Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — A lawyer and former procurement official has been appointed to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) — which still needs two more appointments to complete its composition, seven months into the Marcos administration.
The CHR confirmed on Sunday that Faydah Dumarpa, a former official of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM-PS), has been named the third commissioner of the state rights watchdog, with Mr. Marcos signing her appointment papers on Dec. 28.
She is expected to serve a full term of seven years until 2029.
Dumarpa joins CHR Chair Richard Palpal-latoc and Commissioner Beda Epres in the agency’s highest decision and policymaking body.
Despite lacking two more appointees, the CHR may now carry out its mandate more effectively with a third member in. Several acts under its rules of procedure—including the approval of staff movements and pending case appeals—need a quorum vote of three members.
‘Gender balance’
Dumarpa has an extensive career in legal, administrative, and financial services in government.
But like Palpal-latoc and Epres, she has no direct human rights work experience.
She is the only woman so far to be appointed to the commission, which expects her work to reflect the inclusivity and “plurality that’s crucial to the commission’s highest decision-making body.”
In a statement, the CHR said it “looks forward to her future contributions in the policy, protection, promotion, and prevention work of the Commission.”
“Similarly, we welcome the gender balance that Commissioner Dumarpa brings to CEB VI (commission en banc six). Her overall multidisciplinary perspective comes as a great benefit to the ever-flourishing landscape of human rights,” the commission also said.
A native of Lanao del Sur, the newest CHR commissioner is the daughter of former Lanao del Sur Rep. Faysah Racman Pimping Maniri Dumarpa and former National Labor Relations Commission commissioner and lawyer Salic Biston Dumarpa.
Stints in DOH, House
Before joining the agency, she held the post of Director IV for the administrative and financial group of the DBM-PS.
In 2021, Dumarpa served as deputy executive director for the administrative and financial service of the Department of Health’s National Nutrition Council, where she was responsible for executing policies and guidelines set by the governing board.
She also worked as a political affairs officer in the House of Representatives for nine years, where she built her foundations in addressing social, political, and economic concerns requiring legislative action.
Dumarpa obtained her law degree from San Beda University in 2010 and passed the bar in 2012.
She holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s in business degree from the Far Eastern University and the Philippine School of Business Administration, respectively.