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Date Posted: 03:35:59 12/10/12 Mon
Author: IMRD
Subject: Dec 7-12, 2012 news


http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2012/12/07/882175/house-vote-rh-bill-next-week

House to vote on RH bill next week
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 7, 2012 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives will try to put the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill to a vote next week, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said yesterday.
“We will attempt a second-reading vote on Wednesday night. That means we will have three more days for amendments,” Gonzales said.
He said he expects the introduction of proposed changes in the bill to move at a faster pace from Monday through Wednesday.
“We have appealed to our anti-RH colleagues not to resort to calling for nominal or individual voting every time their amendment proposals are rejected by the bill’s sponsor, Cong. Edcel Lagman, and most of them have acceded to our request,” he said.
He added that he, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and other House leaders supporting the proposed RH law made the request after the chamber voted down in at least three rounds of nominal voting last Monday and Tuesday amendments proposed by the anti-RH bloc.
The three nominal votes took up a large part of the sessions. Each round of individual voting takes at least one hour to finish. Representatives Pablo Garcia of Cebu, Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro, Karlo Nograles of Davao City, and Hermilando Mandanas of Batangas were the proponents of the amendments that were voted down.
For two days, the House was stuck on page two of the 27-page compromise RH bill. But on Wednesday, it finished pages three and four largely because Rodriguez, Mandanas and Nograles did not invoke their right to call for nominal voting on rejected amendments.
Garcia, who invoked such right twice on Monday and Tuesday, was absent on Wednesday. His province was among the areas affected by super typhoon “Pablo.”
Besides Gonzales, anti-RH Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez expects a faster amendment process which, he indicated, may be completed in the next three session days.
“We assure a very methodical, orderly period of amendments in the next two or three session days. We still need page-by-page review. Then vote,” he said.
“We who oppose the RH bill are prepared to vote soon, sooner than later. Just a few more amendments,” he added.
On Wednesday night, Golez proposed an amendment –which Lagman readily accepted – that would ensure that the country maintain a viable population growth rate.
“The insertion of the phrase ‘sound replacement rate’ as an RH goal is to avoid a very low population growth rate or even a zero growth rate. Many western European countries, even Japan and Singapore, are suffering from very low population growth rate and their population are now on a tailspin,” Golez said.
“We have reached the denouement of the RH saga in Congress. I am proud and happy that whatever the outcome of the vote, Roilo Golez has given his modest contribution to the fierce national debate. I am fortunate to have been part of the 13th, 14th & 15th Congresses where the RH debate gradually rose in crescendo to the moment of truth,” he added.



http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/19557-repro-health-bill-in-crucial-vote-wednesday-ok-seen

