3 August 2018
CEDAW Secretariat
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais Wilson -52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Re: Supplementary information on the Philippines on the implementation of para. 40 of the
Concluding Observations issued by the Committee during its 64th session
I.
Introduction
The undersigned organizations1 prepared this letter to assist the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (the Committee) in its mid-term review of the Government of the
Philippines’ (state party) compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee’s Concluding Observations,
particularly para. 56 in relation to para. 40 issued during its 64th session on July 4-22, 2016.2 In its
2015 summary of the special inquiry report (summary report)3, the Committee found that
restrictive reproductive health laws and policies in the country, including two executive orders in
Manila City which effectively banned modern contraceptives on local health facilities, amounted
to grave and systematic violations of Article 12, read alone and in conjunction with Article 2(c),
(d), and (f), with Article (5) and with Article 10(h), and Article 16(1)(e) of the Convention in
relation to Filipinos’ access to contraceptive services,4 abortion,5 post-abortion care,6 and effective
legal remedies for violations of women’s fundamental human rights.7
We welcome the Committee’s continued monitoring on the status of reproductive rights in the
country, and particularly on the implementation of its inquiry recommendations, as the state party
prepares to engage in different law reform processes. Since the Committee’s review in 2016, the
state party initiated the process to discuss proposals to amend the Constitution,8 proposed a draft
new Philippine Code of Crimes to replace the Revised Penal Code (RPC),9 and is expected to
convene the Congressional Oversight Committee on Reproductive Health Act— a body tasked to
review the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012
(RPRHA) and propose amendments to the law as needed.10
Since the summary report was released, the undersigned organizations have closely monitored and,
in some cases, have provided technical support to actions taken by the state party to implement the
inquiry recommendations. This letter provides key updates on the steps taken by the state party
since the Committee’s 2016 periodic review reflecting continuing reproductive rights violations
and discrimination against women in accessing: (1) the full range of contraceptive information and
services, (2) safe and legal abortion, and (3) humane and quality post-abortion care. We have also