WOM/944
While significant steps had been taken for the advancement of women in the Philippines, the social conditions continued to pose challenges to the Government, the representative of the Philippines told the Committee which monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as he presented his country's third and fourth periodic reports this morning. He said that despite decreasing unemployment and declining poverty, the number of Filipinos living below the poverty line was a serious concern.