UP profs support RH Bill 5043

Twenty-six faculty members, including former deans of the University of the Philippines College of Law, recently issued a statement of support for House Bill 5043, or the “Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2009.” The signatories are the third group of academicians and professionals who have expressed support for the passage of the bill; the two others are a separate group of professors from the UP, and faculty members of Ateneo de Manila University.

The latest statement from the UP shows that support for the bill has not waned, despite its having been sidelined as Congress focused its attention on the con-ass before it went into recess.

The 26 signatories state that the bill “supports constitutionally guaranteed State obligations to protect and promote the right to health of the Filipino people. It brings to life the ideals of equality, justice, and respect for human dignity that lie at the core of our fundamental law by guaranteeing that all Filipinos have access to quality information and services in reproductive health. Amid pervasive socio-economic inequality, the availability and accessibility of reproductive health care is an indispensable step towards improving the quality of life of millions of Filipinos.”

The bill, write the signatories, “serves to empower Filipino women in making informed choices about their health — decisions which ultimately affect the lives of their families and communities. Ensuring their right to equality before the law is not only crucial to the health and wellbeing of women and their families, but is also essential to assuring their effective participation in national development.”

“Similarly, we assert that the bill’s adoption of the human rights framework in dealing with reproductive health is a welcome and long-overdue initiative that more appropriately reflects the emerging international consensus that treats the issue as one that principally involves fundamental rights, free and informed decision-making, and women’s empowerment.

“Contrary to the contention by some groups that the bill encroaches on religious freedom, we maintain that it does precisely the opposite. By providing citizens and their families with adequate information and a variety of options on reproductive health, the bill empowers them to make sound decisions. By enabling choice, the RH bill neither compels individuals nor families to resort to family planning methods or health interventions but rather empowers them to make sound decisions and access information and services for their health and wellbeing. This is fully consistent with the principle of mutual respect for religious differences enshrined in our constitutional order.”

The signatories point to recent surveys indicating that the bill enjoys the support of the majority of Filipinos. “There is therefore no further reason, whether legal or political, for our elected representatives in Congress to stand in the way of the bill’s enactment into law,” they said.

“We hereby call on both houses of Congress to immediately pass the Reproductive Health Bill and for those who have stood against its passage to summon up the wisdom to act, not on the basis of faulty assumptions or in the service of vested interests, but for the common good of the Filipino people.”

The 26 statement signers are former Deans Froilan M. Bacungan, Merlin M. Magallona, Raul C. Pangalangan and Marivic F. Leonon; Professors Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan, Araceli Baviera, Eduardo A. Labita, Myrna S. Feliciano, Domingo Disini and Carmelo Sison; Associate Professors Rowena Daroy Morales, H. Harry Roque, Ibarra M. Gutierrez III, JJ Disini, E. Leo Battad, Florin T. Hilbay and Rommel J. Casis. Also signatories are professorial lecturers Tristan Catindig, Jose C. Laureta, Concepcion Lim Jardeleza, Antonio M. Santos, Carol Ruiz-Austria, Rafael Morales, Rowena V. Guanzon, Alfred Molo III, and Stephanie Gomez-Somera.

Ramon San Pascual, executive director of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), lauds the law professors who, despite heavy opposition from the Catholic hierarchy against the bill, strongly acknowledge not only the constitutionality but also the very humane character of the proposed measure.

San Pascual says, “Despite what happened in the last days of Congress, we remain confident and steadfast that this bill will become a law soon.” RH advocates are to continue the “Big Push for the RH Bill” once the 3rd regular session starts in July. Activities to make lawmakers understand the urgency of the passage of the bill have already lined up, and, adds San Pascual, “RH advocates are still holding on to Speaker Nograles’ promise that the legislators will vote on this bill under this Congress. –Domini M. Torrevillas, Philippine Star

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