Conclusion Effective governance requires gender justice to be at the heart of all its processes. When governance fails to confront how power is produced, distributed and reinforced, it sustains the inequalities it seeks to remedy. As this paper has demonstrated, despite progressive legislation such as the Magna Carta of Women and the devolution provisions of the LGC, the Philippines remains stalled in the mid­range of the gender continuum. Gender policies often operate as procedural checklists rather than transformative instruments, while hierarchical, elite-driven and patriarchal systems continue to define public decision making. The result is a governance environment where vulnerability is obscured, participation is weakened and gender justice remains aspirational rather than structural. A key argument of this paper is that vulnerability must be centered in governance processes and reframed as a political resource that can surface lived knowledge, inform policy priorities and spotlight how marginalized groups bear intersecting burdens. When governance acknowledges vulnerability, it creates space for grassroots shaping of outcomes(power-to) and the development of collective strength through solidarity, cooperation and mutual recognition(power-with), which are essential to dismantling the dominance of entrenched institutions and political culture(power-over). Accordingly, the structuring principles of Upward Agenda Setting and Horizontal Accountability—the two mutually reinforcing principles that guide this paper’s feminist governance framework—offer design pathways to operationalize gender transformation. Upward Agenda Setting elevates the lived realities of marginalized groups— women, LGBTQIA+ communities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, youth and senior citizens—as the starting point of policymaking. Horizontal Accountability ensures that oversight and evaluation flow laterally across communities, civil society and government, embedding care, transparency and responsiveness into the governance cycle rather than relying solely on bureaucratic legality. In tandem, these principles move governance toward a model where vulnerability becomes a catalyst for empowerment and where power-to and power-with can flourish. The experiences of KABILIN, KAKASA and the Odiongan CPIA show that such transformation is possible. These initiatives demonstrate how Indigenous women, rural leaders and community auditors can redefine priorities, reshape institutional behavior and strengthen accountability through collective action. They illustrate how centering vulnerability leads to more grounded and adaptive policies, and how cultivating power-with among communities and government officials can produce enduring shifts in attitudes, resource flows and governance culture. At the same time, the fragility of these gains underscores the need for institutionalization, legal protection and sustained resourcing to ensure that collaborative governance does not depend solely on political will or individual champions. To achieve gender-just governance at scale, reform must move beyond technical compliance toward a structural reimagining of how institutions function. This includes embedding intersectional gender analysis across the policy cycle; designing budgets that redistribute care work; ensuring that participatory spaces are accessible, inclusive and co-created; expanding participatory auditing; strengthening the visibility of marginalized groups through intersectional data; and recognizing civic participation as labor deserving compensation. It also requires challenging patriarchal norms that constrain women’s agency and impede accountability, while empowering women in public office as solidarity actors capable of expanding political space for others. Ultimately, gender-just governance requires reshaping the relationship between the state and citizens. It calls for transforming governance from a system of hierarchical control to one of shared responsibility; from top–down priority setting to community-rooted co-creation; from compliance to impact; and from symbolic representation to substantive empowerment. By centering vulnerability and nurturing both power-to and power-with through the principles of Upward Agenda Setting and Horizontal Accountability, the Philippines can build governance systems that are inclusive, equitable and grounded in care. In doing so, the country can strengthen gender justice and the legitimacy, resilience and responsiveness of its democracy—making the work of governing a truly collective endeavor. Claiming Power and Reshaping Governance: A Feminist Framework for the Philippines 27