‘More lawmakers likely to push Reproductive Health bill in 15th Congress’

MANILA, Philippines – Supporters of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill bared yesterday that more lawmakers are likely to push for the passage of the measure in the incoming 15th Congress.

Ben de Leon, president of The Forum for Family Planning and Development, Inc., said lawmakers who are supportive of the RH bill won the elections because Filipino voters understood the need for lawmakers who will help them in matters related to reproductive health and family planning.

De Leon said the results of the recent elections just proved that a majority of the Filipino people need reproductive health and family planning information and services.

“This is the very reason why Filipino voters have chosen candidates with family planning and reproductive health programs in their platforms of government,” he said.

Among the main proponents of the RH bill who won in the previous polls were Representatives Edcel Lagman (Albay, First District) and Janet Garin (Iloilo, First District.)

The forum said that 13 out of the 125 neophyte congressmen could be categorized as pro-RH based on their track record.

Over 50 congressmen, mostly re-elected lawmakers, have already expressed their support for the bill, the forum said.

Meanwhile, 17 party-list representatives are also likely to support the bill, the group said.

De Leon said previous studies found that a majority of Filipinos clamor for access to reproductive health and family planning information and services.

“The 2010 Social Weather Stations (SWS) surveys even showed that support for access to legal means of family planning was high both among Catholics (69 percent) and non-Catholics (64 percent),” he said.

House Bill 5043, otherwise known as “The Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood, and Population Development Act of 2008,” makes artificial contraceptives more accessible to the public through health programs and calls for sex education in schools, among others.

The RH bill was junked in the 12th, 13th and 14th Congress because of the opposition of the Catholic Church.

“The Filipino voters have a clear grasp of the issue and they actually need lawmakers who will bravely face the threats of the Catholic Church just so reproductive health and family planning education and services will be made available to them,” De Leon explained.

De Leon said the election results belied the claim of the Catholic Church that Filipino voters have no clear understanding of the reproductive health issue.

Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) claimed that politicians who are ardent RH bill supporters won in their bid for re-election because Filipino voters have no clear grasp of the reproductive health issue.

“While we respect the CBCP position on reproductive health and while we understand their stand to be watchful on candidates who are supportive of the issue, we urge them to allow the natural process of legislation in the 15th congress,” De Leon said. –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) with Mayen Jaymalin