SHARECountry Data
Philippines (Republic of the Philippines) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas at the sub-national level. 85 of 304 (28%) seats in the Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan / House of Representatives are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? No
- For the Upper House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Feb 19, 2020
Single/Lower House
Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan / House of Representatives
| Total seats | 304 |
| Total Women | 85 |
| % Women | 28% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | Parallel |
| Quota Type | No legislated |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Reserved Seats
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved Seats | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | The 1991 Local Government Code No. 7160 (s. 41, para. C) requires that a woman be 1 of 3 sectoral representatives included in every municipal, city and provincial legislative council. |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | None |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | None |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriela Women's Party | An all Women's party, representing 250 women's organisations. The party got 4.2 percent of the votes in the 2016 national elections. | ||
| Philippines Democratic Socialist Party | Partido Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas [PDSP] | PDSP has a 25 percent quota for women. | |
| Akbayan | Akbayan Citizen's Action Party | Instituted a quota to ensure that at least 30% of its leadership positions are occupied by women (Article II, sec.6. a.) |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
The legislation pertaining to political party finance provides financial incentives to promote parties’ support to women members though allocating a quota equal to at least 5 per cent of electoral reimbursements for initiatives fostering women’s political participation.
The Act Providing for the Election of Party-List Representatives through the Party-List System, and Appropriating Funds, therefore, provides for the principle of representation of women in party lists submitted for the parliamentary elections (Section 5).
In 1986 a constitutional quota applicable to various marginalized groups, including women, was adopted for the following three parliaments: ‘For three consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector’ (1986 Constitution, Article VI, section 5).
Currently, several legislative initiatives are being considered in the parliament with regards to the introduction of minimum 30 per cent quotas for promoting women’s participation in all areas of public life, including public service.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Omnibus Election Code
- Party-List System Act 1995
- Local Government Code 1991
- National Electoral Commission (Official website),
OTHER SOURCES:
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Asia, ‘Quota Profile: Philippines’
- Akbayan, Consitution 2010
Additional reading
- Reilly, B. and Reyes, S. 2016. 'Zipper System: How to get more women elected', Rappler. (online). https://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/129938-zipper-system-get-more-women-elected-congress
- Rappler. 2016. '46 Groups Proclaimed as Party list winners'. Rappler. (Online). https://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/133630-groups-proclaimed-party-list
- Atienza, Maria Ela L. 2000. ‘Gender and Local Governance in the Philippines.’ Rose J. Lee and Cal Clark (eds.). Democracy & the Status of Women in East Asia. Boulder: Lynne Rienner. pp. 77-90
- UNIFEM. 2000. Progress of the World's Women 2000. New York: United Nations.
- Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1999. Participation of Women in Political Life: An assessment of developments in national parliaments, political parties, governments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, five years after the Fourth World Conference on Women. Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- Mission, Gina. 1998. ‘Their Own Worst Enemies: Gender Politics in the Philippines.’ WIN Magazine. April.
- Aguilar, C. T. 1997. ‘Challenges to Women Politicians in a Democratized Asian Society.’ Paper presented at The 17th World Congress of the International Political Science Association. Seoul.
- Calimoso, Eloy. 1997. Cuberdyaryo, April 12.
- Philippine Parliament website, http://www.congress.gov.ph/