3.2. Conceptualizing Power This paper adopts a multidimensional understanding of power as relational, productive and entrenched in social structures(Pansardi and Bindi, 2021). Power-over refers to the relational and often hierarchical capacity to constrain or dominate others—an exercise of control that may be coercive or structural(Haugaard, 2015; Rye, 2015). While traditionally viewed as negative, power-over is not inherently oppressive; its effects depend on whether it enables or limits others’ capacity to act. Power-to captures the individual or collective ability to act or bring about change(Morriss, 2002; Pitkin, 1972), representing agency and the capacity for transformation. Power-with refers to the shared ability that emerges through cooperation and collective organization toward common goals—a horizontal form of power grounded in mutual recognition and solidarity rather than domination(Allen, 1999; Partzsch, 2017). Recent debates suggest these forms are interdependent: Empowerment processes often transform power-over into power-to and power-with, where agency and collaboration replace control and hierarchy (Pansardi and Bindi, 2021). Within this paper’s framework, gender-just governance depends not only on redistributing power-over but also on expanding the social conditions that enable power-to and power-with to flourish. 3.3. Deliberation and Collective Empowerment Participatory mechanisms must empower vulnerable populations with a sense of power-to or a collective influence over the social conditions of their lives(Young, 1997). This requires recognizing the material and social barriers that prevent full participation in shaping governance. Deliberative and collective action that links personal experience to political action is central to feminist governance(Sawer et al., 2023). Genuine empowerment requires material ability to shape outcomes. The capacity of vulnerable communities to influence their own lives is a core component to ensuring that participation translates into decision-making power, resource access and accountability over policies that affect everyday life. Power-with or the capacity for collective and collaborative action, aligns with Veneracion-Rallonza’s(2008, p. 213) call for a“transversalist form” which reconceptualizes governance as a network of many different public spheres and not a single top–down structure. Multiple experiences are then able to emerge from marginalization. However, this can only become effective and transformative if power is diffused toward the most vulnerable. Elite Capture Inclusion Transformation Claiming Power and Reshaping Governance: A Feminist Framework for the Philippines 11