All these show the dire situation of medical frontliners, many of whom are women - also burdened by care work and competing priorities. It is clear that sustainable response to the current crisis cannot discount the situation of women medical frontliners - the risk they are taking, the gaps in the health system that render them and their families at continued risk, and the mental health impact and trauma, and the need for better support from the government - from provision of needed safety equipment to release of hazard and other benefits that they deserve. Recognizing the need to further substantiate the impact of the pandemic on women health workers, one of the proposed program by the Commission for 2022 focuses on their lived experiences and the concomitant human rights issues. Access to SRHR including Maternal Health care In our Gender Ombud Situationer for 2020, we have already raised the issue pertaining to access to SRHR during the pandemic. The Commission’s JMC with DILG specifically covered the need to ensure continued access to SRHR information, commodities, and services. Concern was also already expressed regarding hospital refusals of women who are about to give birth - particularly as it resulted in the death of one woman - Catherine Bulatao in April of last year. She was refused by 6 hospitals.30 This 2021, as the crisis brought about by the pandemic continued, ensuring access to SRHR and the need to ensure maternal health remains a continuing concern. As it is, the disruption of access to family planning commodities and services is already expected to increase the number of unintended pregnancies. In a study conducted by the UP PIDS and UNFPA, unintended pregnancies among females ages 15 to 49 is expected to increase by more than 40% to 2.5 million.31 In case of maternal mortality, POP Com’s Executive Director has admitted that pregnant women could be part of the “collateral damage” of the health crisis.32 More specifically, he shared how pregnant women have been turned away by hospitals and instead encouraged to go to lying in clinics.33 He was further quoted as saying ‘these are still scattered reports from areas where there was high incidence of COVID19. So there is collateral effect of COVID in terms of mothers not getting the higher level of care at the right time.”34 The Executive Director also stressed that while women are not COVID-19 patients, some needed high level care, and failure to access such care render them at risk and vulnerable. 30 Valenzuela, N. Woman who had just given birth dies after being refused by 6 hospitals. Inquirer.Net. 27 April 2020. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1265145/woman-who-had-just-given-birth-dies-after-being-rejected-by-6-hospitals (accessed 31 August 2021) 31 Pierson and Balagtas See. The pandemic is fueling a baby boom in the Philippines. For some, that’s bad news. Los Angeles Times. 6 January 2021. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-01-06/the-philippines-girds-for-a-baby-boom-afteryears-of-declining-birth-rates (accessed 31 August 2021) 32 Jaymalin, M. POP COM sees higher mortality rate. Philstar. 5 May 2021. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/05/2095970/popcom-sees-higher-maternal-mortality (accessed 31 August 2021) 33 Ibid 34 6 Ibid