Women Participation in Politics and  Governance

• Preliminary report (as of February 2011) of the May 2010 automated national and local elections shows that around 18.4 percent of the elected posts are won by women candidates, slightly higher than the 17 percent turnout in 2007.
• For the same election period, voter turnout, which is computed by dividing the total votes cast by the total number of registered voters, is higher for women than men. COMELEC figures as of August 2011 show that women voter turnout is 75.7 percent compared to men at 74.3 percent. The national figure is 75.0 percent.
• In 2007 and 2004, voter turnouts for women were also higher than men and the national figures. Women voter turnout in 2007 was 73.3 percent while that of men was 72.8 percent and the national figure at 73.1 percent. In 2004, women voter turnout was 77.5 percent compared to men at 76.4 percent while the national figure was 76.9 percent.
• In 2010 Senatorial election, there were 14 women who ran out of 61 candidates (23.0%), of which two entered the top 12 winning senators (16.7%). Women participation in the senatorial election in 2007 was lower at 10.8 percent (4 out of 37 senatorial candidates) with one woman elected (8.3%).
• There are 48 women Representatives elected in the 15th Congress (2010 national election). They accounted for 21.6 percent of the total 222 Representatives as members of the Lower House. During the 14th Congress, 51 women had secured memberships in the House of Representatives which was lower at 21.2 percent of the total 240 seats.
• A women's rights organization has secured party-list representation in Congress since 2004. Civil society/private sector organizations that carry the agenda of marginalized sectors vie for a limited number of seats in the House of Representatives.
• In the 2007 national election, a total of 21 Party-list Representatives were given seats in the House of Congress, two represented a women's organization - Gabriela Women's Party (GWP) which also won in the 2004 national election.
• Moreover, of the total 21 elected Party-list Representatives, 6 or 28.57 percent are women. This is higher than the 2004 figure which was only 17.39 percent (4 women out of 23 elected Party-list Representatives).
• The participation of women in the judiciary is slightly increasing. In 2007, 32 percent of the total incumbent judges in the first and second level courts, including Shari'a courts, were women, although it increased to 33 percent in 2008; 33 percent in 2009; and 34 percent in 2010.
  
• In the Supreme Court, there were 3 women out of 15 justices in 2001; 4 out of 15 in 2002; 4 out of 14 in 2003; 5 out of 15 in 2004; and 5 out of 15 in 2007.
  
• Statistics on women lawyers showed a decreasing trend of disparity from its male counterpart. In 2001, the percentage of women bar passers was 40.44 percent (512).
  
• It decreased in 2002 at 39.04 percent (358) but increased in 2003, 2004, and 2005 at 43.68 percent (484), 46.31 percent (765), and 48.27 percent (724) respectively.
• Women dominate the bureaucracy especially the technical or second-level. Based on the 2004 data of the Civil Service Commission, women make up the majority of the bureaucracy, accounting for 58.7 percent of the total 1.31 million government personnel.
• As of February 2012, the percentage of women occupying CES positions (3rd level positions) is 46 percent which is higher than the 42 percent reported in February 2011.