Repro health bill in crucial vote Wednesday; OK seen
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Published on Sunday, 09 December 2012 23:00
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SPEAKER Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and other House leaders are convinced that despite strong opposition, the reproductive health bill will be passed by the chamber on Wednesday.
“I am confident it will be approved on second reading,” Belmonte told reporters in a text message.
Supporters and opponents of the RH bill agreed last Friday to put the measure vote to a vote by Wednesday.
House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said that during debates the previous week, the so-called “killer amendments” were all voted down.
“As far as I am concerned, that is indicative of pro-RH votes,” he said.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a principal author of the measure, said the bill gained a lot of momentum after going through last week’s period of amendments virtually unscathed.
“The voting pattern rejecting all ‘killer’ amendments to the RH bill introduced by critics is irreversible, as succeeding nominal voting registered wider margins of victory for the RH advocates,” he said.
Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. stressed that the question of mustering a quorum come Wednesday is still a crucial issue despite a call from Malacañang and the House leadership for House members to report back to work from their districts and from watching the Pacquiao-Marchez fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I expect Wednesday to be D-day,” he said.
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, an opponent of the bill, said their group is ready for the crucial voting mid-week. He said there are “at least 136 House members” who are against the measure.
There are 285 House members.
“We, anti-RH lawmakers, are ready for a vote and we want to do it on Wednesday,” he said. “We will still pursue our amendments line by line, page by page.”
Assistant majority leader Sherwin Tugna (PL-Citizens Battle Against Corruption) and Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan (PL-Gabriela) and Jun Omar Ebdane (Zambales) appealed to colleagues to show up to defend their respective positions.
Tugna said, “The House of Representatives should show the Filipino people that regardless of winning or losing in the next elections, congressmen can make tough decisions for the good of the country and for the good of the country’s future. I believe that the measure will pass through second reading because the public wants and badly needs the RH bill to become a law. There is nothing illegal and immoral in the pending RH bill.”
Catholic Church leaders have threatened to call for a boycott of re-electionist politicians who will vote for in favor of the RH bill.
Yesterday, a member of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said bishops are going to the Batasan complex in Quezon City Wednesday to pray for the lawmakers.
In previous days, Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes had alternately watched deliberations on the bill.
Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said he could not say yet how many bishops are going Wednesday “but hopefully they are many this time around.”
Castro said the Church is hoping that all lawmakers would ultimately choose to follow God and not men, in deciding how to vote for the measure.
“If we can live to see that our children will grow up in an environment of contraceptive mentality and anti-natalist attitude, then let us give up the fight. If we can, in conscience, grow old and face the Author of Life someday knowing that we did not dare to stand up against the RH bill today, then let us throw in the towel,” he said.
“But I know, in the deepest recesses of our hearts, we cannot accept a country governed by unjust and immoral laws. I know that we cannot accept that the Church, the one Church founded by Christ, continues to be a punching bag of many politicians. I know that, in the end, we shall stand up for what is right and true,” he added. – With Gerard Naval
Related Articles


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/321423/bishops-will-be-watching-rh-vote

Bishops will be watching RH vote
By Jocelyn R. Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:35 am | Monday, December 10th, 2012
Catholic bishops are expected to troop to Congress on Wednesday to watch how the lawmakers will vote on the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill and to show their support for those who stand by the Church’s position.
According to Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (CBCP-ECFL), the presence of the prelates in the gallery would be an expression of support for lawmakers who would vote against the family planning measure in line with Church dictates.
On the other hand, President Aquino had earlier called on his Congress allies to finally vote on the measure, which he has endorsed.
All the lawmakers are now in the “pressure cooker” because of the interest groups watching and trying to influence the outcome of the measure in the House, said Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, a coauthor of the bill.
These include Catholic Church officials and church groups, as well as Malacañang, Baguilat said, adding that both sides were expected to mount their own pressure tactics to attain victory.
Nonetheless, Baguilat urged his colleagues to take a stand and not shy away from the voting.
He said it would do the lawmakers good to listen to their constituents when they decide on how to vote on the bill. And as a coauthor of the measure, he believes they are on his side.
The majority of the population, particularly women, are in favor of family planning, surveys have shown.
Listen to the people
“It’s best to listen to what the people, the final arbiter in this debate, have to say,” he said. With this, no lawmaker should be afraid to take a stand on the bill, he added.
The RH bill mandates age-appropriate sex education in the schools and the promotion of birth control methods—both natural and artificial—by government health center. The measure is in line with women’s rights to information and access to reproductive technology. It also supports a more vigorous campaign against the spread of HIV-AIDS.
The Catholic Church, which is against artificial contraception, launched an all-out campaign against the passage of the bill.
In an interview with reporters, Castro said anti-RH legislators had urged the attendance of the bishops at the House gallery, saying they “need moral, spiritual [support] and the physical presence of the bishops.”
Prayer the main thing
“But the main reason the bishops will be there is to pray for the lawmakers,” the priest said.
While he couldn’t say how many bishops were expected to observe the crucial voting, Castro said he was hopeful there would be more of them on Wednesday than at previous deliberations on RH measure.


