Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-eioht day of July, two thousand eight. S. No. 2396 H. No. 4273 AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN REPUBLIC ACT N0.9710] Fourteenth Congress Second Regular Session Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as "The Magna Carta of Women". SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - Recognizing that the economic, political, and sociocultural realities affect women's current condition, the State affirms the role of women in nation building and ensures the substantive equality of women and It shall promote empowerment of women and pursue equal opportunities for women and men and ensure equal access to men. resources and to development results and outcome. Further, the State realizes that equality of men and women entails the abolition of the unequal structures and practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. To realize this, the State shall endeavor to develop plans, policies, programs, measures, and mechanisms to address discrimination and inequality in the economic, political, social, and cultural life of women and men. The State condemns discrimination against women in all its forms and pursues by all appropriate means and without delay the policy of eliminating discrimination against women in keeping with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other international instruments consistent with Philippine law. The 2