The Gender Justice Awards: An advocacy strategy

For judicial reform

By: Rowena V. Guanzon 1 , LLB, MPA

Introduction
Many women who suffer violence often do not file cases against their abusers mainly
due to their lack of resources for litigation, lack of education, a support system, and the
perceived unreliability of the justice system. The court process, which is lengthy and
expensive, intimidates women, the poor and marginalized groups. Judges who have no
gender awareness and sensitivity compounds the problem of womens lack of equal
access to the courts. Women see courts as unreliable in understanding their plight and
as an institution that can render justice; hence many are discouraged from seeking redress
in the courts.
Many judges and prosecutors continue to perpetuate the misconceptions and biases
against women in their decisions, which is largely a product of a patriarchal judicial
system and Philippine society. Cases are lost because of the inability of judges and
prosecutors to understand the situation of women, their lack of gender awareness and
lack of appreciation of unequal relations of power between men and women within
relations. Many judges and prosecutors continue to use gender stereotyping of roles of
women and prevailing misconceptions about rape and other forms of sexual violence.
This problem can be solved in part through the education of women on their human rights
and the training of lawyers who can render free or affordable legal aid, but more
significant results can be achieved through education and raising the awareness of judges
and prosecutors on violence against women and girl-children.
The 1st Gender Justice Awards
As part of the global effort to eliminate violence against women (VAW), the
University of the Philippines Center for Womens Studies, the U.P. Center for Womens
Studies Foundation, Inc., and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women,
supported by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem-East Southeast
Asia), launched the Gender Justice Awards ( The Awards) last August 8, 2003.
The Gender Justice Awards is an advocacy strategy for judicial reform. With the aim
of engendering the courts, the Awards highlights the need for judges to be gendersensitive and gender-responsive in the conduct of their duties. Although it is an initiative
of non-governmental organizations, it is strongly supported by Chief Justice Hilario G.
1

The Gender Justice Awards is the brainchild of Atty. Rowena V. Guanzon who is the Co-Project Leader of
the awards. Atty. Guanzon is a practicing lawyer, writer and consultant. She has a degree of Master in
Public Administration from Harvard University.

Davide, under whose leadership the Supreme Court is undertaking a gender sensitivity
training program for all judges.
The Gender Justice Awards hopes to raise the level of awareness of judges on the
need for rendering gender sensitive decisions on VAW cases. The Awards aims to (a) help
raise the quality of court decisions on VAW cases, (b) to inform the judges of the State
obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women or CEDAW, (c) to inspire trial judges to be gender sensitive in the way
they conduct hearings and make decisions on VAW cases, and (d) raise the level of
expectation of the public from our judges.
The first of its kind in the Philippines, The Awards was cited by Dr. Patricia Licuanan,
President of Miriam College and member of the Philippine Delegation as an example of
best practice in the Inter-governmental Meeting on the Beijing Plus 10 Platform in
Bangkok on September 9, 2004. Dr. Licuanan emphasized the partnership of government
and non-governmental organizations, womens rights and childrens rights advocates,
lawyers groups, media and business in making The Awards a success.
The Awards, which will is envisioned be held every two to three years, would not
have been successful without the support of the partner organizations, which included
non-government organizations and lawyers groups. These are the Pilipina Legal
Resource Center, Law Inc., Gender Watch (Bacolod), Womynet (Davao), Davao Lady
Lawyers Association, Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panlegal, Asian Center for
Womens Human Rights, Childrens Justice League, Coalition Against Trafficking of
Women-Asia Pacific, the Philippine Bar Association, Integrated Bar of the Philippines,
and the IBP Journal. Other partner organizations are the Zonta Club of Metro Pasig and
the Commission on Human Rights.
Non-government organizations, lawyers and other individuals nominated 59 judges
from all over the country. A Review Team composed of womens rights and childrens
rights lawyers chose 19 finalists, and from among the finalists, the outstanding judges
were selected by the Board of Judges Composed of Justice Leonor I. Luciano, Atty.
Lorna P. Kapunan of the Womens Business Council, and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee
Sheila Coronel of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. The Review Team
were composed of lawyers Sheila Bazar, Sally Escutin (Department of Social Welfare and
Development), Joan Mosatalla and Michael Vincent Gaddi (Sentro ng Alternatibong
Lingap Panlegal, Loren Barias and Roschelle Saymo (Childrens Justice League),
Charmaine Calalang (Coalition Against Trafficking of Women Asia Pacific), Milagros
Cristobal Amar (Asian Center for Womens Human Rights), Editha Santos and Ana Luz
Cristal (Legal Advocates for Women Network or Lawnet) and Flor Atilano (Commission
on Human Rights).
The Provincial Coordinators were Arbet Yongco (Law Inc., Cebu), Imelda Gidor and
Pearl Montesino (Gender Watch, Bacolod) Myrna Pagsuberon (Lawnet Bohol), Mia
Cawed (Lawnet Baguio), and Bing Solamo (Pilipina Legal Resource Center, Inc.)

