Expanding the Role of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights for the Protection of Gender Equality in the Workplace

The multi-layered system of human rights protection complemented by a comprehensive campaign for human rights promotion in Canada can provide strategic guidance for the Philippine Commission on Human Rights as it manifests unfortunate hesitation to exercise its statutory mandate to protect and promote women’s rights. Originally created for the primary purpose of investigating all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights lacks the capacity and has insufficient resources to extend its reach. The three main functions of mediation, investigation, and referral to adjudication, of the human rights commissions in various Canadian provinces and territories, as well as at the federal level, readily offer an appropriate and affordable model that can be easily emulated in the Philippine setting.