Woman solon throws support behind RH bill approval

Alarmed by many women who are either battered or abused, Malabon City Rep. Jaye Lacson-Noel has openly thrown her support to the approval of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill, a move which she described as a “very personal crusade.”

“I have accommodated all opinions for and against the RH bill, attended marathon hearings and plenary debates, but my decision to support the bill comes from my day-to-day discussions with my constituents, based on their grim, violent and often pathetic realities on the ground, about their specific and immediate needs for a comprehensive RH law,” Lacson-Noel said in statement e-mailed to Tribune.

In a huddle with members of the Camanava Press at her district office, the wife of An-Waray Party-list Rep. Bem Noel revealed that the number of cases of battered and abused women that came into her knowledge, though they did not necessarily originate in the city, has made her decide to push the immediate passage of RH bill.

In fact, Lacson-Noel said she is in the process of creating her own Malabon database on the number of unwanted pregnancies, pre- and post-natal challenges and accidents and other records related to women, especially those that reside in her district.

“I have don’t have NSO (National Statistics Office)-like documents yet. But to have a comprehensive database is my goal. What I have now, however, are stronger facts,” she said.

She cited harsh realities coming from women, including one with six children but cannot stop getting pregnant because the husband insists it is his right; from mothers who would rather the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) take away their children because they do not know what to do with them anymore, and from wives who get beaten every time they refuse sex for fear of another unwanted pregnancy.

She stressed: “I want to institutionalize heath care and health protection for mothers and pregnant women in my district and an RH law would be my strength.”

Lacson-Noel is the founder of an all-women organization in Malabon and Navotas called “Kayang Kaya ni Misis.” It is a 10,000-strong union of women whose joys and sorrows are often based on their being mothers and wives, she said.

“My dream is to empower the women of my district. It is simple enough, but I cannot succeed if their potentials are anchored on the old-age dynamics of their homes — where it is considered wrong to plan a family or space pregnancies,” said Lacson-Noel who revealed that her colleagues have already provided all the legal and medical reasons that strongly support the RH bill.

“To me, supporting the RH bill is definitely a personal fight,” the Malabon lawmaker who is a member of what she calls the Soul Sisters of the House of Representatives and whose other members include Reps. Janet Garin, Bernadette Herrera-Dy, Sandy Ocampo, Emily Aglipay, Abigail Ferriol, Kimi Cojuangco and Sharon Garin.

The Soul Sisters is a group of new faces of woman legislators who have openly and passionately come out to support the RH bill as spokesmen, Lacson-Noel said.

“They are a new breed of policy champions with strong ties to their constituents, especially poor women. They are neophytes with fresh insights on the issue. They are committed to help women make positive change on their lives. They want women to be able to exercise informed choice and decision-making,” the Malabon lawmaker said. –Arlie O. Calalo, Daily Tribune