http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/12/09/no-numbers-to-defeat-rh/
‘No numbers to defeat RH’
By Maricel Cruz | Posted on Dec. 09, 2012 at 12:02am | 1,228 views
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THE principal author of the controversial Reproductive Health bill in the House of Representatives expressed confidence on Saturday that the measure’s supporters have overwhelming numbers to pass the controversial bill.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the continuing tactic of anti-RH lawmakers to delay the vote on House Bill 4244 only proves that they lack the votes to block the bill’s passage.
“Neither braggadocio nor dilatory antics win votes,” Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said, saying “superiority in reason coupled with ascendancy in numbers certainly wins the votes.”
“The purported winning count against the RH bill boasted by an anti-RH legislator is baseless extrapolation akin to the imagined hazards of voluntary contraception,” Lagman said.
Lagman said that the voting pattern rejecting all “killer” amendments to the RH bill introduced by critics last Monday is irreversible because the succeeding nominal voting confirmed the results of the initial vote by acclamation and even suggested an even bigger margin of victory.
Some of the amendments proposed by the anti-RH legislators include limiting reproductive health rights and benefits to married couples only, thus attempting to exclude unmarried adults and adolescents; restraining the government from promoting reproductive healthcare services and supplies and mandating the government to adopt and promote religious dogma, both of which go against the very grain of the bill; providing that fertilization and conception are synonymous and fertilization is the beginning of life, a subject wherein legislators have no competence since even medical experts have no consensus, much more unanimity, on the issue; deleting the adjective “reproductive” from “reproductive health” which is unwarranted because the bill is on reproductive health; and deleting the guiding principles enshrined in the bill which constitute the essence of the measure.
“In all instances, the sponsoring committee’s rejection of emasculating amendments was sustained by the plenary,” Lagman said.
This developed as anti-RH advocate Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay called on the Catholic Church to flex its muscles during the vote on the bill’s second reading set on Dec. 12.
Magsaysay also said that the Catholic bishops should not be admonished over their threats to campaign against lawmakers supporting the measure in next year’s midterm polls.
“If the Catholic Church flexes its muscle in order to protect believers from laws that is against its teachings and may harm it, they have the right to do it,” Magsaysay said. “The Catholic Church should make a definite stand next week.”
Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of the Archdiocese of Lipa aired last week the possibility that Church leaders might ask believers to reject pro-RH lawmakers in the May 2013 polls as he lamented Malacanang and multinational companies’ promotion of contraceptives under the measure.


http://cbcpforlife.com/?p=9666&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

RH proponents retain clause that implies poor should not have kids
MANILA, Dec. 7, 2012—After shooting down proposed amendments from pro-life lawmakers Pablo Garcia (Cebu), Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro), Lani Mercado-Revilla (Cavite), Karlo Nograles (Davao), and Hermilando Mandanas (Batangas), pro-reproductive health (RH) bill solons rejected yet another amendment, which Manila Representative Amado Bagatsing proposed due to a clause in the “substitute bill” that imposes a condition that discriminates poor people.
Bagatsing said that part of the Declaration of Policy imposes a prohibition on child-bearing on people deemed incapable of raising children properly, referring to Sec. 2 or the Declaration of Policy:
“The State shall also promote openness to life, provided that parents bring forth to the world only those children that they can raise in a truly humane way.”
“Para bang kapag ikaw ay mahirap, di mo kayang magpalaki ng bata sa tamang pamamaraan. Sa anyo ngayon ng panukalang ito, parang pinagbabawalan natin ang mga Pilipinong mahihirap – at marami po ‘yon – na sila’y ay magkaroon ng anak sapagka’t di nila kayang palakihin,” Bagatsing said during Wednesday deliberations at the House of Representatives.
He pointed out that the government is essentially imposing a prohibition on matters that families should decide on.
“In effect, when we say ‘…provided parents bring forth to the world only those children that they can truly raise in a humane way, ang sinasabi mo dito ay ‘huwag kang magka-anak, dahil mahirap ka.’ Eh gustong magkaroon ng pamilya sapagkat ang mag-asawa kapag walang anak, malungkot. We will stop them from having babies, or a first son, or first daughter?” the Manila lawmaker asked as House Bill 4244 principal author Edcel Lagman (Albay) listened from across the plenary hall.
“Marami namang mayaman dito na nanggaling sa pagka-wala,” he continued. “Eh kung hintayin muna natin silang magkaroon ng yaman bago magkaron ng anak, eh sinusupil mo ang pamilya.”
Clause goes against family laws
Bagatsing appealed to the body that the concerned clause – found on page 3 of the 27-page measure – be removed since it runs contrary to the laws that the State has established regarding families, referring to respect for the sanctity of the family and its rights as guarantee by the Philippine Constitution.
“Baka papayag naman ang sponsor na i-delete na [ang clause na] ‘yan. [Gawin na lang] ‘the state shall promote openness to life,’ period,” he said.
Lagman responded by saying that the clause, which was not in the original version of HB 4244, was placed as part of the substitute bill so that “the State will not have an anti-natalist policy.”
“We regret that we cannot receive [Bagatsing’s] amendment,” the Albay solon said.
When asked during the discussion who inserted this particular clause in the “substitute bill,” he declined to disclose the information. Pressed further by Bagatsing, Lagman said he could not reveal the person’s name.(CBCP for Life)

