Poll thumbs down reproductive bill

NINETY-two percent of Metro Manila residents have rejected the controversial Reproductive Health bill pending in the House of Representatives, former Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza said Friday.

The results of the Filipino Family Survey, conducted by HB&A International-ARO Research Group with 500 respondents from Dec. 2 to 9, showed that Filipinos “overwhelmingly” gave the RH bill, authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a thumbs down, Atienza said.

Atienza, who is running for mayor of Manila in the May elections, criticized Lagman for deceiving other congressmen by saying that a majority of Filipinos favored his proposed measure to address population growth.

Lagman “is fooling all of us,” Atienza told reporters during the presentation of the survey results at Casa Español.

HB&A International is led by Dr. Joselito Sandejas as chairman and Tony Abaya as managing director. Established in 1997, it is affiliated with Louis Harris & Associates while Asia Research Organization, established in the 1950s, is the Philippine affiliate of Gallup International.

Should the voting for the RH bill be put off, Lagman on Thursday threatened to hostage charter change initiatives and tax measures during the 10 sessions remaining before Congress takes a break for the campaign season starting next month.

The RH bill have languished in the legislative mill for more than a decade, despite consistent and overwhelming public support for the enactment of a comprehensive reproductive health and family planning law, Lagman said.

But Atienza insisted that “99.99 percent” of the respondents do not know the law and its provisions. He called on everyone not to tolerate Lagman’s allegations, which the former mayor said were “grossly incorrect and a great injustice.”

He debunked Lagman’s position that rapid population growth causes poverty, citing countries with huge populations like China and India that have grown and developed in economic terms and would soon turn into major superpowers.

The HB&A International-ARO Research survey found that the Philippines, despite its more than 90 million population, has been spared by the global recession because of the remittances by over 10 million Filipino migrant workers.

With more people, Atienza said it would be easier to boost the economy.

Eighty percent of the respondents agreed that human resources and population size would make the country stronger in the coming years, especially if corruption would be reduced significantly and government officials serve the people, Atienza said.

Abaya said of those interviewed on sex education, one of two major issues in the RH bill, 75 percent were not aware that if passed into law, sex education would be taught to children starting in grade 5, while 87 percent said they did not want teachers teaching their children about the technical and biological aspects of sex.

Abaya also said 65 percent agreed that parents could best teach their children about sex than their teachers, and 88 percent of parents would like to train on how to give their children sex education.

On the second issue of the bill, which deals with abortion, Abaya said 85 percent are not aware that once passed the RH bill would allow teenagers to secure “abortifacient devices and substances” without their parents’ knowledge and consent.

Abaya said 90 percent do not agree that Congress should appropriate P2 billion to the detriment of other essential medicines for free children’s vaccinations, treatment of dreaded diseases and other more important health and medical concerns.

“Why would contraceptives be made essential medicines when pregnancy does not belong to the top 10 leading causes of mortality among Filipinos?” Atienza said. –Macon Ramos-Araneta, Manila Standard Today