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Date Posted: 22:02:51 12/12/12 Wed
Author: IMRD
Subject: Dec. 13, 2012 news

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/12/13/ayes-have-it-okay-rh/

Ayes have it, okay RH
By Manila Standard Today | Posted on Dec. 13, 2012 at 12:02am | 1,693 views
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Protest melts as House casts vote
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the reproductive health bill despite massive pressure from the Catholic bishops to block its approval.
Lawmakers opposed to the bill made a last-ditch attempt to delay the voting by demanding nominal voting at 8:15 p.m., but House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tanada III, who presided over the session, declared that “the ayes have it.”

Pros and cons. People against the Reproductive Health bill (left) march on the House of Representatives in Quezon City to join the pro-RH people already there (right). Manny Palmero
Anti-RH supporters in the North Gallery – including seven Catholic bishops and at least two dozen nuns – jeered at Tanada’s ruling.
The 285-member House mustered a record high attendance of 226 members physically present for the historic vote.
At 8:24 p.m., the first Yes to RH vote was cast by Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad, who said she was voting according to her Catholic faith and teachings to be concerned for women and children.
The second vote was a No cast by South Cotabato Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr.
Earlier, House leaders declared that the period of individual amendments to the bill would be ended at 6 p.m. but anti-RH lawmakers stretched this up to 7:43 p.m.
Amid protests of the anti-RH lawmakers, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II then moved to put the bill to a vote.
“The people are waiting. We have to decide on this and we have to let them know what really the position of the House is. I insist on my motion (to put the bill to a vote),” Gonzales said.
Several amendments introduced by House Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia of Cebu and Paranaque Rep. Roilo Golez were accepted by the principal author and sponsor of the bill, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, but amendments by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez were voted down.
Present at the North gallery were Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Bishop Jesse Mercado of Paranaque, Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao, Bishop Gabriel Reyes of Antipolo and Monsignor Clemente Ignacio, rector of the Quiapo Church.
The anti-RH lawmakers wanted penalty clauses deleted because they said any prohibition was an imposition of coercive powers of the state, but Lagman rejected the amendment.
The marathon amendments began Monday last week after President Benigno Aquino III met with lawmakers in Malacanang and asked them to rally behind the bill.
On the eve of the voting, the leadership of the ruling Liberal Party, led by LP stalwarts Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, took a party stand in favor of the RH bill.
Roxas exhorted his LP colleagues not to turn their backs on President Aquino, who said if he were a congressman today, he would vote for the RH bill.
Roxas said the country needs the RH bill to achieve progress and prosperity.


http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/special-features/160-news-flash/19934-viva-voce-carries-rh?tmpl=component&layout=default&page=

THE House of Representatives last night approved on second reading the controversial reproductive health bill, moving a step closer to enacting the measure which has been pending at the House of Representatives since 1987.
But the chair allowed nominal voting on motion of Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco who mustered at least one-fifth of the 217 House members present.
As of presstime, the House was conducting nominal voting in which each vote could be explained.
On the motion of majority leader Neptali Gonzales II, the House
had adopted House Bill 4244 after taking the voice vote at about 8:15 p.m.
Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, the presiding officer, declared that the “ayes have it” after complaining that those who voted “nay” included people in the gallery where members of the Catholic Church headed by bishops, priests and nuns, were sitting.
Tañada allowed congressmen to explain their votes instead of the normal procedure where lawmakers are only given a chance to explain after the final vote has been counted.
Opponents of the reproductive health bill initially attempted to fight a rearguard action by continuing to propose lengthy amendments to the measure up to the last minute when they were supposed to put the measure to a vote as agreed upon by both sides last week.
But the House leadership decided to wait it out until the RH opponents, led by the triumvirate of deputy speaker Pablo Garcia of Cebu, Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro and Roilo Golez of Parañaque, finally ran out of proposed amendments – most of which were rejected by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, sponsor of HB 4244 (Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development).
Gonzales moved to terminate the period of amendments at about 7:45 p.m. This was followed by a roll call of members, 217 of whom were present.
He initially wanted to undertake the voting at 6 p.m. but had to extend the time because of the numerous proposed amendments.
The bill limits the distribution of contraceptives to the poorest of the poor as opposed to its earlier version which has no specific targeted beneficiaries.
The amendment was undertaken to appease those opposing the measure, especially the Catholic Church.
At the North Wing of the Batasan complex, some 500 opponents of the RH bill monitored the nominal voting.
At the Senate, a provision that seeks to allow minors to have free access to contraceptives was rejected by opponents.
Sen. Ralph Recto, during the RH bill deliberations, proposed to amend a portion of Section 7 of Senate Bill 2865, which states that “no person shall be denied information and access to family planning services, whether natural or artificial.”
Recto wants to change it to “minors should not be allowed access to modern methods of contraception without written consent from their parents or guardians.”
But Sen. Pia Cayetano, one of the sponsors of the bill, said she could not accept the proposal and insisted that society should accept the fact that no minor planning to engage in sex would seek the consent of parents.
She added that minors should have free access to contraceptives considering that cases of 15-year-olds infected with HIV are on the rise.
Cayetano, however, could not give any data supporting her assertion.
Cayetano asked to divide the house and the members of the chamber voted 9-7, favoring the Recto amendment. – With JP Lopez


