Sexuality and reproductive health rights: a situationer in the Philippines

The Reproductive Health Bill in the 15 th Congress

Part 1: Sexuality and Reproductive Health Rights: A Situationer in the Philippines

The Reproductive Health (RH) Bill – declared “dead” in the final days of the 14th Congress – has already seen a revival within the first 100 days of the new administration. Minority Floor Leader and Albay 1st District Representative Hon. Edcel Lagman re-filed the controversial Bill as House Bill 96 on the very first day of the 15th Congress of the Philippines. Another version of the hotly-debated bill was filed just a few days later by Iloilo 1st District Representative Janette Garin. Most recently, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago also filed her own version of the RH Bill in the Senate. With plenty of the RH Bill’s advocates elected into Congress, Hon. Lagman is optimistic about its passage within their term. The victories of these lawmakers, he believes, reflect the desire of the Filipino majority to have access to reproductive health and family planning information and services.

In light of these recent developments, the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP), a federation of women’s organizations advocating the RH Bill for over 15 years, saw the need to organize an activity that will engage and inform the 80% of the Filipino population in favor of the RH Bill’s passage and translate that support into actual involvement in the cause. Together with the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN), an orientation on the RH Bill was held on August 13, 2010 at the Adarna Food and Culture restaurant in Quezon City, specifically for other organizations, sectors and individuals committed to joining their advocacy. The orientation was a multi-sectoral gathering, drawing in a diverse set of attendees from the academe, trade unions, various organizations, government offices, and representatives from the nursing, midwifery, HIV/AIDS, blogging and new media communities.

The event featured four discussion topics aimed at addressing questions about the RH Bill and its provisions. Atty. Elizabeth A. Pangalangan, Executive Director of the Reproductive Health Rights and Ethics Center for Studies and Training (ReproCen), opened the program by giving an overview of existing RH-related policies in the country. She was followed by Ms. Larah Lagman, Chief of Staff of Hon. Lagman, who clarified common misconceptions about the RH Bill. Mr Ramon San Pascual, who is Executive Director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation (PLCPD), talked about the initial “political mapping” on the RH Bill. Concluding the program was a discussion by Ms. Elizabeth Angsioco, National Chairperson of DSWP, of the concrete ways supporters can do to assist in the Bill’s immediate passage.

Legal Framework for Family Planning

According to Atty. Pangalangan, the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides a legal framework for family planning among Filipinos who wish have families of their own. The State “defends” the right of spouses to plan their families and decide the number and spacing of children “in accordance with their religious convictions and the demands of responsible parenthood” (Art. XV Sec. 3). Through the Commission on Population (or POPOCOM, established through Republic Act 6365), family planning is made “a part of a broad educational program” and provides “safe and effective means… [for] couples desiring to space or limit family size.” The State also “defends the right of families…to participate in the planning and implementation of policies and programs that affect them” (Art. XV, Sec. 3). Several Presidential Decrees (PD) mandate access to family planning information, such as PD 965 which states that attending a family planning seminar in a Municipal/City Hall is obligatory for couples applying for a marriage license. Establishments which require a clinic must also provide family planning services to their employees, as per PD 148 Sec. 8.

Legal Framework for Reproductive Health: The Magna Carta of Women

Through the Magna Carta of Women (RA 6710), Filipino women are given the right to “gender-responsive health service and programs”, including reproductive health care. These services, as stated in Sec. 17a, comprise pre- and post-natal maternal care; management of pregnancy-related complications; access to “responsible, ethical, legal, safe and effective” family planning methods; prevention and management of reproductive tract infections and cancers, as well as infertility and sexual dysfunction; and prevention of abortion. “Appropriate, timely, complete and accurate information and education” on these services are guaranteed to women of all sectors in the form of government education and training programs, with due regard to “ethical, legal, safe, and effective family planning methods including fertility awareness” (Sec. 17b).

Population Policies and Programs from 1968-2010

A part of Atty. Pangalangan’s lecture included a brief review of how previous administrations dealt with the issues of population growth and reproductive health through government policies and programs. A similar and more detailed analysis conducted by Alejandro N. Herrin was featured in the Philippine Institute for Development Studies Discussion Paper Series.

* It was during the Marcos administration (1967-1986) that RA 6365 or the Population Act of the Philippines was established. This was later revised by PD No. 79 for the purposes of “national development…[and] meeting the grave social challenge of high rate of population growth.” From these statements, it is clear that the administration’s population policies emphasized the negative consequences of rapid population growth on social and economic progress.
* During the Aquino administration, POPCOM issued the “Policy Statement on the Philippine Population Program” that regards family planning as a “vital component of comprehensive maternal and child health.” Its basic principles also include “respect for the rights of couples to determine the size of their family.”
* The Ramos administration (1993-1998) recognized the role of rapid population growth in hampering socioeconomic program. In 1997, POPCOM completed the Philippine Population Management Program (PPMP) Directional Plan. Part of this was the Philippine Family Planning Program (PFPP), which adopted a “reproductive health orientation to family planning.” The Department of Health (DOH) soon issued Administrative Order No. 1-A, which created the Reproductive Health Program.
* The Philippine Population Management Program of the Estrada administration (1998-2001) adopted a strategy that aims to “assist couples to achieve their desired family size” and promotes the couple’s health and well-being. To achieve replacement fertility by the year 2004, the DOH considered a shift from the current contraceptive method mix to more modern methods.
* The Arroyo administration (2001-May 2010) emphasized Natural Family Planning, as Arroyo herself prefers natural family planning over artificial methods. According to her, she expects non-government organizations, rather than the government, to fund the purchase of contraceptives for distribution to public health facilities in the event that bilateral and multilateral donors stop doing so.

As for the new Aquino administration, the stand of President Noynoy Aquino on the RH Bill is still not clearly defined. Mention of the reproductive health was noticeably missing in his inaugural speech and State of the Nation Address.

During the campaign, he talked more on population management via responsible parenthood, and that “my administration will fully support the crafting of a firm policy that will address the serious problem on population. It will be based on the idea of responsible parenthood: imposing on parents that they should play a key role in ensuring that each and every child they bring into this world has the opportunity to lead a good life, and educating them about the means with which to plan their families so they can create families based on their ability to sustain their needs. In the process of providing a range of options and information to couples, both natural family planning and modern methods shall be presented.” –Noemi Lardizabal-Dado and Marielle Dado