10:15 – 10:45 AM Background of the Work of CHR as Gender Ombud Atty. Anna Leah T. Romero, Atty. V, CHR RO I 10:45 – 11:30 AM Focus Group Discussion – Government Agencies Facilitator: Atty. Anna Leah T. Romero 11:30 – 11:45 AM Reporting 11:45 – 12:00 PM Closing / Ways forward 12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch PRELIMINARIES The focused group discussion (FGD) started at 9:00 am with a prayer followed by the singing of the National Anthem. After which, Ms Celia Quedado, Information Officer II of CHR Regional Office I, serving as emcee of the activity, called Atty. Mhelanie William to acknowledge the participants. In her welcome message, Atty. Jessamine Dale Chua – Garcinez of the Provincial Legal Office of La Union stated that there is a need to address these issues on discrimination and violence specially because some cases are being sensationalized by the media. Atty. Chua – Garcinez also said that she looks forward to a fruitful and interactive dialogue between practitioners of the legal profession and representatives from government agencies dealing with gender-based violence cases. A video presentation was shown after Atty. Chua-Garcinez’s speech. It highlighted issues on human rights violation including gender-based violence cases. Shortly after the video, Atty. William provided an overview of the FGD. According to her, the CHR has initiated the “GenderBased Violence Observatory Project,” which aims to establish a repository of data on violence against women (VAW) cases. This project is in response to the Commission’s intensified role as Gender Ombud as mandated by the Magna Carta for Women (MCW). One of the major components of this project is the Regional Mapping of Legal Referral Mechanisms on GenderBased Violence Cases through a focused group discussion among representatives from regional line agencies and civil society organizations. This activity is geared towards strengthening the capacity of CHR’s regional offices in monitoring functionality of established referral mechanisms. It also aims to provide recommendations and influence enhanced effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness of local interagency mechanisms in responding to VAW cases. Additionally, it will seek to gather regional data on GBV, with an emphasis on the issues faced by marginalized and vulnerable women and their lived experience of GBV. Specifically, this project will aim to: 1. Map GBV referral mechanisms in two cities/municipalities in the Region’s areas of responsibilities; 2. Look into the effectiveness of these mechanisms in terms of availability of facilities, kinds of services, and advocacy and partnership with women’s organization; 3 | Page