IBP Journal (2021, Vol. 46, Issue No. 1)
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i IBP JOURNAL INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES VOLUME 46, ISSUE NO. 1 UP WOMEN LAWYERS’ CIRCLE EDITION (March 2021) BOARD OF EDITORS ROAN I. LIBARIOS Editor in Chief SEDFREY M. CANDELARIA CYNTHIA R. DEL CASTILLO MARCIANO G. DELSON NILO T. DIVINA AL-SHWAID D. ISMAEL MA. SOLEDAD MARGARITA DERIQUITO-MAWIS MANUEL P. QUIBOD FIDES CORDERO-TAN Editors BERNARD U. COBARRUBIAS ALEXIS F. MEDINA Managing Editors CEAZAR RYAN C. AQUINO MARIJO ANGELA T. CONEJERO FRENTE SUR L. MELLIZA JOHN ERIC FLOYD C. PACAMARRA Associate Editors JEANNE MARL B. DOMINISAC IBP Program Officer i BOARD OF GOVERNORS DOMINGO EGON Q. CAYOSA Chairman of the Board BURT M. ESTRADA Executive Vice President & Governor for Eastern Mindanao Region DOROTEO LORENZO B. AGUILA Governor for Northern Luzon BABY RUTH F. TORRE Governor for Central Luzon ELEAZAR S. CALASAN Governor for Greater Manila ERIC C. ALAJAR Governor for Greater Manila GIL G. TAWAY IV Governor for Bicolandia GINA H. MIRANO-JESENA Governor for Western Visayas JAMES JAYSON J. JORVINA Governor for Eastern Visayas ii NATIONAL OFFICERS DOMINGO EGON Q. CAYOSA National President GRACE P. QUEVEDO-PANAGSAGAN National Treasurer JAYSON P. LOPEZ Assistant National Treasurer ROLAND B. INTING National Secretary JOSE ANGEL B. GUIDOTE, JR. Assistant National Secretary ERIC C. ALAJAR National Director for Legal Aid MARIE FE GALVEZ-GARCIA National Executive Director for Administration SHEENALYN R. TENGCO National Executive Director for Administration FLORIMON G. BERNARDO National Executive Director for Planning RANDALL C. TABAYOYONG Director for Bar Discipline EMERICO O. DE GUZMAN Legal Counsel ALICIA A. RISOS-VIDAL Liaison Officer ROAN I. LIBARIOS Editor in Chief, IBP Journal iii CONTENTS The Legal Impediments to Protecting the Rights of Women as Persons Deprived of Liberty……………………..1 Arlene G. Lapuz-Ureta The Safe Spaces Act: Innovations, Features, and Issues of Operation within the current Philippine Legal Landscape…………………………………………………………18 Dot Gancayco The Psychological Incapacity to Marry………………….39 Maria Katrina C. Franco Filipinos Without Borders: The Convergence of Law, Religion, Citizenship, and Marriage……………………….79 Ma. Soledad Margarita Deriquito-Mawis Inter-country Adoption in the Philippines: An Evolving Process…………………………………………………………...140 Fina Bernadette Dela Cuesta-Tantuico Reproductive Health Care as a Basic Human Right of Filipino Women: Where are We Now?................................166 Joan A. De Venecia-Fabul Employment Law and the Gender Gap in the Philippines: A Starting Point for Further Study…………………………193 Easter Princess U. Castro-Ty. Maria Viola B. Vista-Villaroman iv IBP Journal (ISSN 0118-9247) is an official publication of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. Subscription Rates (inclusive of postage): Php 1,000.00 (local) US $20.00 (foreign individual) US $25.00 (foreign institution) Editorial Office Integrated Bar of the Philippines 15 J. Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1600 Telephone: (+632) 8631-3018 ● Fax: (+632) 8634-4696 Website: www.ibp.ph ● Email: [email protected] IBP Journal accepts papers dealing with legal issues and developments as well as socio-economic and political issues with legal dimensions. Only manuscripts accompanied by a soft copy, including an abstract and curriculum vitae of the author, will be considered. Papers are published through a peer-review process undertaken by the Board of Editors. The articles published in IBP Journal do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Editors. The articles are representative of the views of the author/s alone and the author/s are responsible for the views expressed therein. v Editor’s Note Gender equality is a fundamental human right. When this right is not afforded full protection, society as a whole falters. If half of the world is denied equal footing in developing their potentials, the future of humanity remains bleak. And altering this course is a pressing challenge, requiring sincere commitment to gender equality. Empowered women are in a better position to promote the well-being, health, and productivity of their families and communities. Thus, women empowerment is crucial in attaining a truly just, productive and resilient society. As such, addressing gender gaps — access to education, employment, representation, exercise of rights and opportunities — deserves to be at the forefront of national and global discourse. In celebration of Women’s Month (March), the IBP Journal pays tribute to the cause of gender equality and women empowerment by sponsoring this special edition in partnership with one of the oldest organizations of women lawyers in the Philippines. This edition takes on seven articles, all authored by women, each delving on specific topics that bear on pressing issues and challenges to gender equality in the country. In The Legal Impediments to Protecting the Rights of Women as Persons Deprived of Liberty, Arlene G. Lapuz- Ureta tackles the problems of jail congestion in the country, focusing on the plight of female persons deprived of liberty, and proposing solutions