GENDER OMBUD REPORT 2016 36 NATIONAL INQUIRY FINDINGS Law. In broad strokes, the National Inquiry documented an uneven implementation and support for the RPRH Law, primarily due to decentralization and the autonomy of local governments units which has largely fragmented the delivery of health services. In Sorsogon City, the mayor issued EO No. 03 on 02 February 2015, declaring the city a “Prolife City”. The National Inquiry established that the issuance of the EO resulted in the withdrawal of all artificial contraceptives in the health facilities in the City. There is an outright refusal to implement the RPRH Law, particularly with respect to provision of artificial contraceptives and in providing women the whole range of reproductive health services and information. Accounts of women acceptors of artificial family planning commodities, the nurses deployed by the Department of Health (DOH), and CSOs working on RH in Sorsogon City attest to the denial of RH commodities. The stigma accorded to both acceptors of and providers of artificial contraceptives, and the financial and psychological burden of the EO on women is also a concern. Reports of misinformation on artificial family planning commodities were also documented. The RPRH is not being implemented uniformly, as there are national and local policies and practices that negatively impact women, especially the most marginalized. The National Inquiry documented policies by LGUs which show disregard for and disrespect of women’s choices of family planning methods and commodities despite availability of resources. In some LGUs, existing policies deny allocation of resources for artificial family planning methods and/or provide punitive penalties for practices which affect accessibility and availability of reproductive health services and information. As such, the Philippines falls short in its obligations under CEDAW, specifically its obligation to “ensure women’s access to services in the areas of family planning, pregnancy, confinement and postnatal period and to sexual and reproductive health services.”39 Below are the findings of the National Inquiry, arranged according to the objectives: 1. Uneven implementation and LGU support to the RPRH Law, and existence of discriminatory and legal barriers Uneven implementation of RPRH by Local Government Units The results of the National Inquiry reveal that LGUs show varying degrees of support for the implementation - from full support to outright refusal to implement the provisions of the RPRH 39 GR Par. 2 Specific to marginalized women, some of the impacts of the denial of family planning commodities included the added financial burden on women who have to purchase commodities, unwanted pregnancies, women giving up their babies for adoption, and of women from far flung barangays whose RH needs remain unmet. At the time of this writing , the women of Sorsogon City continue to be deprived of free or subsidized artificial family planning commodities from the LGU. Their needs, are instead supplemented by efforts of the National Government through the DOH. Policy and Legal Barriers to the RPRH Law Other local policies were also found to