2021 National Human Rights Situation Report 63 258 During the Purple Action Day Webinar,229 a representative from Lilak Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights230 highlighted heightened levels of food insecurity due to the pandemic. Lilak shared how indigenous women suffered hunger due to the pandemic and the resulting loss of employment. This was echoed by a representative of Amihan 231 who shared how farmers bewailed the high cost of food, how this severely impacted farmers who, while food producers, are also consumers. They also complained how continued land conversion by developers even during the pandemic further contributed to hunger and food insecurity. Women with disabilities were also not spared, a woman with disability leader232 from Mindanao shared how community-based peer monitoring documented food insecurity due to loss of employment. The worsening food insecurity has led many to rely on community pantries, food banks, and community/CSO-led efforts to bridge the gap.233 259 A year into the crisis, women continue to bear the burden of unpaid care work at home.234 Employment and current educational arrangements remained remote—straddling women with the burden of taking care of the family, attending to paid employment remotely, and assisting children with their modules or taking care of the ill or the elderly. The situation is even more difficult for indigenous women and/or women in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) areas who also had to deal with their own difficulties in accessing needed government support, educational materials/modules for children, as well as the reality of the digital divide. During the Commissions’ women’s month celebration, several webinars highlighted the continuing multiple burden of women.235 260 The 2021 National Household Care Survey commissioned by Oxfam affirms this continuing multiple burden and unpaid care work of women. In said survey, Oxfam found that women spent up to 13 hours a day on unpaid care work compared to only 8 hours of men. While it is observed that men’s unpaid care work increased from 5 hours in 2017 to 8 hours during the pandemic, it is clear that the burden of care continues to fall primarily on women. Of the 13 hours women spend on care work, more than half or 7 hours are spent multi-tasking or juggling tasks at the same time. Same survey further showed that 1 out of 3 Filipinas experienced injury, illness, disability or other harms through their care work in the past six months.236 261 Women are overly represented in the health sector, and as the pandemic rolls into its second year, the impact of the pandemic on women medical frontliners is among the key women’s human rights issues needing urgent attention. Another continuing issue from last year is women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services, especially concerns pertaining to maternal and neonatal health during a pandemic. 229 Purple Action Day is the annual kick off for Women’s Month hosted annually by the Commission in partnership with Sarilaya. The Purple Action Day webinar may be viewed here: https://f b.watch/9NdAcBCNOq/ 230 Kat Magtoto, Lilak Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights 231 Catherine Estavaillo, Amihan 232 Milagros Maquiling, Women with Disability Leader from Mindanao 233 Wright and Coles. COVID made the Philippines’ hunger crisis worse. So why does hardly anyone want a vaccine?. CNN. 25 May 2021. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/24/asia/philippines-covid-hunger-intl-hnk-dst/index.html (accessed 31 August 2021) 234 Ramos,L. Pandemic is tough for all but Filipino women are carrying an even heavier burden. PhilStar. 18 March 2021. https://www.philstar.com/news-commentary/2021/03/18/2085223/pandemic-tough-all-filipino-women-arecarrying-even-heavier-burden (accessed 31 August 2021) 235 Commission on Human Rights Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights Center. (2021). Gender Ombud Report: January to June 2021. 236 Oxfam. Filipino men log more care work hours due to pandemic but bulk of tasks still fall on women – survey, https:// philippines.oxfam.org/latest/stories/f ilipino-men-log-more-care-work-hours-due-pandemic-bulk-tasks-still-fallwomen-%E2%80%94 (Last accessed 28 August 2021)