2. Methodology This paper adopts a qualitative, feminist policy analysis framework combining documentary review, institutional analysis and field-based inquiry to assess how power, participation and accountability are structured within Philippine local governance. The paper examined policy documents, audit reports and decentralization literature to trace how gender is sidelined or integrated in governance systems. Semi-structured interviews and community case studies with women leaders, civil society organizers and local officials captured the lived experiences of cooperation and exclusion across municipalities. Guided by feminist methodologies, the analysis treats lived experience as political evidence and applies the twin principles of Upward Agenda Setting and Horizontal Accountability to identify institutional entry points for reform. The approach bridges feminist theory and policy design to translate community narratives into actionable pathways for redistributing decision-making power, improving accountability flows and centering gender justice within both legislative and executive practices. Claiming Power and Reshaping Governance: A Feminist Framework for the Philippines 9