WHEREAS, Section 23, Article II of the Constitution provides that the State shall encourage non-governmental, community-based or sectoral organizations that promote the welfare of the nation;

WHEREAS, the government is committed to women ™s advancement and to gender equality in all aspects and at all levels, as enshrined in the Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (PPGD) and in conjunction with the Global Platform for Action of the Beijing UN Conference on Women;

WHEREAS, the executive branch, through the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), spearheaded the formulation of the national agenda for the protection of women ™s rights, improvement of their social and economic conditions, promotion of their participation in political decision making and the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the government ™s policy on gender and development that are primarily undertaken by the Focal Points;

WHEREAS, to realize these commitments, the NCRFW and the Women Focal Points in the different governmental departments and bureaus have been mandated to implement the policy of mainstreaming gender and development agenda through various policy actions and executive programs;

WHEREAS, the government recognizes the vital roles that women non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play in achieving complementation of commitments for higher impact to women nationwide and across sectors and affirms its partnership with NGOs in ensuring that the national agenda for women ™s advancement is implemented and accomplished;

WHEREAS, the National Council of Women of the Philippines (NCWP), now in its 50th year in operation as an umbrella women ™s organization of 151 national networks and 3,081 councils, continues to play its role as a constant and dynamic NGO partner of the government in the forefront of national development programs for women ™s empowerment;

WHEREAS, the NCWP, since its founding by Francisca Tirona-Benitez, has been implementing gender-focused policy action agenda and programs/projects in its crusade to raise the status of Filipino women, protect their rights and welfare and enhance their roles and capacities as vital change agents in nation-building and development;

WHEREAS, the NCWP, with the continuing professional and technical assistance of the Philippine Women ™s University - Development Institute for Women in Asia-Pacific (PWU-DIWA), is further committed to promote leadership education of women for nation-building and foster increased awareness and participation among women in achieving the goals of the Philippine Centennial Celebration;

WHEREAS, the NCWP has recently crafted a blueprint of action agenda on 31 issue-based areas of concern in order to complement the effective implementation of the Global Platform for Action on Women and the Philippine Plan for a Gender-Responsive Development among the NGOs at the national and local levels, in close collaboration with the NCRFW and the Focal Points in government, as well as other major non-governmental women ™s networks and the private sector;

WHEREAS, a corresponding non-governmental mechanism and system-wide structures are necessary to coordinate, mobilize, and monitor the wide participation among women organizations, educational institutions and the private sector in implementing gender education and development.

NOW, THEREFORE, I FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The affirmation of partnership among the NCRFW/Women ™s Focal Points and other women ™s networks with the National Council of Women of the Philippines (NCWP) as one of the lead implementing and monitoring arm of NGOs for non-governmental gender and development processes and initiative nationwide, is hereby approved.

SEC. 2. The NCWP shall be one of the lead NGO in mobilizing wider participation among interested women ™s networks and organizations, consolidating and promoting the issues of women in the country, working in partnership with the government in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development nationwide, and subsequently in monitoring their effective implementation at all levels and across sectors. The NCWP shall be assisted by the PWU-DIWA as secretariat and technical arm in providing professional services, training and continuing education for women and work in partnership with concerned women ™s networks and organizations, such as the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Incorporated and the Philippine Centennial Commission-Women Sector.

SEC. 3. In line with the framework and objectives set for achieving the foregoing development agenda, there shall be a monitoring system established using gender-sensitive indicators and guidelines to be defined in consultation with NCRFW and other interested and concerned women ™s networks and organizations.

SEC. 4. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this 7th day of May in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Six.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES
Executive Secretary