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RH Proponents: Bishops act to block RH, not working; Women to Sotto: Stop Filibustering. Do Your Job, Put The RH Bill To a Vote! and Proponents Condemn Cheap Acts Of Anti-RH Lawmakers

Posted on December 24th By vigie llorin

RH Proponents: Bishops act to block RH, not working. A law on RH is imminent.

Amid deliberate acts of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to block the passage of the much delayed Reproductive Health (RH) bill, a group of leading proponents advocating for its passage, said that these acts are not working and the voting of the RH bill is imminent.

According to Ramon San Pascual, Executive Director of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), Fr. Melvin Castro’s call on the President not to ‘rush’ the bill is clearly an act to prolong the proceedings to no end and an attempt to thwart support on the bill as once again articulated by the President himself.

CBCP fully knows that the President is supportive of responsible parenthood and reproductive health and is fully aware of former legislations on RH that has been pending for more than 10 years. CBCP is desperate for it knows that when voting comes the RH bill will be passed not only in the House of Representatives but also in the Senate, said San Pascual.

He lauded the attention given by the President on the RH bill. “Advocates appreciates that the President, despite his many urgent concerns, considers the RH Bill important,” San Pascual said.

For more than a decade now, anti-RH lawmakers backed by the influential CBCP has managed to block the RH bill, San Pascual explains. Now that we have a determined President who understands that a law on RH will help resolve the country’s maternal and infant health and poverty issue and one that cannot be swayed by CBCB’s uncalled for pressure, the passage of the RH bill is imminent.

“It is time for the Congress leadership to look into the matter seriously,” said San Pascual. “Even the President wants the voting on the bill to happen soon,” he added, “it is now their job to see to it that the bill reach the voting. After all, even the Speaker of the House attests on the repetitive questioning of his colleagues to delay the measure,” San Pascual added.

“In the end, truth will prevail. The benefit for the greater good will triumph over the whims of a few privileged people who does not understand the plight of poor women who wants to access RH services from their health centers,” he said. “We are very certain, the RH bill will become a law next year,” he ended. xxx

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Women to Bishops: Stop the mockery of the country’s democracy

Following reports that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is asking President Aquino not to ‘rush’ the much delayed Reproductive Health (RH) bill to a vote, a group of women’s advocates working with grassroots communities said that the bishops are once again misleading the public and making a mockery of the country’s democracy.

Elizabeth Angsioco, National Chairperson of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) added that in doing so, the CBCP wants to impose its dogma by dictating how citizens should live their lives and how Congress should work.

“The RH bill has been pending in Congress for more than 10 years,” Angsioco said. “How can more than 10 years of never ending debates be labeled as rushing?” she commented. Angsioco emphasized that the RH bill is perhaps the most debated bill in our country’s legislative history.

Angsioco added, “in fact, because anti-RH legislators like Sen. Sotto have run out of arguments, they now resort to witch hunting of the bill’s advocates and insist on the existence of an imaginary international conspiracy that will legalize abortion in the country through the RH bill.”

The CBCP’s call on the President only proves the contrary of what they say: they do not have the numbers in Congress. “The claim that anti-RH will win if the RH goes to a vote is just one of the manufactured lies to mislead the public, especially the lawmakers who are still quiet about their position”, explained Angioco.

“Why else would the bishops block the voting if indeed, they have the numbers?” she said. “If the antis really have what it takes to defeat the bill, they should push for its voting, and not derail the democratic legislative process,” she added.

According to Angsioco, history proves that bishops are not undefeatable as regards democratic lawmaking is concerned. Angioco recalls that decades ago, the bishops also staunchly opposed the inclusion of the Rizal course in school curricula. She explained that the bishops did not want the life and works of Rizal to be studied by the Filipino youth in school perhaps because of the national hero’s critical writings against the Roman Catholic Church. “But the bishops lost the battle in the legislative process,” she said.

The patriots in Congress rose to the occasion and voted in favor of the Rizal course. “As they will again, in the RH Bill,” Angsioco said. “The bishops are threatened because they know that once again, they will lose,” she stressed.

Like in the Rizal Course issue, again, the Filipino people need the patriots in Congress to heed their call – pass a law that will enable the government to provide the people with access to comprehensive RH education and services. “Enough of the debates, vote on the RH bill now! Even President Aquino wants this to happen,” Angsioco ended.xxx

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WOMEN TO SOTTO: STOP FILIBUSTERING. DO YOUR JOB, PUT THE RH BILL TO A VOTE!