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http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=7724

Hundreds gather to pray rosary against RH
Filed under: Headlines,Life News |
MANILA, Nov. 13, 2012–Hundreds of Catholic faithful flocked to Nuestra Señora de Guia Archdiocesan Parish in Ermita, Manila yesterday for “Rosary for Life” aimed at stopping abortion.
The praying of the rosary was followed by a Eucharistic celebration led by Antipolo Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes, chair of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL).
Reyes in his homily pointed out that prayers are effective in the fight against the culture of death. He specifically noted the controversial measure now pending in both chambers of Congress.
“We are praying that the Reproductive Health bill may not pass,” he said.
The prelate further explained that life advocates who are focused on spreading the truth that contraceptives are not the solutions to poverty must always remember the plight of poor people.
“The culture of life is also involved in helping the poor,” said Reyes.
Rosary for Life is a prayer association which promotes reverence and respect for the God-given gift of life, especially that of the unborn. It was founded by Wyn Powers in 1989 after being inspired to help the unborn through a pro-life seminar and Rosary Congress where she learned of the benefits of praying the rosary. (CBCP for Life)



http://www.manilatimes.net/~manilati/index.php/sunday-times/the-sunday-times-magazines/122-spirituality/36975-cardinal-tagle-other-bishops-please-don-t-rush-rh-bill

Cardinal Tagle, other bishops: Please don’t rush RH bill
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Published on 09 December 2012
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Written by CBCPNEWS
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MANILA: The highest prelate in Manila’s Roman Catholic Church has joined calls for lawmakers not to rush the passage of the reproductive health (RH) bill.

In a statement, Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and 14 other bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Manila said that there is a need to discuss the proposed legislation thoroughly.

“We are appealing to the Honorable Representatives to give ample time to deliberations and discernment and not to unduly rush them,” part of the statement reads.

In their pre-Christmas gathering held on Tuesday the bishops reflected on the discussions on the population control measure in Congress.

Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said they agree that the bill will promote harm than its supposed benefits to the country.

“They should not hurry up the bill because it is the future of Filipinos that is at stake here,” said Reyes who also chairs the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL)

Transparency
The church leaders also called on for transparency if the controversial measure is put to a vote.

“We are appealing to them to conduct the deliberation and decision with transparency through nominal voting and respect for the diversity of views,” they said.

According to Reyes, the people have the right to know the position of their respective representatives on the RH bill.

And if the lawmakers would continue with the “viva voce” scheme of voting, he said it only means the issue will affect their election chances next year.

“They know that they will have a problem in the coming elections if they voted for RH bill because there are so many people who are against it,” he said.

Among the signatories of the statement are Bishops Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao, Deogracias Iñiguez of Kalookan, Jose Oliveros of Malolos, Antonio Tobias of Novaliches, and Jesse Mercado of Parañaque.

Bishops Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig, Leo Drona of San Pablo, Leopoldo Tumulak of the Military Ordinariate, Pedro Arigo of Puerto Princesa and Edgardo Juanich of Taytay also signed the statement.

Auxiliary Bishops Francisco De Leon of Antipolo and Broderick Pabillo and Bernardino Cortez of Manila and Fr. George Morales, Diocesan Administrator of Imus also joined Cardinal Tagle’s appeal.

Earlier, the ECFL called on lawmakers to make known their position on the RH bill instead of hiding under the cloak of “ayes” or nays”.

