Chito Gascón

Jose Luis Martin Cosgayon Gascon (; May 26, 1964 – October 9, 2021), also known as Chito Gascon , was a Filipino lawyer, civic organizer, and human rights activist. In 2015, he was appointed by then President Benigno S. Aquino III as the Chair of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines serving a term from 2015 to 2021.

Prior his stint in the Commission on Human Rights, he served as member of the Human Rights Victims' Claims Board, which administered reparations for martial law victims. thumb He was the youngest member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. As a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the youth sector, he spearheaded the passage of pertinent legislation for the creation of the Sanggunian Kabataan (under the Local Government Code) and Republic Act 7610, a special law providing protection to children from abuse.

Early life and education Gascon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 1998 and Bachelor of Laws degree in 1996, both from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He was elected president of the University of the Philippines Student Council under the student party Nagkaisang Tugon in 1985; he would be succeeded by Kiko Pangilinan under SAMASA a year later.

In 1997, he earned a Master of Law degree specializing in Human Rights, Law of Peace, and Settlement of International Disputes from St. Edmund's College, University of Cambridge.

Awards and recognition His continuing reform advocacies were in the areas of human rights, access to justice and the rule of law, transparency and accountability initiatives, political and electoral reforms, peace and conflict transformation, people's participation and civic education, and state building in the context of democratic transitions. Among the fellowships and recognitions he has received are:

Benigno S. Aquino Fellowship for Public Service given by the US State Department's Embassy in the Philippines in 2001 First Filipino recipient of both the Democracy and Development Fellowship at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law in 2005 and Reagan–Fascell Democracy Fellowship at the International Forum for Democratic Studies of the National Endowment for Democracy in 2006 Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship given by the Nippon Foundation in 2007 Asian Leadership Fellowship given by the Japan Foundation in 2008

Personal life He was married to Melissa P. Mercado and had a daughter, Ciara Sophia.

Death On October 9, 2021, his brother Miguel revealed in a Facebook post that Chito had died from COVID-19.