Guidelines for the creation, strengthening, and institutionalization of the Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point System

PURPOSE

To provide guidelines and procedures for the establishment, strengthening, and institutionalization of the GAD Focal Point System (GFPS) in constitutional bodies, government departments, agencies, bureaus, SUCs, GOCCs and all other government instrumentalities; and

To clarify the roles and responsibilities, composition and structure of the GFPS to enable it to function as a mechanism for catalyzing and accelerating gender mainstreaming in the agency towards the promotion of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.

POLICY GUIDELINES

Pursuant to Section 36 of Republic Act No. 9710, otherwise known as the Magna Carta of Women (MCW), all government departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges, government –owned and –controlled corporations, local government units and all other government instrumentalities shall adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy to promote women’s human rights and eliminate gender discrimination in their systems, structures, policies, programs , processes, and procedures;

Section 37-C of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the MCW provides that all concerned government agencies and instrumentalities mentioned above shall establish or strengthen their GFPS or a similar GAD mechanism to catalyze and accelerate gender mainstreaming within the agency… READ FULL TEXT OF MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 2011-01dated 21 October 2011 addressed to All Government Departments, including their Attached Agencies, Offices, Bureaus, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), and All Other Government Instrumentalities.