Last August, lawmakers in Congress had voted to end the plenary debates on the measure through the viva voce vote.

Malicious misrepresentation
Reyes belied a newspaper report quoting a member of the House majority who said he had attended a meeting between lawmakers and some bishops on the RH bill.

The bishop also denied giving inputs to the “substitute bill” to the HB 4244. He said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte could attest that he was not part of any meeting on the measure.

“This is a malicious misrepresentation by the anonymous member of the House majority,” Reyes said.


http://cbcpforlife.com/?p=9632

Apparent discrepancies in RH vote count uncovered at House
MANILA, Dec. 5, 2012—While torrential rains and howling winds pounded the south of the country, another “storm” started brewing in the plenary hall of the House of Representatives Tuesday as rejection of proposed amendments to the reproductive health (RH) bill took place amid what seemed to be a lack of quorum, with discrepancies between the number of solons present and the results of nominal voting being discovered by vigilant anti-RH solons.
After the body concluded consideration of Cebu Representative Pablo Garcia’s proposed amendments, Cagayan de Oro Rufus Rodriguez proceeded to present his own amendments, one of which pertained to government respect for religious freedom as well.
The amendment was rejected by the body, with a total of 139 votes from House members present on the floor, after which Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay – apparently noticing a discrepancy in numbers – made a parliamentary inquiry, questioning presiding officer Lorenzo Tanada III’s decision to deny Rodriguez’s amendment, given the absence of a quorum.
The presence of 144 members is required for a quorum to be declared. Decisions arrived at in the absence of a quorum – when a member questions the quorum – are rendered void.
A commotion over the apparent inaccuracy of the vote-counting ensued, prompting Representative Janette Garin to make a motion for suspension. Simultaneously, Palawan Representative Dennis Socrates made a motion for adjournment; when Tanada announced, “session is suspended,” Socrates pointed out that his motion must be dealt with first because according to the rules, a motion for adjournment takes precedence over a motion to suspend.
Rodriguez seconded Socrates’ motion, asserting the need to adjourn session and not merely suspend. The Cagayan de Oro solon explained that since journals – which contain summaries of House proceedings – can be prepared only after adjournment of each session, this needs to be prioritized to be able to determine the results of nominal voting that took place Monday and Tuesday.
“The people have a right to know the results of the nominal voting and how each representative voted,” the Palawan lawmaker pointed out.
Tanada later walked out of the venue without declaring any decision as to either the adjournment or the duration of the suspension.
“He just left the session hall without addressing three motions – Socrates’s motion for adjournment, Magsaysay’s parliamentary inquiry, and Garin’s motion for suspension,” related one of the young life advocates in the galleries who monitors House proceedings regularly, and who stayed till nearly midnight and left with a hundred or so other anti-RH citizens out of the hall.
Pro-RH legislators quietly slipped out of the plenary hall soon after despite the non-resolution of pending motions.
By close to 11:30 the floor was nearly empty, leaving only a handful of anti-RH solons including Socrates, Magsaysay, Rodriguez, Karlo Nograles of Davao, Jose Aquino II of Agusan del Norte, Hermilando Mandanas of Batangas, Rachel del Mar of Cebu, and Michael Velarde of Buhay Party List.
Also present besides some 100 life advocates from different dioceses, schools and civic groups were Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) chair Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes. Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias watched the proceedings earlier but left before the controversial discrepancies in vote-counting surfaced.
The atmosphere was a mixture of jubilation over the apparent victory over attempts at deception regarding voting results, and solemnity as Fr. Melvin Castro, ECFL executive secretary, enjoined everyone to pray. Arguelles led the prayer, followed by a singing of the Lord’s Prayer.
Life advocates in the hall walked out of the venue chanting “Ibagsak RH bill!”
Pro-life legislators vowed to question the said decision and threatened to boycott further deliberations on other matters such as the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the budget, if yesterday’s pending decision will not be resolved.
Pro-life legislators asked concerned individuals and citizens opposed to the RH bill to be present during the deliberations and to offer prayers for honest proceedings concerning the strongly opposed measure. (CBCP for Life)

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