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Date Posted: 20:05:13 07/23/12 Mon
Author: IMRD
Subject: July 24, 2012 news

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=830728&publicationSubCategoryId=63



P-Noy wants responsible parenthood; House vote on RH set
By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 24, 2012 12:00 AM Comments (21) View comments

MANILA, Philippines - In his third State of the Nation Address, President Aquino asked the public to practice responsible parenthood.

The President shifted from citing the improvements of the Philippine education system to taking a stance, although not directly, on the highly controversial Reproductive Health Bill.

“We are ending the backlogs in the education sector, but the potential for shortages remains as our student population continues to increase. Perhaps responsible parenthood can help address this,” Aquino said, earning the loudest and longest applause from the crowd.

Leaders of both chambers of Congress also promised yesterday to act swiftly on the Reproductive Health Bill with Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. vowing to finally subject the controversial meansure to plenary vote within the year.

“It has been discussed from every possible perspective by advocates and opponents alike not only in this Congress but in past congresses. I think it is time we finally put it to a vote. Let the chips fall where they may,” Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said at the resumption of regular session yesterday. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile also said the RH Bill would be a priority, after languishing in the doldrums for months due to heated debates on the issue.

Sen. Pia Cayetano said that there is no more reason to delay action on the measure.

Cayetano said both proponents and critics of the measure had fought over the measure long enough to expose its merits and flaws.

“I think all of our colleagues should be ready also to put a vote. Before they put a vote they can make their individual amendment and then make a vote. How difficult is that? It is an embarrassment to the Filipino people to say that we are not ready. That would only mean that we are not studying this,” Cayetano said.

Doubts have been raised about the bill being put to a vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives because of the opposition raised by many lawmakers including Enrile and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III.

Cayetano agreed with Sen.Panfilo Lacson that the challenge for the proponents of the RH bill is huge but that what is important is to let the process take its course and have the senators make their stand known through a vote.

She recalled the difficulties she faced in pushing for the measure particularly during the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona during which there were attempts to defer consideration of the bill to a later date.

Cayetano said that she fought for the bill to be taken up in all of the session days during the impeachment trial so that all of the senators would have their chance to raise their questions about the measure.

“Now if I hear that they are not yet ready (to vote on the bill), then it would be up to the people to judge them. How can they not be ready when this bill has been hanging for more than a year already,” Cayetano said.

“Let us challenge every single member of the Senate to be ready to vote for this measure,” she added.

Cayetano said that there is no justification for the Senate to prioritize some new measures over the RH bill, such as the proposed amendment to the Constitution being pushed by Enrile and Belmonte.

“It is the height of irresponsibility to say that we take up other measures when we have not yet finished those before it,” Cayetano said.

In his speech at the start of the session yesterday, Enrile said that the RH bill is “one of those rare measures in the Senate that has been a magnet of philosophical musings and emotional sentiments from various sectors.”

“The issues raised by the reproductive health bill and the charter change stem from a need we have to address and thus demand an answer from this chamber and the Filipino political leader. I know that we, in the Senate, will tackle these issues with tact, courage and responsibility,” Enrile said.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, said he was heartened by President Aquino’s open endorsement of the measure in his State-of-the-Nation Address.

“The President’s renewed and categorical endorsement of the enactment of the RH and responsible parenthood bill truly complements his determination to solve the backlogs in education and ills in health,” Lagman said.

“The President is fully aware that the population problem impacts adversely on major human development indicators like health, education, employment, food security, mass housing and the environment,” he said.

Lagman said he and other RH bill authors share Aquino’s view that a law on reproductive health and responsible parenthood would help solve shortages in teachers, classrooms, textbooks, and desks, and reduce maternal mortality.

“The President is cognizant that no development agenda will succeed without the government addressing simultaneously and positively the population issue,” he added.

He reiterated that the RH bill gives women and couples the “freedom of informed choice to freely and responsibly decide the number and spacing of their children.”

“It is not a population control measure because it has no demographic target. The eventual deceleration of the population growth rate is the beneficent result of contraception by choice. It is not pro-abortion,” Lagman said. “The RH bill repeatedly provides that abortion is illegal and it is neither a form of contraception nor a legal family planning method,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said they would resume their battle against the passage of RH Bill now that Aquino has openly called for its passage.

CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) executive secretary Fr. Melvin Castro expressed sadness that the Chief Executive had openly voiced his wish for the approval of the controversial measure.

When asked if President Aquino’s statement was a call for legislators to push for the bill’s immediate passage, Fr. Castro replied, “Yes it seems so. The battle resumes.”

“In the meantime, we shall pray and discern.”

Aquino’s pro-RH statement elicited loud applause from the gallery at the House of Representatives where he delivered his SONA. “The gallery was filled with pro Noynoy crowd,” the CBCP official said.

The Church official also said he could not find the connection between the RH bill and the backlog on classrooms and textbooks.

“(I am) Deeply saddened and disappointed, we don’t see any connection between the education problem and the bill promoting and funding contraceptive usage,” Fr. Castro added.

Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, for his part, said that when it comes to “Responsible Parenthood,” “the President does not know what he is talking about. Responsible Parenthood is a church language, it is natural family planning.”

He said the Aquino administration’s strong endorsement of the RH measure could lead to the passage of other controversial bills such as Divorce Bill and Same Sex Marriage Bill.

“I hope he will fulfill promises. If he does all thee things… we might as well be heaven.” – With Evelyn Macairan, Jess Diaz, Marvin Sy

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