroots advocates. It is through collective refinement that the bill becomes sharper, stronger, and more inclusive.”
She added that the dialogue mirrors the spirit of the babaylan, who once served as the heart of the community—healer, guide, advocate, and protector of collective well-being—and whose role was rooted in wisdom shared, voices heard, and decisions made for the welfare of all.
“In many ways, the effort to strengthen PCW is a continuation of that legacy: ensuring that women’s leadership, knowledge, and agency remain central in shaping a just and equitable society,” the Deputy Executive Director declared, while emphasizing that their partners’ voices are the cornerstone of the process.
The bill, according to Deputy Executive Director Baleda, is not a mere supplement to existing initiatives but a long-overdue necessity for a truly gender-responsive future.