Minority withdraws RH bill support as CBCP takes protest to the streets

A week before the House of Representatives decides on the fate of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, members of the minority bloc in the lower chamber are withdrawing sponsorship from the controversial measure while the Catholic Church is calling on its followers to bring the campaign against a proposed birth control measure to the streets.

On Aug. 7, members of the House will vote on whether to terminate or extend the period of interpellation and debate on RH bill. Around eight lawmakers, led by Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, yesterday revealed that they are withdrawing their support for House Bill (HB) 4244 or the proposed “Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development,” after having felt being abandoned by their “spiritual leader,” former Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

The decision was reached after a closed-door meeting of the minority bloc.

“The minority bloc is withdrawing its support for RH bill,” Suarez stressed.

He said members of the House opposition only supported the RH Bill as they were influenced largely by Lagman who then led the minority. “Obviously, some members of the minority bloc supported the RH bill because of Edcel Lagman, but now that he’s not part of the group, they are withdrawing their support,” Suarez added.

Lagman is a staunch advocate of the RH bill.

But according to sources, more lawmakers, more than half of the 110 sponsors of the bill will be withdrawing their support for HB 4244 before Aug. 7.

“More than half of the sponsors have already signified their intention to withdraw their sponsorship,” the source said.

Last week, during the opening of the third regular session of the 15th Congress, Belmonte the plenary will have to vote on Aug. 7 and decide, once and for all, whether the long-drawn plenary debate on the RH should be terminated or continue.

The Speaker explained that, “if the vote is in favor of terminating the debates then the period of amendments follow and put to a vote for passage on second reading. If the vote is against termination of the debates then it is back to plenary interpellation.”

“I think it is time that we finally put it to a vote. Let the chips fall where they may,” the House leader stressed in his opening speech Monday.

Under the usual legislative process, if the plenary decides to terminate the period of debate, the measure will then undergo the period of amendments to allow all members to propose changes or retain or refine the numerous provisions of the measure before it is voted on second reading.

But one of the main proponents of the bill, Iloilo Rep. Janet Garin, remained unperturbed by the reported mass withdrawal of support for the RH Bill.

“Not until I hear them personally withdrawing their support,” Garin stressed.

The Iloilo lawmaker said she remains confident the bill would be approved by Congress as no less than President Aquino is personally pushing the measure having mentioned it in passing during his last State of the Nation Address.

But the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) maintained that “suppressing birth” will not solve poverty as it brings its campaign against RH bill to the historical Edsa Shrine in Mandaluyong City.

Thousands of Catholics are expected to participate in the “prayer rally” on August 4 to demonstrate their strong opposition against the reproductive health (RH) bill which seeks to control the country’s growing population, the CBCP, in a statement, posted on its Web site said.

CBCP head and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma called on the lay faithful to attend the prayer rally and defend the sanctity of the family and life “because, more than anybody else, you are the target of the RH bill.”

“This will be a demonstration of our sentiments and our advocacy for life,” Palma stressed. “Let us show that we believe in is for the common good.”

The prayer rally will also be held simultaneously in other dioceses across the country.
Palma stressed the country’s “positive” birth rate and population composed mostly of young people are the main players that boost the economy.

“The countries labor population is a big push for our economy,” the CBCP head said. “It is therefore quite disturbing when the country is told that having too many children is a burden to the national budget,” Palma noted.

“The population control policy of the RH bill would only stall our economic growth. The problem of countries with former robust economies is the lack of young workers for their industries and inadequate support for their aging population,” he said.

The President has earlier said population control is the answer to the backlogs in education, particularly in classrooms, chairs and textbooks of students.

But Palma said it is unacceptable if the Aquino administration would rely on the “wrong” measure to solve the problem instead of finding the real solution.

“There is a grave reason to worry when the government would rather suppress the population through RH bill instead of confronting the real causes of poverty,” he stressed.

Palma also scored claims by RH bill proponents that the measure is not to control the population but to address maternal health issues. –Charlie V. Manalo and Pat C. Santos, Daily Tribune