http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/top-stories/37294-senate-expected-to-pass-rh-foi-bills-next-week

Senate expected to pass RH, FOI bills next week
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Published on 13 December 2012
Hits: 125
Written by Jefferson Antiporda Reporter
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Anti-RH activists on Wednesday march from St. Peter Church in Commonwealth to the House of Representatives to hold a prayer rally asking lawmakers not to pass the RH bill. PHOTO BY MIKE DE JUAN




THE Senate is likely to pass the reproductive health (RH) and the freedom of information (FOI) bills before Congress takes a month-long break next week if the House will act on the two measures in plenary.

This came as the senators agreed to extend its session until December 20 to ensure the passage of the two measures on third and final reading. Lawmakers usually hold sessions only from Monday to Wednesday.

Sen. Ralph Recto and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto 3rd are the only ones left to present their proposed individual amendments to the RH bill. The Senate will vote on the measure on second reading on Monday after Sotto is finished with his amendments.

Since the RH bill is not certified as urgent by President Benigno Aquino 3rd, it can be approved on third and final reading only on December 20, or three days after the voting on second reading.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Ejercito Estrada stressed, however, that the December 20 session would push through only if the House will also act on the measure.

“If the House does not act on the measure, I think there is no point for us to have a session on Thursday;” Estrada said.

Catholic bishops and anti-RH bill trooped to the House on Wednesday to convince lawmakers to junk the measure. They have urged the Catholic faithful to vote against those who will support it.

In a press conference, Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said that the bishops and their followers only make up the “swing votes.”

He said that Catholics only make up 7 percent to 8 percent of a district’s electorate and these numbers mean that they are only useful in close races.

He said that runaway winners would not care less if the Church supported them or not.

Unlike the RH bill, there is no similar time pressure at the Senate for the FOI bill since the chamber already passed it on second reading on Tuesday. It is expected to be approved on third and final reading next week.

Authors of the measure in the House, on the other hand, are concerned about the tightness of the calendar. The FOI bill has already been passed by the House committee on mass media, but it still has to be calendared for plenary deliberations.

Representatives Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao province, Sherwin Tugna of Citizens Battle Against Corruption party-list and Juan Edgardo Angara of Aurora province said that the House should speed up its deliberations on the FOI bill considering that it took almost two years before the measure secured House committee approval.

“It is a travesty that it took us more two years just to get the FOI out of the Committee. We should now fast track deliberations,” Baguilat said in a text message.

He described the measure as “the mother of transparency bills” because it empowers people to be agents of governance thru access to information.

Tugna, also a House assistant majority leader, is confident that there is still time to pass the FOI measure, if not before Congress adjourns for the Christmas break, then before the 15th Congress adjourns sine die on the second week of June 2013.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/8082-church-confident-rh-bill-won%E2%80%99t-pass-2nd-reading

