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.