No RH bill means no Cha-cha, new tax measures – Lagman

MANILA, Philippines – The principal proponent of the reproductive health (RH) bill in the House of Representatives vowed yesterday to block the renewed Charter change (Cha-cha) initiative unless the RH bill is passed.

“If there is no RH bill, there will be no Cha-cha and no new tax measures,” Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman told a Quezon City news forum.

He said he and co-authors of the family planning measure would question the quorum whenever the House tackles any Charter change-related measure or tax proposal.

Lagman made the threat in the wake of reports that administration allies were bent on taking a vote on the proposal to convene a constitutional convention in preparation for Cha-cha during their last nine days of session.

President Arroyo, on the other hand, wants her House allies to approve at least two tax bills.

Speaker Prospero Nograles has released a short list of priority bills for what remains of the current Congress from Jan. 18 to Feb. 5, on which date Congress adjourns for the four-month election period.

The list includes the con-con proposals but not the RH bill and the tax measures that Mrs. Arroyo wants her congressional allies to approve to shore up dwindling government revenues.

Lagman said the RH bill would be approved if it is put to a vote since it is authored by more than 100 House members.

“The current bill and its precursors have languished for more than a decade despite consistent and overwhelming public support for the enactment of a comprehensive reproductive health and family planning law which is rights-based, health-oriented and development-driven,” he said.

He said the RH bill is a “quality measure” that should be given equal if not more importance than tax proposals and initiatives to amend the Constitution.

“No amount of new taxes 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,” he stressed.

“And any constitutional change will only be legalese cosmetic if reproductive health and family planning are not upheld and prioritized as basic human rights of parents and couples,” he added.

Commenting on Lagman’s threat, Nograles said the House would accomplish nothing if it tackles the RH bill during its last few remaining sessions.

“There are at least 15 members who are on deck to debate for or against, and the time will be consumed by debates (if the bill is tackled),” he said.

Last Sept. 4, in a “confidential” memorandum to Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, Nograles ordered that debates on the RH bill, which “started almost one year ago on Sept. 23, 2008,” be terminated and a vote taken on the measure.

Before the vote, he would allow a panel of five members on each side of the issue to wrap up their arguments in no more than one hour for each side. He scheduled the voting for Sept. 24.

“Compliance is hereby enjoined,” was the last sentence of his memo. He inexplicably failed to make his word stick.  –Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star)