Church confident RH bill won’t pass 2nd reading
• Written by Gerry Baldo
• Thursday, 13 December 2012 00:00
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Leaders of the Catholic Church yesterday expressed optimism that the Reproductive Health (RH) bill is not going to get the votes needed to pass the bill on second reading.
The House at press time is voting on the controversial measure.
According to Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes, head of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family Life, the number of anti-RH lawmakers could shelve the controversial bill into oblivion.
“We are confident that it (RH bill) will not be approved,” Reyes told reporters in an interview.
Reyes was in the House of Representatives yesterday to monitor the proceedings on the RH bill. He was with other ranking Catholic leaders including Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias, CBCP secretary general Joselito Asis, Bishop Teodoro Bacani.
Batangas Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza, head of the Nationalist People’s Coalition contingent in the House of Representatives, said anti-RH lawmakers have a good chance of junking the bill.
He added his party has adopted a hands-off policy regarding the controversial bill.
“The party will allow a conscience vote,” Mendoza said.
He stressed anti-RH lawmakers are now ready to vote on the bill.
Another anti-RH lawmaker, Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, shared Mendoza’s view.
“We have a good chance of winning,” he said.
Reyes, however, said they have some reservations about the alleged adverse party stand of the Liberal Party.
According to him, as of the last count they have some 148 anti-RH lawmakers.
“I wish that number would not be diminished,” Reyes said even as he posited that the pressure exerted by Malacañang on the members of the LP could ruin their chances of junking the bill.
As of press time, the north and south gates of the Batasan complex are closed due to the respective rallies of the anti-RH and the pro-RH advocates.
Both camps are also well represented in the gallery of the session hall with the south side filled with red-shirted anti-RH advocates and the north side with the violet-shirted pro-RH advocates.
Earlier, the anti-RH lawmakers joined a Mass held at the St. Peter’s Parish on Commonwealth Avenue before marching to the House of Representatives.
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the voting will definitely take place last night, adding the period of personal and individual amendment will have to be closed in order to give way to the second reading of House Bill 4244.
Minority Leader Danilo Suarez admitted that the House opposition bloc is not solid against HB 4244.
Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, a staunch ally of President Aquino, admitted that members of the majority who have refused to support the bill were instead advised not to show up anymore in the plenary voting.
Bishop Reyes said the Catholic church is fully aware of the alleged arm-twisting tactics exerted on congressmen, saying the religious sector could only counteract this through prayers.
“Some legislators were thinking aloud yesterday what will be their incentive for voting no to the RH bill. Tell them they will go to heaven if they do,” Suarez commented, in affirming Reyes’ statement.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who was at the House of Representatives, confirmed that the Catholic church leaders have indeed warned the faithful against supporting political personalities who have made strong efforts to attack their religious doctrines and beliefs.
Commenting on the Catholic stand against pro-RH solons, Suarez said while there is doubt the church could deliver a so-called “Catholic vote,” it is nevertheless capable of a command vote of at least “seven to eight percent” of its followers.
Staunch anti-RH Rep. Roilo Golez disputed Suarez’s figure, saying the percentage of command vote could reach up to 15 percent of the total number of Catholics.
At the upper chamber, senators also yesterday adopted an amendment removing a provision in the RH bill that allows minors to have access to contraceptives.
Voting 9-7, the senators agreed to Sen. Ralph Recto’s amendment to remove the line “no person shall be denied information and access to family planning services, whether natural or artificial” inserted in Section 7 of the proposed Senate Bill 2865 or An Act Providing for a National Policy on RH and Responsible Parenthood.
Recto introduced amendment that would require minors to produce written parental consent before they can be given access to contraceptives.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, co-sponsor of the bill, defended that provision, saying it would prevent increase of teens pregnancy if the access to contraceptives is guided with proper counseling and education.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, who openly opposed the measure, supported the amendment of Recto, saying teens should not be given access to contraceptives and allow them to have sex.
Cayetano explained that minors technically do not seek permission of their parents in making decisions.
Despite Cayetano’s explanation, majority of the senators felt that the provision should not be included in the measure.
Aside from Recto, senators Edgardo Angara, Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Escudero, Gregorio Honasan II, Ramon Revilla, Jr. , Sotto, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Joker Arroyo voted not to delete the provision. PNA


