Philippines
The Philippines adopted its most recent National Action plan (NAP) in 2017 for the period 2017-2022. The NAP was developed by the NSC WPS Technical Working Group (TWG) through a participatory approach that included consultations with civil society organizations. The NAP’s overall goal is to ensure the expansion of women’s role in the various spaces for peace and security. In this regard, it highlights women’s agency, both as leaders and participants, in the peace process of the country. It seeks to continue the best practice of women’s presence in formal peace negotiations as well as in other informal spaces (i.e., civil society and grassroots participation). The NAP does not have a detailed monitoring and evaluation framework, but identifies monitoring and evaluation among the NAP’s standalone pillars and objectives. While the NAP does not have an allocated budget, a subsequent executive order allocated approximately 100,000 USD to fund the first year of implementation.
The Philippines’ second NAP is preceded by one other NAP, adopted in 2010 and implemented for the period 2010-2016. The country’s second NAP takes off from the findings of the study on the implementation of the 2010-2016 NAP, specifically, building on its gains and addressing the gaps. It adopts a broader framing of addressing the situation of women in armed conflict and recognising their contributions to peacebuilding. The NAP also incorporates some key recommendations made in the 2015 Global Study on UNSCR 1325 such as the prioritisation of conflict prevention; framing women peace and security from a human rights perspective; participation and leadership of women in all levels of the peace project; transitional justice; inclusive and participatory localisation efforts; combating extremism by supporting women peacebuilders; multi-level and multi-stakeholder approach to implementation; and financing initiatives aimed at materialising women, peace and security.
The Philippines gained independence from the United States in 1946, having been ruled as a US territory prior to that date. The country has a history of intermittent armed conflicts with various insurgent groups, specifically involving the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the National Democratic Front (NDF). Since 2016, under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the country has experienced grave human rights violations, specifically through Duterte’s “war against drugs,” which has resulted in widespread extrajudicial killings perpetrated by state security forces. Additionally, ongoing rights violations include threats against and direct attacks on human rights defenders, political activists, and environmental and community leaders. In 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution, which requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to provide a report on the human rights situation in the Philippines.
CEDAW
1981
Global Gender Gap Index 2020
16 out of 153
Arms Trade Treaty Ratified
2013
Military expenditure (2019)
$3.4 billion USD
Explore Philippines's National Action Plan
NAP Development
The NAP notes that civil society was participating in the consultations through a consultative and collaborative process.
WILPF Philippines was not involved in the development of the NAP.
NAP Implementation
Duty-bearers, the main implementers of the NAP WPS, are not explicitly mentioned in the NAP. However, civil society are considered to be outside of this scope.
NAP Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation of the NAP is a stand-alone Pillar. It includes civil society, with an opportunity to provide a report through a “civil society forum”.
NAP Development
The NAP WPS 2017-2022 essentially takes off from the findings of the study on the implementation of the 2010-2016 NAP WPS, specifically, building on its gains and addressing the gaps. Procedurally, the drafting involved an updating seminar and a series of meetings of the NSC WPS Technical Working Group (TWG) on the continuous refinement of the draft, consultation with representatives of civil society organisations, and deliberation and further inputs from the members of the Executive Committee of the NSC WPS. However, the main strategy employed was a consultative and collaborative process between various stakeholders, particularly, duty-bearers who are the main implementers of the NAP WPS.
NAP Implementation
Duty-bearers, the main implementers of the NAP WPS, are not explicitly mentioned in the NAP. Steering Committee on WPS includes Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), National Commission for Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) and other government entities.
NAP Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation of the NAP is a stand-alone Pillar. It includes state entities, as well as civil society.
The implementation period for the National Plan of Action is six years (2017-2022).
The four support pillars of the Philippines' NAP include:
- Empowerment and Participation;
- Protection and Prevention;
- Promotion and Mainstreaming;
- Monitoring and Evaluation.
Each area of work has different actions assigned. For example, Support Pillar 1 (Empowerment and Participation) includes the following action points:
- Sex-and-conflict disaggregation of data practiced by relevant agencies;
- Existing M&E mechanisms harmonised;
- Creation of a NAP WPS data-base;
- Inter-link Country Reports on CEDAW, BPFA, WPS, SDG 16 specific to women in conflict-situations and peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and peacemaking as well as conflict prevention, resolutions, and transformation;
- Institutionalisation of regular reporting (i.e. issuance of semi-annual progress reports) internally to the NSC WPS and externally to other publics (i.e. House and Senate Committees on Peace, civil society forum);
- Report on Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) support for NAP WPS initiatives.
Each action point includes a number of indicators that ranges depending on the action points. For example, Action Point 10 (Preventive mechanisms and early warning systems in place for women and girls to avert conflict-related violence) includes the following indicators:
- Initiatives on gender, peace, security, and human rights aimed at building an enabling environment for peace through formal, nonformal,indigenous/cultural education supported;
- Capacities of women on community-based early warning protocols and monitoring at the grassroots level developed;
- Initiatives to address the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, including in the context of peace agreements (i.e. normalisation; end of hostilities, disposition of firearms, disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration) are strengthened.
As a stand-alone priority, the “Monitoring and Evaluation” Pillar prioritises the institutionalisation of a comprehensive and systematic M & E mechanism for NAP WPS, including through the following indicators:
Sex-and-conflict disaggregation of data practiced by relevant agencies;
Existing M&E mechanisms harmonised;
Creation of a NAP WPS data base;
Inter-link Country Reports on CEDAW, BPFA, WPS, SDG 16 specific to women in conflict-situations and peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and peacemaking as well as conflict prevention, resolutions, and transformation;
Institutionalisation of regular reporting (i.e. issuance of semi-annual progress reports) internally to the NSC WPS and externally to other publics (i.e. House and Senate Committees on Peace, civil society forum);
Report on Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) support for NAP WPS initiatives.
There is no allocated budget in the NAP.
Action Point 10 (Preventive mechanisms and early warning systems in place for women and girls to avert conflict-related violence) specifically identifies action aimed at disarmament, as one of its indicators requires that
- Initiatives to address the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, including in the context of peace agreements (i.e. normalisation; end of hostilities, disposition of firearms, disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration) are strengthened.