r Nos. 208 and 268. The directives strengthened the NCRFW as the coordinating body on policies affecting women, by further defining its powers, functions and organizational structure.
Through the continuing support of the CIDA, the NCRFW also implemented Phase II of the Institutional Strengthening Project aimed at capacitating government agencies on gender mainstreaming, and at the same time, building NCRFW's internal capability to manage the over-all gender mainstreaming efforts in the bureaucracy.
Since 1998, the government's focus on poverty alleviation brought forth the importance of empowering women to ensure that the mainstreaming efforts of the government are contributing to the improvement of the lives of women especially at the countryside. The NCRFW, thus, intensified its advocacy for the development of programs and projects that would not only benefit the women, but also, enable them to participate in the decision-making processes.
From 2001, the NCRFW that became PCW in 2009 supported the administration’s poverty alleviation agenda by sustaining the gains of the past in making the bureaucracy work for women under the thrust of advancing and protecting human rights, promoting women’s economic empowerment and promoting gender-responsive governance.
On July 8, 2010, the PCW launched the MCW Implementing Rules and Regulations to its partners and stakeholders. It is currently revising its structure and staffing pattern to effectively and efficiently undertake and accomplish its mandate.