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This archive features official communications from the Commission on Human Rights, reflecting its stance on pressing human rights issues and national developments. It includes joint statements, press releases, brief statements, and press statements, all aimed at informing the public, asserting positions, and fostering transparency and accountability.
2018, 2018 Press Statement, Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, international agreements, Migrant Workers’ Act, OFW Joanna Demafelis, OFWs, Republic Act No. 10022
PRESS RELEASE | 16 February 2018 CHR seeks stricter monitoring of overseas Filipino domestic workers while improving quick response mechanisms to prevent human rights abuses QUEZON CITY—The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) called for a stricter monitoring of overseas Filipino domestic workers to prevent human rights abuses and modern-day slavery. Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, the CHR’s focal […]
1987 Constitution, 2018, 2018 Press Statement, Article II, duties of the State (Section 5, indigenous cultural communities (ICC), indigenous peoples (IP), lands of Lumads, Lumads
PRESS STATEMENT | 7 February 2018 Ensuring the economic, social, and cultural well-being of indigenous cultural communities (ICC) and indigenous peoples (IP) are among the duties of the State (Section 5, Article II, 1987 Constitution). At the heart of this is the protection of the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral lands. Recently, President Rodrigo Roa […]
1987 Constitution, 2018, 2018 Press Statement, Constituent Assembly, Constitutional Convention, Paris Principles, People’s Initiative, UN General Assembly
PRESS STATEMENT | 01 February 2018 21 December 2017 The Constitution is the formal written embodiment of the spirit and essence of the State. It contains the State’s guiding policies and principles, its structure of governance, its powers and limitations and its contract with its own people. It has a foundational role in society thus, any […]
2018, 2018 Press Statement, Anti-Sexual Harassment Law, Magna Carta of Women, online bashing, RA 7192, RA 7877, RA 9710, slut-shaming, Women in Development and Nation Building Act
PRESS STATEMENT | 31 January 2018 The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) strongly condemns the recent insulting and sexist remarks of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte making “virgins” as a “come-on” to promote tourism in the Philippines. It is utterly degrading for Filipino women to be spoken of in such manner, even as a joke, by the […]
2018, 2018 Press Statement, Anti-Sexual Harassment Law (RA 7877), Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710), Mocha Uson, Pia Ranada, Women in Development and Nation Building Act (RA 7192)
PRESS STATEMENT | 31 January 2018 The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) strongly condemns the recent insulting and sexist remarks of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte making “virgins” as a “come-on” to promote tourism in the Philippines. It is utterly degrading for Filipino women to be spoken of in such manner, even as a joke, by the […]
2018, 2018 Press Statement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment, OFWs, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
PRESS RELEASE | 27 January 2018 The Commission on Human Rights welcomed the move of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to look into the deaths of seven (7) OFWs while issuing a suspension on the deployment of domestic workers to Kuwait. Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, the CHR’s focal person for migrant workers’ rights, said the […]
1987 Constitution, 2018, 2018 Press Statement, Dengvaxia, Department of Health, Sanofi Pasteur
PRESS STATEMENT | 26 January 2018 Ensuring the protection of children is our collective duty and moral responsibility. The imperative of safeguarding our children entails not exposing them to any vulnerability and harm, especially to their health which is primordial in the attainment of their full development and enjoyment of life. Attaining and protecting this fundamental […]
2018, 2018 Press Statement, Constitution, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
PRESS STATEMENT | 24 January 2018 The freedom of speech is a fundamental right. Most liberties that we enjoy today were products of voices that expressed dissent against abuses and inequalities, and were bold enough to demand accountability from erring authorities. With the current discussions on amending our Constitution, the Commission on Human Rights expresses grave […]
2018, 2018 Press Statement, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Rappler, Securities and Exchange Commission
PRESS STATEMENT | 18 January 2018 Freedoms of information, speech, and expression are marks of a healthy, functioning democracy. The media, for its part, has always played a crucial role in enabling these rights, as well as in propagating truthful insights and, when needed, speaking truth to power. The Commission on Human Rights then stresses the […]
2018, barangay officials, Commission on Human Rights, Department of the Interior and Local Government, DILG
PRESS STATEMENT | 14 January 2018 Addressing the problem on the sale and use of illegal drugs is best achieved with the participation of all concerned, especially the community. At the same time, Constitutional guarantees, such as presumption of innocence and right to due process, are in place to ensure that human rights are protected at […]
2018, Callamard, UN Special Rapporteurs, United Nations
PRESS STATEMENT | 04 January 2018 As a member-state, the Philippine government must respect the established mechanisms and special procedures of the United Nations (UN). United Nations Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts form part of the special procedures for the monitoring, investigation, and reporting of possible human rights violations by UN member states. The selection process […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, and Cultural Rights, Armed conflict, Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICESCR, Martial Law in Mindanao, right to food, Social, United Nations Special Rapporteur