Following Sen. Tito Sotto’s interpellation that lambasted advocacy groups during Mondays’ Senate session, a group of women advocates working with grassroots communities condemned Sotto’s witch hunting and black propaganda against organizations involved in the passage of the much-delayed Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

Elizabeth Angsioco, National Chairperson of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP), one of the groups that Sotto hit said that the Senate Majority Floor Leader uses his power to pick on RH bill advocates instead of doing his job which is to schedule the voting for the measure.

According to Angsioco, Sotto’s arguments that organizations do not exist because they are not registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) only revealed the Senators’ lack of understanding about how most organizations work. “Sotto should know that a big number of organizations, especially those composed of marginalized sectors are not SEC-registered but are actively working for social transformation. It is a pity that the Senator hits organizations that are actually helping the government and politicians like him, do their work,” she added.

“It looks like that in his effort to look for ‘ammunitions’ against RH groups such as international connections and funding, he hit all organizations, whether he found something or nothing. It’s funny that those he hit including the ones he accused of being ‘foreign agents’ are actually some of the most recognized organizations in the country,” Angsioco said.

As the national chairperson of DSWP Angsioco takes offense, she said that DSWP has been working with grassroots women for almost two and a half decades. “We are present in 14 regions of the country and have been instrumental in the passage of several laws including the Anti-Rape, Anti-Violence against Women and their Children and the Magna Carta of Women. We have, for years been working with both Houses of Congress and other government institutions like the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),” she stressed.

Unfortunately for Sotto, Angioco explained, there is nothing new in his arguments against the bill. They are basically the same ones that he has been mouthing since the start of his never ending interpellation. Sotto desperately attempts to veer the discussion toward an imaginary international conspiracy to bring abortion to the country. “This argument is absurd. No pro-abortion law can be passed in this country because of the Constitutional prohibition against it,” Angsioco asserted.

Angioco emphasized that if Sotto is true to his word that he is not delaying the bill, then he should yield the floor to other Senators who might want to interpellate. “It is him always interpellating. What he is doing is tantamount to filibustering so the bill doesn’t get voted on,” she said.

“If indeed, Sotto is not blocking the RH bill, then he should do his responsibility and put the bill to a vote. It is time, as what Senators Defensor-Santiago and Cayetano say, vote on the RH bill now!” Angsioco ended.xxx

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PROPONENTS CONDEMN CHEAP ACTS OF ANTI-RH LAWMAKERS

Reproductive Health (RH) advocates condemn the cheap acts of the opponents of the much delayed House Bill 4244 or the “Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011 and calls on them to stop causing deliberate delays in the interpellations of the said measure.

According to Ramon San Pascual, Rep. Pablo Garcia of the 2^nd District of Cebu is once again using dirty old tactics to delay the debates by attacking proponents of the RH bill such as the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD).

San Pascual, who is the Executive Director of the group, stressed that PLCPD is composed of progressive and nationalists legislators who have championed the issues of poor and marginalized sectors in Congress and will not serve foreign interests. Among its past chairpersons are well respected lawmakers such as Sen. Letecia Ramos-Shahani, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, and Rep. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo.

San Pascual emphasized that the anti-RH lawmakers are in fact reactionaries who refuse to support PLCPD’s human development agenda in Congress. They tried but failed to stop the enactment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform and Cheaper Medicines Act. They will definitely lose the battle again with the RH bill.

PLCPD, just like any non-government organization (NGO) in the country, receives grants from domestic and international development organizations for its programs and activities, San Pascual said. He added that PLCPD is a legitimate organization of congress members and senators who for the past twenty years have fought for progressive and pro-poor legislation in the country.

“We do not see that as an issue, as Rep. Garcia insinuates maliciously in his privilege speech,” San Pascual said. “It is also very unfortunate that some members of the media are allowing themselves, and their organization, to be used by such malicious attack,” San Pascual added.

San Pascual urged lawmakers to bring decency in Congress by allowing the legislative process to flow accordingly and refrain from misinforming the public and maligning proponents of the bill.

“We call on anti-RH legislators to show up during interpellations, finish the debates, and vote on the bill now, San Pascual, said. “In the end, lawmakers will be measured by the legislation they stood and fought for, and not by what they cowardly turned their backs on,” he ended. xxx

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