PCW and Partners Review 30 Years of Gender Progress,
Map Out a Transformative Future for Filipino Women

“For our nation to thrive, women must stand at the absolute center of development.”

The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) made this clarion call to action on October 21, 2025, as it led over a hundred stakeholders from national and regional government agencies and civil society organizations during the national consultation workshop for the assessment of the Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (PPGD) 1995–2025.

PPGD is a 30-year national framework that has guided the government toward full equality between women and men. 

From developing frameworks to reclaiming the Filipino women identity

Serving as the sequel to the Philippine Development Plan for Women 1989-1992, the PPGD is linked to the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 1993-1998 and its strategies. It was also designed to be a rolling plan updated every six years or upon every change of national leadership. Thus, for the past 30 years, the PPGD consisted of three major time-slice plans aligned with the development plan of every Philippine President: (1) Framework Plan for Women 2001–2004, (2) Women’s Empowerment, Development, and Gender Equality Plan 2013–2016, and (3) Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Plan 2019–2025.

Following the regional consultations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao conducted by the PCW from August to September this year, the national workshop for the PPGD assessment marks a herstoric step in mapping out the next national Gender and Development (GAD) plan beginning in 2026. By integrating perspectives from the grassroots to the national policymaking levels and incorporating lessons from every sector of society, the Commission is now strategizing how to sustain and expand the gains of Filipino women. This strategic direction is in alignment with AmBisyon Natin 2040, the Philippines’ collective, long-term vision and aspiration for a stable (“matatag”), comfortable (“maginhawa”), and secure (“panatag”) life for all Filipinos by the year 2040.

In her opening remarks, PCW Chairperson Ermelita V. Valdeavilla underscored that the new national plan, which will serve as a sequel to the PPGD, must not only measure development by numbers but also by the restoration of dignity, equality, and cultural identity. She emphasized that the new plan must decolonize our culture—since all gender issues are rooted in it—and recover precolonial Filipino norms and values to foster genuine progress.

“Women can do so much to lead this transformation,” she affirmed. 

Reminding everyone that Filipinos continue to breathe, think, and act under the dictates of a colonial culture that no longer serves our own people, Chairperson Valdeavilla stressed that placing women at the heart of national growth is not only a matter of justice, but of survival and progress.

From decolonizing development to conquering global megatrends

Recognizing that the Commission now stands at the threshold of a new milestone, Chairperson Valdeavilla also identified global megatrends that test the sustainability of the PPGD’s achievements and the resilience of women worldwide.

Foremost among these megatrends is technology, where closing the gender digital divide could benefit 343 million women and girls globally, according to UN Women. Climate change follows closely, with projections that it could push another 158 million women into poverty by 2050, highlighting the urgency of gender-responsive climate action and environmental justice. 

Other key trends include the emerging care economy revolution, rapid demographic transformation, and shifting social and cultural gender norms. Amid these challenges, the Chairperson pointed to South-South opportunities that could strengthen partnerships among developing nations toward gender equality and inclusive growth.

Back in 1995, the PPGD placed people—especially women—at the center to make development equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights, supportive of self-determination and human potential, and participatory and empowering. The plan recognized that discrimination existed on the basis of gender, class, and ethnicity; hence, placing greater emphasis on women in intersectionally disadvantaged groups.

As the 30-year plan approaches its sunset, the national consultation workshop served as a reaffirmation of purpose, calling upon all sectors to unite in crafting the next chapter—one that ensures no woman or girl is left behind in the nation’s pursuit of progress.

From prioritizing Filipino women to mobilizing future-proof Filipino women

In her closing remarks, PCW Executive Director Nharleen Santos-Millar thanked stakeholders for their reflective and forward-looking contributions, which solidified the mandate for the future. The workshop affirmed that while partial progress has been made, a whole-of-society approach is urgently needed to ensure gender equality goals are fully institutionalized, resourced, and measured. 

“The PPGD’s journey reminds us that progress happens not by chance, but by choice. When commitment is matched with systems, partnerships, and sustained action, results will naturally come out,” ED Millar stated.

She also highlighted crucial mandates that the workshop’s discussions yielded across key national sectors:

• Economic Justice: The lack of policy on unpaid care work was flagged as a major barrier to women’s full participation in the labor force, necessitating urgent provision of support and targeted consultations to genuinely hear women’s voices in policy decisions.
• Safety and Inclusivity: There was a unanimous call for stronger accessibility enforcement—not just compliance—and increased funding for inclusive education, alongside the institutionalization of gender-responsive mechanisms such as VAW Desks and harmonized local data collection.
• Structural Reform in Peace and Security: The workshop demanded a comprehensive and independent audit of career pathing and deployment policies to identify and dismantle structural barriers that limit qualified women from being assigned to a wider range of roles, especially command positions.
• Gender-Responsive Infrastructure: In Infrastructure and Energy, the lack of top management support was noted, emphasizing the importance of institutionalizing regular GAD capacity-building and integrating sex-disaggregated data into project evaluations to enable systematic collection and reporting.

The Babaylan Spirit: Guiding the Bagong Pilipinas GAD journey to 2040

Looking ahead, the PCW emphasized that the new successor plan must be designed to shape the future, not just respond to the times. While AmBisyon Natin 2040 serves as the anchor of national development, the Bagong Pilipinas campaign of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is the strategic vehicle through which the PCW is advancing toward the long-term 2040 vision, while simultaneously working to reclaim the identity of Filipino women prior to the colonial era.

The core mission of the next-generation GAD plan is rooted in this cultural recovery, particularly Chairperson Valdeavilla’s invocation of the precolonial women ancestors. It is this spirit which, the Chairperson stated, calls us to action: “Like the Babaylan, we are called to heal the inequalities that persist, to bridge divides, and to lead with honesty, empathy, and integrity.”

Echoing Chairperson Valdeavilla’s remarks on the Babaylan, ED Millar added, “We are called to heal divisions, nurture communities, and keep alive the flame of empowerment for generations to come. The spirit of the Babaylan lives on in every woman and ally who chooses to lead with compassion and to act with courage.”

She concluded the workshop by stating that the next-generation GAD plan is therefore tasked to “shape a future where equality and empowerment are the norm, not the exception,” signaling a bold new direction for gender equality under the Bagong Pilipinas vision.

Now that the PPGD nationwide assessment is over, the PCW and its partners are fully set to craft the new national GAD plan to continue championing gender equality and women’s empowerment until the day a separate mandate or a national plan is no longer necessary because it is already the Philippines’ lived reality.

Joining the Commission during the national consultation workshop were fellow GADvocates from Bureau of Corrections, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Career Executive Service Board, Climate Change Commission, Commission on Audit, Commission on Election, Commission on Higher Education, Commission on Human Rights, Commission on Population and Development, Cooperative Development Authority, Department of Agriculture, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Health, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Transportation, Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund), House of Representatives, Land Bank of the Philippines, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, National Anti-Poverty Commission, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, National Housing Authority, National Police Commission, Office of Civil Defense, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Information Agency, Philippine National Police, Philippine Ports Authority, Public Attorney’s Office, Small Business Corporation, Social Housing Finance Corporation, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Representatives from Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panlegal (SALIGAN), Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau, and KAINAKAP-Inclusive and Opportunity Inc. were also present to share gender inputs from the civil society.