Starting Point
Attorney Leah Tanodra-Armamento took office as Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on 16 February 2022, succeeding the late Chair, Jose Luis Martin ‘Chito’ Gascon. Before this role, she served as a commissioner for both the Sixth and Fifth Commission en banc. She is a distinguished Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and has served in government service for thirty years.
She earned her Bachelor of Laws from the Ateneo De Manila University School of Law and attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government as a fellow in 2007.
Peace Journey
Before joining the CHR, she served as an Associate Solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor General for 5 years, assisting solicitors with habeas corpus cases. She moved to the Department of Justice (DOJ), rising from State Prosecutor to Senior State Prosecutor from 1991 to 2003. In 2003, she was appointed Assistant Chief State Prosecutor at the DOJ. She chaired the legal team for the Government of the Philippines (GPH) during the 1996 Review of the Final Peace Agreement’s Implementation with the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF). Later, she was appointed to the position of DOJ Undersecretary.
Success Stories
During her tenure at the Department of Justice, she founded the Task Force on Agrarian Justice and created guidelines for addressing agrarian dispute-related criminal complaints. The numerous reforms she initiated in this role are greatly esteemed. Furthermore, she held the position of Secretariat Chairperson at the Philippine National Police Reform Commission. Her vital contributions to the execution of the final peace agreement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF) have received widespread appreciation.