Enrile: RH bill will have to take a backseat

MANILA, Philippines – The reproductive health bill will only be given “second priority” now that the Senate is aiming to pass both the proposed 2013 national budget and sin tax reform bill before the year ends.

“Both the budget and the sin tax are priority all over other legislation,” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile told reporters on Monday.

Asked what would happen to the RH bill, he said, “Second priority ‘yon. It’s not as urgent.”

Senator Pia Cayetano, one of the sponsors of the bill, earlier expressed dismay at the dilatory tactics being employed by her colleagues in the Senate, obviously trying to spark further public debates on the bill that is facing strong opposition from the Catholic Church.

Despite the grueling deliberations on the 2013 budget and the sin tax bill, Cayetano assured there is enough time to vote on the measure.

She could not hide her emotions against some of her colleagues opposing the RH bill.

As main sponsor, the lady solon claims she is left with only two senators to deal with for further amendments to the measure: Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Ralph Recto.

Enrile is vehemently opposed to the use of contraceptives. – with Danny Buenafe, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau, Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News