“Let our voices be heard” Report of CHRP’s National Inquiry on Reproductive Health and Rights Pursuant to the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) and as the Gender Ombud under the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710), the Commission responded to the calls of women’s organizations and reproductive health advocates bewailing the continuing challenges and barriers in the enjoyment of women’s right to reproductive health. The decision to undertake the a National Inquiry process was made in the context of these continued challenges despite the passage of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law and the Supreme Court decision upholding its constitutionality. Maternal mortality in the country remains high, the City of Sorsogon adopted a ‘Pro-Life” ordinance resulting in denial of RH information and service, and the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on some contraceptives. I. OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES On 1 March 2016, the Commission launched the National Inquiry on Reproductive Health and Rights with funding support from the United Nations Populations Fund. A national inquiry is an effective strategy adopted by NHRIs in addressing systemic violations of human rights – based on evidence from individual cases, but also embracing an examination of the laws, policies, and programs (or lack of them) which have given rise to violations in question. In conducting the National Inquiry on RH, the Commission sought to (1) Examine the effectiveness and implementation of laws (MCW and the RPRH Law), and related issuances; (2) Document individual and/or systemic accounts of acts or omissions, structures, policies or practices which result to denial of access to reproductive health services; (3) To focus on the denial of and barriers to reproductive health services as experienced by the most vulnerable and marginalized; (4) To document the barriers and problems experienced by service providers, both state and non-state, in providing reproductive health services, particularly to those most vulnerable and marginalized. The process also aims to provide an analysis of women’s access to reproductive health on the basis of the State’s treaty obligations and mindful of 10