2
suggested measures that we hope the Committee will urge the state party to take to address the
remaining challenges to the full realization of reproductive rights in the country.
II.
Progress and challenges to realizing reproductive health and rights in the
Philippines
Since the Committee’s review in 2016, the state party has taken several positive steps to improve
women’s and girls’ access to reproductive health information and services. The Philippine
Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) published its report on its first ever national inquiry on
reproductive health and rights and found the state party accountable for reproductive rights
violations, and especially those affecting marginalized and vulnerable groups.11 Various
government offices and agencies – including the Office of the Solicitor General, Department of
Health (DoH), Commission on Population, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – defended
the implementation of the RPRHA against a challenge by conservative religious and anti-choice
groups before the Supreme Court.12 Further, the FDA ensured women’s and girls’ access to modern
contraceptives by certifying 51 contraceptive products as “non-abortifacients” and made them
legally available.13 Furthermore, the state party included in its Ten-point Socio-Economic Agenda
the strengthened implementation of the RPRHA “to enable especially poor couples to make
informed choices on financial and family planning”14 and issued Executive Order 12 (EO 12)15
which aimed to “intensify and accelerate the implementation of critical actions necessary to attain
and sustain ‘zero unmet need for modern family planning’ for all poor households by 2018, and
all of Filipinos thereafter.”16 To support the implementation of EO 12, the DoH enacted an
administrative order outlining priority strategies and population groups as well as specific
guidelines for the state party and civil society groups to reduce the unmet need for modern family
planning services.17 Finally, recognizing the link between access to reproductive health services
and poverty reduction in the country, the National Economic and Development Authority
announced in early 2018 its intention to have a dedicated executive order that mandates all local
government units to implement the RPRHA.18
However, as will be discussed, the state party has allowed the influence of religious ideology to
cause regression in laws and policies aimed at promoting women’s and girls’ health. Critical gaps
and challenges persist reflecting a systematic pattern of abuse and discrimination which has had a
grave impact on women’s rights particularly among the most vulnerable groups of women— e.g.
adolescents, women in rural areas, poor women, and pregnant women and girls—who continue to
suffer the most harm. Women are trapped in a system that continually denies them access to
modern contraceptives, safe and legal abortion, and humane and quality post-abortion care as a
result of discriminatory judicial decisions, legislation, and executive orders that perpetuate gender
stereotypes and prioritize religious ideologies over women’s health and well-being. As noted by
the Committee in its summary report, “by limiting women’s rights to freely choose the number
and spacing of their children, women and girls [are] effectively undermined in accessing and
pursuing the same education and employment opportunities as men [which drives them] further
into or maintained in poverty.”19