III. SESSION 1: WHERE ARE WE? REVIEW OF CHR’S MANDATE AND PROGRAMS AS
GENDER OMBUD AND LOCATING GBV MAPPING IN CHR’S GENDER OMBUD WORK
ATTY. KRISSI SHAFFINA TWYLA A. RUBIN
OIC, Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights Center (GEWHRC)
Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
The presentation provided a walkthrough on the session
objectives; objectives and program flow of the capacity
building activity; and, the regional Gender-Based Violence
(GBV) Mapping project of the Commission’s regional
offices in their respective functions as Gender and
Development Ombud (Gender Ombud). Specifically, it
touched on the progress of the Commission in addressing
women’s human rights (WHR) and its role as Gender
Ombud under the Magna Carta of Women (MCW);
programs under GEWHRC for 2019; a brief review of
herstory of WHR in relation to GBV; and, review of updates
of HR frameworks on GBV.
Progress of CHR in addressing WHR and in its Gender Ombud functions
The Regional GBV Mapping is an expansion of the current Regional Women’s Human Rights
Profile reporting and comprises of three components:
Capacity Building on GBV Observatory Project and conduct of GBV mapping in the regions
Regional GBV mapping in three selected cities/municipalities in the region;
Regional Summit against GBV in the 16 regional offices
Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta on Women (MCW) recognizes that victims of violations of
said law shall be considered victims of human rights violations, and shall be entitled to other
forms of assistance available in the CHR. As Gender and Development Ombud, the Commission
on Human Rights (CHR) is mandated to:
Monitor with the Philippine Commission on Women compliance with RA 9710;
Establish guidelines and mechanisms that will facilitate access of women to legal remedies
under RA 9710 and related laws;
Enhance the protection and promotion of the rights of women, especially marginalized
women; and,
Assist in the filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions that violate RA 9710.
The Gender Ombud Guidelines (2015) draw reference from the following international and
domestic human rights instruments: (1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (Article
8