The Awardees
Chosen as the Most Outstanding Judge is Ma. Nimfa Penaco Sitaca of the Regional
Trial Court (RTC) of Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental. Judge Penaco Sitaca
was an English teacher in a public school before she took up law. She has been a
judge since 1990, and teaches at the Misamis University College of Law. As her
volunteer work, she teaches priests how to write their homily.
Here is what the Board of Judges say of Judge Penaco Sitaca: Judge Nimfa PenacoSitaca's decisions are concise, lyrically written, and to the point. She makes her
pronouncements with a clarity that is rare in the courts, doing away with pretentious
legalese and unnecessary verbiage. Most of all, her decisions betray a keen understanding
of human nature and an erring sense of what is right and what is wrong. They show
compassion, especially for sexually abused young women, and a determination to make
sure that justice is done to them and their wrongdoers get what they deserve. Judge Sitaca
is capable of righteous rage, as evidenced in her decision convicting a 43-year old farmer
of prostituting a 13-year old girl, whom he paid with money and gifts in exchange for
sex. As she stated in her decision in People of the Philippines vs. Fred Blasco: "The court
understands the shame and self-loathing (the victim) feels over the experience which will
haunt and continue to haunt her, perhaps for the rest of her life." The audience took
special note that Judge Penaco-Sitaca, in her acceptance speech, said that aside from
looking at the evidence, a judge must also weigh the cases, feelingly.
The other awardees are: Judge Teodoro Bay of RTC Quezon City, Outstanding Judge
for Metro Manila; Judge Clifon Ganay of RTC Agoo, La Union, Outstanding Judge for
Luzon; Judge Eloida Patricia R. De Leon Diaz of RTC Lucena City, Outstanding Judge
for Luzon; Judge Edgar G. Garvilles of RTC Bacolod City, Outstanding Judge for the
Visayas; and Judge Jacob Malik, RTC Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Outstanding Judge
for Mindanao. Also given a Special Citation was Judge Bensaudi Arabani, Sr of the
Sharia District Court, Jolo, Sulu, for his decisions protecting the rights of Muslim
women. Judge Edgardo delos Santos of RTC Bacolod City was cited for his novel
decision convicting a foreigner for violating the mail order bride law, and Retired RTC
Judge Anthony Santos of Cagayan de Oro City was also cited for his novel decision,
which is the first conviction on marital rape.
The Chief Justices support
Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. showed his full
support for the Awards. He was the keynote speaker during its launching and
during the awarding ceremony. His words will hopefully go a long way in
setting the example and encouraging judges to perform their duties in a genderresponsive manner, and help women gain equal access to justice. We quote part
of his speech during the awarding ceremony below:

Clearly, prejudicial treatment of women is wholly inconsistent with

the principle of equality enshrined in our Constitution- a principle the
courts must at all times protect, strengthen and promote. I have said
this before, and I will say it again if only to underscore its significance:
unequal treatment of persons by reason of gender alone has no place in
the courts. Bias against women is injurious to justice, for it in itself is
injustice of a very disastrous and disgraceful kind, the result of which
affects humanity itself."
.