[ Researchers say... ] Case study on GAD mainstreaming at the Philippine National Policy (PNP) While some agencies have difficulty complying with the policy, others have managed to successfully mainstreamed gender concerns into their budget and regular functions and training, as in the case of the PNP. Predominance of male police During the precolonial period, the functions of policing were given to the headman or chieftain of the community. He exercised his duty by employing all the males of the tribes as guardian of his people. Later, he confined his choice exclusively to the able-bodied males to serve as watchmen especially when there were threats from other tribes. Nevertheless, the main police duty was to ensure that the laws were enforced and peace and order was maintained in the community. As different foreign invaders came and went the policing functions became a very important part of the colonial administrative system. This was to primarily quell any type of rebellion of Filipinos, thus ensuring that the colony was kept safe from the internal insurgents and even from other colonizers. During those times, the tasks of police officers were very physically challenging, such that women had a difficult time entering the police force, if not refrained at all. This set-up gave a picture of a “masculine organization” for the police organization which further galvanized the perception that policing is for men and for men alone. Today, the police organization of the country has evolved not only by name, but most important by functions and organizational set-up. The professionalization of the police service gained official recognition when RA 4864 otherwise known as the Police Act of 1966 was passed. After sometime, other laws were promulgated to infuse efficiency and effectiveness in the police force. These are RA 6975 or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990 and the most recent, RA 8551 or the Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998.
Women’s Desk was issued under the supervision of Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR). Further, RA 8551 or the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act provided for the institutionalization of the Women and Children’s Desk as specified in Section 57. From 1999-2000, several PNP administrative issuances on women and children were adopted. As a result of these issuances, a series of trainings and other skills enhancement programs were developed and conducted for the police officers who are assigned to Women and Children’s Desk. The PNP became an active participant in various task forces on women and child protection. In 2001, the PNP Women’s Crisis and Child Protection Center based was set up in Camp Crame. On the same year Memorandum Circular (MC) 2001-007, which provided for the “Strengthening and Promotion of Women and Children’s Desk,” was issued (Mascariña, 2005). Presently, GAD is under the supervision of the Directorate for Community Relations while the Women and Children’s Desk is under the Directorate for Investigation and Detection Management. Majority of those assigned to the Women and Children’s Desk are women police officers because the PNP believes that they are more sensitive to the clientele’s needs.
The enabling mechanisms The PNP continuously develops mechanisms to fast-track the attainment of a gender -sensitive policing system. It has started establishing its own GAD Focal Point System, not only at the national level (meaning at the PNP Headquarters), but down to the regional, provincial and municipal levels as well. The PNP also made some linkages with government agencies and non government organizations, both local and international. Meaningful partnerships with the NCRFW and the Violence Against Women Coordinating Council (VAWCC) have been
PNP GAD policies, programs and projects The PNP’s organizational and administrative developments brought with it the agency’s positive orientation towards gender issues. The passage of RA 7192 or the “Women in Development and Nation-Building Act of 1991,” together with the infusion of the GAD agenda in the planning process of the government, made gender mainstreaming a major endeavor in the police organization, albeit being a male-dominated field. On March 1993, a Presidential Memorandum regarding the creation of Moving Forward with the Millennium Development Goals: MAY PERA PA BA?
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