Every year (except for the three pandemic years) in Davao City since the Women Development Code was passed in 1997, women and their allies from the 182 barangays in the city, national and local government offices, and civil society organizations gather for the Davao City Women Summit.
This year’s Women Summit was held last Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Grand Men Seng Hotel and revolved around the theme: “Ang Babaylan sa Bag-ong Panahon, Nagamugna ug Makiangayon nga Kaugmaon.” (The Babaylan of the new generation, creating a just future.)
The summit’s keynote address was delivered by the new generation of feminists in Davao represented by Ms. Adreiane Dormitorio, President of POWER ADDU. It stands for People’s Organization for Women’s Empowerment and Rights (POWER) in Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU).
Adreiane was grateful for the space given to young women to speak at the city-wide summit and to meet the women who blazed the trail before them. She hopes that more youth participants will join not just in succeeding summits but in all major activities and programs of the women’s movement in the city.
In her talk, she raised concerns on the continued exploitation of young women in our colleges and universities who are forced to prostitute themselves to be able to afford their education. She is urging government and the education sector to find ways to address the rising cost of college education in the city and to provide better pathways for working students to support themselves through sustainable employment and entrepreneurship.
The issue of prostitution is something that the women’s movement in Davao, as well as the local government, views as exploitative and a form of violence against women. It is therefore not treated as an occupation or a kind of work.
The prostituted women in Davao are pushed into the sex trade as a consequence of a lack of choice and need for survival in response to their social and economic environment that include poverty, addiction, or history of abuse. It is not a free and informed choice among viable options. The existence of people who claim to choose it voluntarily is seen as the exception that proves the rule and not a basis for a legal framework that affects millions of vulnerable individuals.
Talikala, a Davao-based non-stock, non-profit social development organization that helps women and girls who have been forced into prostitution break free (talikala is a Visayan word for “chain”) and live empowered lives, has been urging the city government to stop requiring prostituted women to get “occupational permits,” which cost them more than Php 4,000 a year.
In response, Councilor Pamela Librado, who chairs the Committee on Civil, Political, and Human Rights, stressed in her privilege speech last March 2: “By requiring occupational permit and collecting fees from prostituted women, we are effectively sanctioning an act that both national and local laws recognize as exploitation. How can the city government collect a revenue fee from an exploitative or illegal activity?”
Both Talikala and Councilor Librado advocate for a shift in mindset and intervention to address prostitution. They said that the city government’s goal should be “to create pathways out of exploitation instead of taxing those in vulnerable sectors.”
According to the city’s records, there are about 600 women, as of 2023, with occupational permits engaged in the local “entertainment” industry, including sex trade.
This women’s month, Davao women are reclaiming the story of the Babaylan from pre-colonial Philippines where gender equality was not just an ideal, but a fundamental aspect of society.
The story of the Babaylan provides a profound lens through which to understand the complex problem of prostitution in the Philippines today. The connection lies in the journey from a society that revered female spiritual power to one where economic desperation and colonial legacies have pushed many women into the margins, including the sex trade.
The Babaylan represents a pre-colonial wholeness and dignity, while the issue of prostitution reveals the deep wounds of our patriarchal and colonial history.
They were powerful spiritual leaders, and their central role in the community provides the clearest evidence of the high status and autonomy women and gender-fluid individuals (ncluding feminized men who were called asog or bayok) enjoyed before Spanish colonization.
The Spanish colonizers, bringing with them a patriarchal version of Christianity, systematically dismantled the Babaylan’s status. They were maligned as witches and “priests of the devil.” The colonization project involved re-educating women according to the restrictive values of the 16th century Iberian society, where a woman’s worth was tied to her modesty and confinement to the home.
This created the category of the “Magdalena” or the “fallen woman” — a label applied to any woman who deviated from this new, imposed standard. This historical shift created the very stigma that now attaches to prostituted women.
The persecution of the Babaylan and broader imposition of patriarchy did not just erase a role; it displaced a people and created new, often desperate, avenues for survival.
The erosion of indigenous cultures and the imposition of colonial economic structures contributed to cycles of poverty and disempowerment. Women are stereotyped as “sex objects,” experience discrimination, and are often relegated to low-paying jobs with little protection, making them vulnerable to traffickers and pimps.
The modern Babaylan counters the historical forces that created vulnerability to prostitution and exploitation. They fight this legacy by restoring women’s agency and public voice. They directly challenge the stereotypes and discrimination that are modern evolutions of those colonial attitudes.
Just as the ancient Babaylan were healers of individuals and communities, the new Babaylan focus on healing through solidarity. By creating a supportive community, they help women recover from the isolation and trauma that can be both a cause and a consequence of exploitation.
They are also reclaiming spiritual and moral authority by framing their work in terms of dignity, justice, and human rights. They operate from a place of empowerment, not shame.
That is why among the resolutions passed during the Women Summit include concrete proposals that will address women’s economic and social security; women’s political leadership and meaningful participation; and cultural and legal support for women and their children.
Three important resolutions stood out: (1) Creating a Women Center as a hub for services, training, protection, and economic opportunities for women in entrepreneurship; (2) Conducting a comprehensive review of the 1997 Women Development Code by an independent body with a report presented in time for the 30th anniversary of the ordinance in 2027; and (3) Making women’s contributions visible and part of the city’s history through a dedicated Women Herstory section at the Museo Dabawenyo to be launched during the 30th anniversary of the Women Development Code in 2027. All these major initiatives are to be funded by the GAD budget of the city government, which is at least five percent of the total budget of the City of Davao.
The women of Davao are inspired by the story of the Babaylan, which is a powerful reminder of a different way of organizing society — one rooted in balance, inclusion, and respect for the feminine divine.