PRESS STATEMENT 22 December 2017 Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on the allegations of food blockade in Lianga, Surigao del Sur Armed conflict gravely disrupts the lives of families and communities who are often caught in the crossfire between combatants. They directly suffer the horrors of war, and all its attendant difficulties […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, allegations of looting, IDPs, IDPs’ rights, Internally displaced persons, Marawi City, Regional Human Rights Commission, Task Force Bangon Marawi
PRESS STATEMENT 15 December 2017 Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on the further extension of Martial Law in Mindanao until December 2018 The Commission on Human Rights respects the prerogative of the President, as well as the subsequent vote of the Congress, to extend the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao. […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, abortifacient, contraceptive, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Food and Drugs Administration, Implanon, Implanon NXT, Reproductive Health, RH Law, Temporary Restraining Order, Universal Periodic Review
PRESS STATEMENT 5 December 2017 Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on FDA registration of contraceptive products and full implementation of Reproductive Health Law The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) joins Reproductive Health (RH) advocates in welcoming the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for its complete technical and reevaluation process of 51 […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, AIDS, HIV, PDEA, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippines AIDS Prevention and Control Act, PLHIVs, Republic Act No. 8504, World AIDS Day
4 December 2017 PRESS STATEMENT Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on PDEA’s public disclosure of a drug suspect’s HIV status A recent buy-bust operation by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) led to the apprehension of 11 drug suspects. During a press briefing, PDEA disclosed that one of them is HIV-positive. The […]
2017, anti-illegal drugs campaign, Atty. Jacqueline Ann C. de Guia, National Bureau of Investigation, PDEA, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, PNP
17 October 2017 PRESS RELEASE CHR hopeful with PDEA’s lead in the drug campaign Quezon City—The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) today welcomed the decision of the administration to designate the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as the lead agency that will carry out the government’s campaign against illegal drugs. “We are hopeful that […]
2017, 2017 Global Impunity Index, 2017 Press Release, Department of Justice, EJK, EJKs, extrajudicial killing, motu proprio investigations, Philippine National Police, PNP, Supreme Court, war against illegal drugs
09 October 2017 PRESS STATEMENT Statement of the Commission on Human Rights calling for the strengthening of our justice system in addressing the culture of impunity in the Philippines The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) urges the government to act on the appalling number of extrajudicial killing cases in the country, and instead of […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, Administrative Order 35, anti-illegal drug operations, EJKs, extrajudicial killings, Philip Alston, Philippine National Police, PNP, police personnel, SWS survey, UN Special Rapporteur, vigilante
08 October 2017 PRESS STATEMENT Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on the SWS survey on people’s perception of the extrajudicial killing situation in the country The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) echoes the sentiments of the people in the recently released SWS survey showing that majority of Filipinos express fear that they […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, acceptability, accessibility, adaptability, healthcare, right to health, three fundamental principles, Universal Health Coverage Bill
07 October 2017 PRESS STATEMENT Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on the passage of the Universal Health Coverage Bill The Commission on Human Rights lauds the recent passage of House Bill No. 5784 or the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Bill, which aims to provide Filipino citizens with comprehensive health care […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, 3rd Cycle, allegations of extrajudicial killings, anti-illegal drug campaign, extrajudicial killings, Philippine National Police, PNP, UN Human Rights Council, UNHRC, Universal Periodic Review, Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines
04 October 2017 PRESS STATEMENT Statement of the Commission on Human Rights calling the Philippine government to address continuing human rights abuses in the country The Commission on Human Rights believes that there must be a more truthful assessment of the prevailing human rights situation in the country following the 3rd Cycle of the Universal […]
2017, 2017 Press Release, Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, extension of Martial Law in Mindanao, Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, ICCPR, relentless war against illegal drugs, rule of law, Second Optional Protocol Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty
GENERAL COMMENTS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE PHILIPPINES on the Adoption of the Outcome of the Universal Review of the Philippines 36th Session of the Human Rights Council, Geneva, 22 September 2017 (3rd Cycle) Written Statement The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines comes before you at a time when human rights promotion […]