Foreign businessmen bat for family planning bill

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign businessmen are urging the Senate and the House of Representatives to approve the reproductive health and family planning bill, a move that will help address the poverty and unemployment issues of the country.

In a statement, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) said that although the reproductive health bill is a sensitive issue, the Congress must resolve the matter given that it has been pending for 30 years.

JFC said that there is already a clamor to enact the reproductive health bill because the Philippine population may exceed 100 million in the coming years.

JFC said that lawmakers must not only listen to religious groups who are strongly opposed to the passage of the bill. The foreign businessmen group said that surveys showed more Filipinos are open to the idea of family planning.

“In survey after survey the Filipino people have spoken in favor of the enactment of the Reproductive Health bill. Legislators and policymakers should heed their constituents’ wishes and not those of a religious group which is completely free to urge its followers to only practice its methods of family planning,” the group added.

“In a representative democracy, the voice of the people should be a sovereign mandate,” the group added.

Although it is controversial, JFC said there is an urgent need to settle the matter.

“We acknowledge that reproductive health is a sensitive issue, but strongly feel that the interminable debates on the population issue inside and outside Congress must find closure to enable the Philippines to reap soonest the full benefits of a nationwide, comprehensive and well-funded policy on reproductive health and family planning,” JFC said.

According to them, the passage of the bill will help the country fulfill its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) commitments because an effective reproductive health system can answer a number of health problems.

Likewise, the passage without further delay of the Reproductive Health bills now pending second reading in both the House and the Senate will greatly enhance a number of programs namely improvement of maternal health, reduction of infant mortality, achieving universal primary education, eradication of extreme hunger and poverty and promoting gender equality.

The group said that poverty is not only tragic for people. It is bad for the business and investment climate because extensive poverty means weak consumer demand, underdeveloped human resources, low public sector revenue and possible social and political unrest, conditions which discourage new business investment and the creation of better quality jobs. –Philippine Star