Family planning backers threaten to block other bills

THE 132 authors of the Reproductive Health bill have promised to block the passage of tax measures and Constitutional Convention bills being rushed by the House leadership in the last nine days of session, and after the House leadership removed the population control measure from the list of priority bills.

“The House leadership had better prioritize the RH bill or they will pass nothing,” warned Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of House Bill 5043, in a forum Tuesday at the Sulo Hotel.

“All 132 of us would take turns in raising many valid questions about these priority tax measures until the House leadership runs out of time and passes nothing.

“No amount of new tax laws will shore up the economy if the government continues failing to address the ballooning population, which is expected to reach a staggering 94 million Filipinos this year.’’

House Bill 5043 seeks to establish a national policy on reproductive health, family planning and population development to curb the population’s 2.36-percentgrowth rate. The country’s population now stands at 94 million.

Mahar Mangahas, president of the survey outfit Social Weather Stations, said previous surveys showed that lawmakers up for re-election might lose crucial votes for not supporting health issues.

“Because of their anti-family- planning stand, congressmen who seek re-election may lose their bid,’’ Mangahas said.

“Some mayors and local government officials may lose some votes, yet they won’t lose the elections on account of family planning issues,”

Contrary to reports, Tarlac Rep. Monica Louise Prieto-Teodoro, the wife of presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro Jr., had not withdrawn her support for the RH bill, Lagman said.

The RH block plans to use the same tactics employed by the anti-RH lawmakers like Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, who was allowed by the House leadership to spend 14 hours in 10 session days interpellating Lagman, followed by Cebu Reps. Raul del Mar and Pablo Garcia.

The RH bill had already been subjected to several public hearings, a yearlong debate, and another plenary debate until it was deliberately excluded from the list of priority measures for the remaining few session days.

The SWS had conducted surveys in areas reported to have strong opposition to the RH bill to test its acceptance.

“The findings of the SWS surveys show that those considered problem areas are in fact with constituents strongly in favor of the RH issues,’’ Mangahas said.

“These are Metro Manila and its cities including Parañaque and Manila, Cebu province and its cities.”

Ramon San Pascual, executive director of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development Foundation Inc., said he was stunned by the “lack of honesty and sense of decency” shown by the Alliance of Family Life Organizations and Family Life Philippines who claimed responsibility for the purported Filipino Family survey that said a majority of Filipinos rejected the reproductive health bill.

The Family Life survey had been commissioned by the same people who operate the HB & A International, the research firm that conducted the survey. According to San Pascual, HB & is led by Joselito Sandejas as chairman and Tony Abaya as managing director, with Sandejas also being the chairman of Alliance of Family group.

Elizabeth Ongsiaco, Reproductive Health Advocacy Network secretary general, said it was the Pro-Life leaders and former Manila Mayor Joselito Atienza who were behind the “dubious and misleading surveys” asking them to make public their survey methods.

San Pascual said their group would commission SWS for another round of surveys in March on the issue of the RH bill, as well as another nationwide survey later this month on the same reproductive health issues. –Christine F. Herrera, Manila Standard Today