the threats of the anti-terror bill, and access to education and other basic services by IP women during the pandemic.67 Women in Detention During the height of the crisis, another group of vulnerable and marginalized women are those who are deprived of liberty. Around 21 April 2020, a little over a month into the ECQ, the Bureau of Corrections announced that 19 more people inside the jail facility have tested positive for COVID-19, around the same period, Quezon City Jail also reported COVID-19 infections among nine inmates and nine jail staff. 68 The situation of persons deprived of liberty, including women PDLs has been described as a ticking bomb considering the congested state of places of detention and the ease by which the virus could spread if proper health protocols are not in place. As part of the Commission’s monitoring of places of detention, the Center wrote a letter inquiry/advisory to the BJMP inquiring on the situation of women deprived of liberty, inquiries also included measures adopted by BJMP to protect detainees from the virus. The response from the BJMP showed that containment measures have been adopted and provisions for electronic-dalaw (visit) has been established in some facilities. However, the BJMP admits that space in congested facilities remain a concern. While the Supreme Court issued a circular to fast track release of qualified PDLs, the process remain slow while women detainees face heightened risk of infection and mental health issues and anxieties. Women IDPs Through the Commission’s Center for Crisis, Conflict, and Humanitarian Protection (CCHP) and the regional offices, continued human rights monitoring of IDPs was ensured. This included monitoring of IDPs in region IV as a result of the 2020 Taal eruption, IDPs in Marawi, Tacloban and Lianga. Continued monitoring by the CCHP and the Regional offices surfaced the gendered impact of the pandemic. This included loss of income due restricted mobility, the exacerbated impact of lack of or interrupted access to water, and the multiple burden of keeping children in transition sites in compliance with quarantine measures. In Mindanao, most IDP sites monitored by CCHP, particularly, evacuation centers, lack latrines and bathing areas. Without such facilities, women and girls are more exposed to possible GBV.69 May of 2020, CCHP also reported that IDPs still struggle with their access to water. As water supply runs out in the hot summer weather and personal water connection is still not in place, IDP communities had to rely on water rationing from the government. In the cities of Tacloban and Marawi, IDPs had already been reliant on water rationing pre-COVID-19 pandemic. With the rise of confirmed COVID-19 cases, communities need to access potable water in larger volumes, and rationed water by the government is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of affected persons. 70 67 See series of webinars posted in Lilak’s FB page: https://www.facebook.com/katutubonglilak/; See also Martinez, Bianca ‘COVID-19 exposes twin crises of Neoliberalism and Authoritarianism in Philippines.’ 7 May 2020. https://focusweb.org/covid-19-exposes-twin-crises-of-neoliberalism-and-authoritarianism-in-philippines/ 68 CNN. 18 inmates, one jail worker in Women's Correctional contract COVID-19. 21 April 2020. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/21/Women-s-Correctional-more-COVID-19-infections.html 69 CHR Report on the COVID-19 Emergency Situation in IDP Areas in Mindanao Regions 27 June 2020 to July 31, 2020 70 CHR-CCHP. Report on the COVID-19 Emergency Situation in IDP Areas in Region VIII and Mindanao Regions. 4-8 May 2020. 17