http://opinion.inquirer.net/42609/archaic-argumentsin-rh-debate

‘Archaic arguments’in RH debate

Philippine Daily Inquirer
6:03 am | Thursday, December 13th, 2012
I applaud my friend Prof. Raul C. Pangalangan for his Publisher’s Note titled “Anti-RH, anti-poor and anti-women” (Inquirer, 12/8/12) which, it is hoped, would help push the passage of the reproductive health (RH) bill. However, I think it was unnecessary and probably counterproductive to contrapose the rights-based and the “population control” strands vis-à-vis the RH bill. To begin with, what he calls “population control” is precisely the phrase used by those who oppose the RH bill by trying to denigrate it as coercive. Contemporary, level-headed economists refer to the economic approach as “population policy” or “population management,” of which RH is a key policy instrument.
More importantly, linking the economic strand to archaic arguments of the “distribution of the pie,” corruption and “two hands to work versus one mouth to feed” angles is also off. Those are hardly now the lingo of economists. The late economist Colin Clark (1905-1989), who at some stage in his career is said to have served as adviser to the Vatican, was among those who marshaled those arguments. Among Filipinos, Dr. Bernardo Villegas continues to advance them.
Population management, almost by definition, aims to balance population with the capacity of the economy and environment. And any thinking person cannot and would not object to such an idea. Seen in this context, the rights-based and economic arguments for RH are actually mutually supportive. For after all, the economy comprises households besides business firms and the government. The rights-based approach mandates that poor households, in particular, be capacitated by the government “to choose freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children” so that they can live dignified and fulfilling lives. Which implies that they can become productive members of the labor force, thereby benefiting firms, as well as avail themselves of gains from economic development. Moreover, parents, particularly mothers, are eased of the burden of child-bearing and -care, enabling them to be gainfully employed. Such is the virtuous circle that has occurred among our Asian neighbors.
To paraphrase the 30 UP economists’ Talk of the Town piece (“Population, poverty, politics and RH bill,” Inquirer, 7/29/12), RH or family planning is a win-win solution as it enhances the well-being of parents, especially women and children, and benefits the economy and the environment as well.
—ERNESTO M. PERNIA,
UP School of Economics,
Diliman, Quezon City

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/323173/house-approves-rh-bill
House approves RH bill
Nominal voting to confirm voice vote
By Christian V. Esguerra, Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:26 am | Thursday, December 13th, 2012

Anti-RH group observes session PHOTO BY KAREN BONCOCAN
“Obviously, the ‘ayes’ have it.”
With this declaration by Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, the House of Representatives approved by voice vote on second reading Wednesday night the controversial reproductive health measure, or House Bill No. 4244.
But Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco made a motion for nominal voting to confirm the results of the voice vote. Tiangco was supported by one-fifth of the House or 45 members, the required number for nominal voting. As of 11:30 p.m., the nominal voting was still going on. Of those who had already explained their votes, 70 voted yes and 49 no to the RH bill.
HB 4244 now moves to the third and final reading, a significant step for a measure that had not come this far for the past 13 years in Congress.
The focus now shifts to the Senate where a version of the RH bill is still in the period of individual amendments.
HB 4244 was approved on second reading despite serious concerns raised by the Catholic Church, including several lawmakers, on how it would affect the mentality and sexual habits of the youth, and the economy in the future.
The “nays” were as loud as the “ayes” in the voice voting, but Tañada said the “ayes” had it. He said the crowd in the south wing of the gallery, apparently referring to anti-RH bill advocates, had joined the lawmakers who said “nay.”
Some members of the crowd doubted Tañada’s call, saying the “nays” seemed to have the louder voices. A nominal vote will confirm if Tañada’s call was correct.
Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia earlier moved to proceed directly to nominal voting. But he was overruled by Tañada, who said nominal voting could come after the voice vote.
Garcia and other anti-RH lawmakers got their wish after one fifth of House members agreed to put the matter to nominal voting wherein each lawmaker would explain his or her vote.
Batangas Rep. Tomas Apacible, a member of President Aquino’s Liberal Party, voted against the RH bill.
“The President says this is a conscience vote and I believe it and I support him in that stand. But I am also a father more than a legislator,” he said in explaining his vote.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/323255/7-bishops-lead-anti-rh-march-tagle-calls-for-unity

7 bishops lead anti-RH march; Tagle calls for unity
By Jeannette I. Andrade, Leila B. Salaverria, Philip C. Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:57 am | Thursday, December 13th, 2012

CHURCH POWER Bishops, priests and seminarians lock arms as they march to the House of Representatives on Wednesday to watch the vote on the reproductive health (RH) bill. The march was led by bishops, priests and anti-RH lawmakers. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Under the afternoon sun, a number of bishops marched on the House of Representatives with other red-clad opponents of the reproductive health (RH) bill and came face to face with the measure’s purple-clad supporters who were camping out at the south gate of the Batasang Pambansa.
The opponents of the RH bill, holding each other’s hands, had to march a few more meters to the north gate at the other end of the compound.
“Pass the RH bill,” the pro-RH group shouted in Filipino as opponents of the bill filed past them while holding hands and singing “Ave Maria.”
The prelates who joined the march were Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and Bishops Teodoro Bacani, Broderick Pabillo, Jesse Mercado, Honesto Ongtioco, Romulo de la Cruz, Gabriel Reyes and Msgr. Clemente Ignacio.
With them were Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Palawan Rep. Dennis Socrates, Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua and Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles.
The bill provides that the State will prioritize the needs of marginalized households when it comes to providing reproductive healthcare services and devices.

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