There are more female than male members in the country’s judiciary.

Data showed there are 1,153 female judges and justices from the trial courts to the Supreme Court (SC) compared to their 984 male counterparts.

It is in the trial courts where women judges outnumber their male counterparts in the judiciary’s mandate of dispensing justice.

A total of 1,106 lady judges sits in the country’s regional trial courts (RTCs), municipal trial courts (MTCs), municipal circuit trial courts (MCTCs), metropolitan trial courts (MTCs), municipal trial courts in cities (MTCTs), and Shari’ah district and circuit courts.

These courts, known as the first and second level courts, have 920 male judges. The figures in the trial courts were based on data as of last Feb. 28 and obtained from Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva.

But in the Supreme Court (SC), Court of Appeals (CA), and Sandiganbayan, there are more incumbent male justices than women jurists.

At the SC, there are only two lady justices in the 15-member High Court. The CA, the country’s second highest court, has 36 male justices compared to 30 lady justices, while Sandiganbayan has 13 male justices compared to eight lady justices.

However, at the CTA, there are seven lady justices compared to only two male justices.

The most senior of all the women judiciary members is SC Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe, also president of the Philippine Women Judges Association (PWJA)

Coincidentally, members of the PWJA held the first day of their two-day online 27th National Convention and Seminar last March 8, the celebration of the International Women’s Day.

Justice Bernabe has been in the judiciary for more than 26 years as then trial court judge and CA associate justice. She is expected to hung her judicial robe on May 14, her 70th birthday.

In her valedictory address, Justice Bernabe paid tribute to the 16 SC justices “who have broken the proverbial ‘glass ceiling’ and dared to tread this male-dominated world.”

She named them as Associate Justices Cecilia Muñoz Palma (appointed in 1973), Ameurfina A. Melencio Herrera (1979), Irene R. Cortes (1987), Carolina C. Griño Aquino (1988), Flerida Ruth P. Romero (1991), Minerva P. Gonzaga Reyes (1999), Consuelo Ynares Santiago (1999), Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez (2000), Ma. Alicia Austria Martinez (2002), Conchita Carpio Morales (2002), Minita V. Chico Nazario (2004), Teresita J. Leonardo De-Castro (2007), SAJ Bernabe herself (2011), Rosmari D. Carandang (2018), Amy C. Lazaro Javier (2019), and Priscilla J. Baltazar Padilla (2020). Justice De Castro was eventually appointed the 24th Chief Justice.

“These women may have represented a small minority, as in fact, when I retire in May, the next PWJA President, Justice Amy Lazaro Javier, will be the lone lady Justice sitting in the High Court due to the untimely death of Justice Baltazar Padilla,” Bernabe said.

“But remember this: they have already carved a path for you, my dear sisters, in the advancement of gender equality and women empowerment in the Judiciary. It is my most fervent hope that these 16 trailblazers will inspire you to wield your own axes and cut through the institutional barriers to make a more expansive clearing for lady magistrates,” she said.

She added: “While we can be warriors at heart, our manner of dispensation of justice has always been marked by refined strength and deep compassion. This is our distinctive touch – the touch that heals, unites, and moves people towards redemptive and productive action.”

She noted that PWJA members faced their greatest challenge in the last two years due to global health crisis but the judges and justices “refused to cower in fear, nor be shackled by pandemic restrictions.”

“Instead, each and every one of you stretched out your compassionate hands to colleagues and subordinates alike, as well as the communities that surround you – hands that comforted, prayed, and extended financial assistance to those affected by the corona virus and other catastrophic natural calamities,” she pointed out.

“You are the modern heroes – or should I say ‘she-roes’ – of justice and social equality! I thank you for your unwavering passion and commitment to the PWJA and the ideals it represents; and for the kind esteem that you have generously bestowed upon me as your PWJA President,” she said.

“I leave my post with utmost pride and confidence that the PWJA is well on its way into becoming what we envisioned it to be – a transformational force, driven by determined and upright women judges and justices who lead by example, thereby creating a strong national consciousness not only for the ideals of justice but also of social equality,” she added.

PWJA was founded on Sept. 5, 1987 by SC Justice and Philippine Judicial Academy Chancellor Emeritus Ameurfina A. Melencio-Herrera.

During the convention, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo urged the cooperation of all judiciary members and personnel as he stressed “the need for everyone to unite, realize our shared responsibility and support the government, more than ever.”

“We cannot allow the pandemic to put our lives on hold. We cannot merely wait for the pandemic to be over and accept whatever comes. We have to learn to be proactive and creative; we must be bold and innovative,” Gesmundo stressed.

“We cannot rely on government alone to respond to this crisis. We must also help and do our part,” he said.

He expressed the judiciary’s gratitude to the PWJA for securing healthcare services even to non-members -- to court personnel, male judges, and their respective dependents -- as well as authorizing the release of emergency funds to extend financial assistance to the bereaved family of PWJA members.

He also cited the “relief efforts initiated by PWJA President Justice Bernabe to extend assistance to judges, court employees, and other typhoon victims in the Visayas and Mindanao regions affected by Typhoon Odette.

Aside from PWJA members who attended the online convention, the SC’ public information office (PIO) said the other participants were PWJA Executive Vice President and SC Justice Javier; Court Administrator Villanueva; CA Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh; Sandiganbayan Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez Estoesta; PWJA Vice Presidents CA Justice Marilyn Payoyo Villordon, Sandiganbayan Justice Ma. Theresa M. Arcega, CTA Justice Ma. Belen Ringpis Liban, and Judge Josefina Eco-Siscar, Judge Barbara Aleli H. Briones, Judge Ma. Victoria Q. Padilla Awid, and Judge Ma. Belinda Crisostomo Rama; Public Relations Officer and Judge Rebecca Guillen-Ubana; and SC Management Information System Office Chief Atty. Jed Sherwin Uy.