By Dennis Gorecho
The United Nations (UN) Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has found the Philippines remiss in its obligations under the convention in four instances, the latest reflected in its 2023 decision on the Filipina comfort women known as the Malaya Lolas.
CEDAW, adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. It mandates the elimination of discrimination against women in political, economic, social, cultural, and civil spheres.
The Philippines ratified CEDAW in 1981, becoming the first Asean country to do so. In 2003, it also ratified the Optional Protocol to CEDAW.
On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023, the CEDAW committee released a decision finding that the Philippines “violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War by failing to provide reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered.”
The committee pointed out that the Philippine government failed to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to prohibit all forms of discrimination against women and to protect their rights on an equal basis with men.
It noted that while Philippine war veterans — who are mostly men — are entitled to special recognition and benefits from the government, such as healthcare, old-age pensions, disability benefits, and death pensions, no comparable support has been extended to the comfort women.
The committee recommended that the victims be provided with “full reparation,” including recognition and redress, an official apology, and both material and moral damages proportionate to the physical, psychological, and material harm they suffered, as well as the gravity of the violations committed against them.
The March 8, 2023 ruling is the fourth instance in which the Philippines has been found remiss in its obligations under CEDAW.
Two earlier cases — KTV vs. Philippines (July 16, 2010) and RPB vs. Philippines (February 21, 2014) — highlighted the judiciary’s reliance on gender stereotypes and rape myths in adjudicating rape cases. These included assumptions about a victim’s resistance, consent and the degree of force or intimidation used by the perpetrator.
In KTV vs. Philippines, the judge acquitted the accused based on the assumption that a woman would have physically resisted more if she were truly being raped.
In RPB vs. Philippines, the court failed to provide an effective interpreter for the victim, a 17-year-old who was deaf and mute.
In both cases, the committee directed the Philippines to ensure that court officials are properly trained to handle cases involving women without gender bias.
Despite the passage of the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 and the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1998, numerous rape complaints continue to be dismissed by prosecutors and judges. This indicates that many survivors are still not believed and are effectively denied justice.
CEDAW has recommended that Philippine anti-rape laws be firmly anchored on the absence of consent as the core element of the crime.
The third decision, issued on April 22, 2015, stemmed from an inquiry into grave and systemic violations of women’s human rights in the City of Manila. These violations arose from the denial of reproductive health services and commodities. The committee called on the government to revoke restrictive policies, ensure access to comprehensive contraceptive services, and legalize emergency contraception.
In response to the recent comfort women ruling, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) issued an advisory on February 19, 2026, outlining key recommendations.
The CHR urged Congress to enact legislation establishing a state-sanctioned, nationwide reparations and compensation program for victims of war crimes, including survivors of wartime sexual slavery. This program should be consistent with the committee’s call for full reparation, including financial compensation proportionate to the harm suffered, as well as equal access to recognition and social benefits.
It also called on the Executive branch and relevant policymaking bodies to review, amend and remove restrictive and discriminatory provisions in existing laws, policies and programs that limit access to redress for civilian victims of war — particularly survivors of wartime sexual violence and sexual slavery — in line with CEDAW standards on non-discrimination and substantive equality.
Furthermore, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was urged to integrate the history of wartime sexual slavery and the story of the Malaya Lolas into higher education curricula, and to provide faculty training on survivor-centered, gender-responsive and human rights-based teaching approaches.
The CHR advisory was issued just days before the passing of one of the comfort women, Lola Pacita Alcazaren of Capiz, who died on February 26, 2026. She had celebrated her 100th birthday on December 8, 2025.
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Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0908-8665786./WDJ