The Gender Justice Awards
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 women’s 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 Women’s Studies, the U.P. Center for Women’s 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 gender-sensitive 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. 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, women’s rights and children’s 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, AsianCenter for Women’s Human Rights, Children’s 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 women’s rights and children’s 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 Women’s 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 (Children’s Justice League), Charmaine Calalang (Coalition Against Trafficking of Women –Asia Pacific), Milagros Cristobal Amar (Asian Center for Women’s 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 Gidorand 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 OroquietaCity, 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 Penaco-Sitaca’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 Shari’a 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 Justice’s 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 gender-responsive 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.”
Atty. Rowena V. Guanzon is the Co-Project Leader of the Gender Justice Awards. She is a practicing lawyer, writer, women’s rights and children’s rights advocate and a consultant.She has a degree of Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.