to address the iniquities. In The Safe Spaces Act: Innovations, Features, and Issues of Operation within the Current Philippine Legal Landscape, Dot Gancayco provides an overview of Republic Act No. 11313 (“The Safe Spaces Act”), dissecting its key provisions, their intersect with other relevant laws, and potential issues in the Act’s implementation. vi In The Psychological Incapacity to Marry, Maria Katrina C. Franco surveys jurisprudence from 1995 to 2019 relating to Article 36 of the Family Code, which enables courts to nullify marriages for psychological incapacity. Franco distills the legal reasoning behind the cases decided by the Supreme Court in the past 25 years involving the cited provision. In Filipinos Without Borders: The Convergence of Law, Religion, Citizenship and Marriage, Ma. Soledad Margarita Deriquito-Mawis examines how Islam and Christianity have influenced the Philippine laws on marriage. In Inter-Country Adoption in the Philippines: An Evolving Process, Fina Bernadette Dela Cuesta-Tantuico presents the various laws and regulations as well as existing challenges relating to inter-country adoption process in the Philippines. In Reproductive Health Care as a Basic Human Right of Filipino Women: Where are We Now?, Joan A. De Venecia-Fabul narrates the struggles, especially of Filipino women, for the enactment of Republic Act No. 10354, otherwise known as the Reproductive Health Act. De Venecia-Fabul argues, however, that the enactment was not a complete victory, listing down various impediments towards its full and effective implementation. In Employment Law and the Gender Gap in the Philippines: A Starting Point for Further Study, Easter Princess U. Castro-Ty and Maria Viola B. Vista-Villaroman review the Philippine laws providing special benefits and rights to women workers, tackling the 2020 Global Gender Gap Report 2020 by the World Economic Forum, and identifying possible directions for policymakers and regulators. Through this sponsored special edition, the IBP Journal aims to provide a platform to amplify the voices of women in law and enliven the national discourse on gender equality as a basic human right deserving full protection. vii Guest Editor’s Note The U.P. Women Lawyers’ Circle, Inc. (UP WILOCI) is proud to collaborate with the IBP Journal on a special issue celebrating Women’s Month (March). With articles tackling complex and pressing matters impacting women, the issue also commemorates the UP WILOCI’s 75th anniversary this 2021. Based on the 2020 Global Gender Gap Report, the Philippines appears to be doing well in terms of gender imparity, ranking 16th among 153 countries surveyed. But it also seems that the country’s high ranking relates to areas where the Philippines scored well—women representation in professional, technical, and managerial posts, as well as general wage equality. But problems remain. For example, in terms of workforce participation, the country lands closer to the bottom, placing 121st. In this issue, Viola Vista-Villaroman and Easter Castro-Ty discuss the report and provide a survey of employment benefits for women. Women representation in more senior levels of enterprises and organizations in the Philippines is certainly something to be proud of. But this statistic most likely covers only women who have the benefit of higher education and economic opportunities. Many Filipino women do not enjoy these privileges. As for wage equality, and as observed by former COA Chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan (in a UP WILOCI webinar held on 7 March 2021), the conversation about women empowerment should no longer be principally about gender or wage gap, but on the more general imperatives of improving education, health care, employment opportunities, among others. Some of these imperatives are not just those simply economic in nature. They include clarity on, and evolution in, rights relating to marriage, adoption and reproductive health. These topics are often described as “women’s issues” even as they involve and affect men as well. But one might view the term as a short-cut to express the reality that our laws, local culture and norms, and the fact of the female physiology, can expose viii women to greater vulnerabilities and burdens, and therefore necessitating more protection for women. Fina Dela Cuesta Tantuico’s article provides a clear and useful overview of the issues relating to the inter-country adoption process. Meanwhile, Joan De Venecia-Fabul’s highly informative and personal piece on reproductive health care highlights the ever-growing need to protect the reproductive rights of women, and access to proper information and health care. Katrina Franco’s very helpful survey of cases on psychological incapacity underscore the need (finally) for a Philippine divorce law. Sol Deriquito-Mawis’ discussion is one of the most comprehensive articles on this very issue, and a great resource on the topic. The deeply-rooted problems of harassment and misogyny—many times downplayed as just harmless behavior of men (as opposed to acts that show an essential lack of awareness/respect for human dignity) are shrugged off even by women as something that they need to live with.