EXECUTIVE SUMMARY T he Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is designated as the Gender Ombud under Republic Act No. 9710, otherwise known as the Magna Carta of Women (MCW). As such, the CHR has the power to establish guidelines and mechanisms to facilitate the access of women to legal remedies and to enhance the protection and promotion of their rights, particularly the rights of marginalized women (MCW, 2009). Toward this, the Commission incorporated standards on gender sensitivity in handling of cases in its Guidelines and Procedures and Manual for Investigations in 2012, and adopted the Gender Ombud Guidelines in 2015. It also created the Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights Center (GEWHRC) to strengthen the Commission’s internal structures and capacities to effectively deliver its core functions of Protection, Promotion, and Policy Advocacy with regard to women’s human rights and gender equality. The transition year between two administrations (2016) was marked with challenges and opportunities for the CHR as Gender Ombud. The challenges included cases of offensive conduct and derogatory statements against women made by several public officials and men during national campaign sorties and on social media platforms. This called for the CHR’s issuance of several advisories highlighting respect for women’s human rights and zero-tolerance for all forms of violence against women. The banning of the use of contraceptives in the City of Manila and the City of Sorsogon was a challenge to realization of women’s reproductive health rights. These cases paved the way for the Commission’s first National Inquiry on Reproductive Health (RH) and Rights. This included regional consultations, public hearings, and fact-finding missions in select areas. The National Inquiry is the CHR’s contribution to the assessment of the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RPRH), and to the preparation for the 2016 review of the Philippine compliance to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the International Covenant on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The findings of the CHR were supported by the CEDAW Committee in its report which recommended the full implementation of its previous recommendation on “ensuring full access to modern contraceptives and legalization of abortion under certain circumstances.” Under its Protection mandate, the Commission continues to provide legal assistance and conduct investigation of cases of human rights violations of women and LGBTIs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex). In 2016, the Commission’s database, MAREIS (Martusbased Executive Information System), recorded a total of 1,205 complaints and requests for legal assistance from women. Violations of the Violence Against Women and their Children Act (R.A. 9262) remains high, with majority of the cases relating to economic abuse and requests for support. The CHR also received 40 complaints and requests for assistance from the LGBTI community in the same period, in addition to the four docketed cases of hate killings. The Duterte administration’s “war on drugs” and the rising number of the extrajudicial killings prompted the CHR to look into the gender dimensions of the issue. As of early November 2016,