RH bill advocates push agenda in Oro

AROUND 105 leaders of informal sector, including women’s group in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, gathered Friday to support the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

Elizabeth Angsioco, national chairperson for Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP), underscored the importance of a “pro-poor, pro-women and pro-life” RH bill.

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“I hope this time the bill pushes through, as its principal beneficiaries will be the poorest of the poor and the marginalized,” Angsioco told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

RH Bill has been languishing since the 11th Congress, when the country’s population still stood at 75 million. It was then called the Integrated Population and Development Act of 1999.

Ten years after, Angsioco said Philippine population reached 94.3 million, or a staggering increase of 19.3 million.

“Now the Philippines is the 12th most populous country in the world, with a population increasing at an average of two million every year,” she said.

Contrary to claims that it is anti-life, Angsioco said the RH bill “significantly improves maternal health and lowers maternal morbidity.”

“Having the ability to plan and space children will afford women more employment and educational opportunities, and will significantly lower abortion rates,” she said. “This is the main goal of the RH bill.”

Bukidnon Jose F. Zubiri III (third district) agreed.

“What will happen to the country if we have hungry stomachs, if many are jobless and uneducated? If a family expands too much beyond its capability to sustain quality life, then we have a problem,” Zubiri said. (NJM)