Filipino-Chinese business group backs RH bill

MANILA, Philippines – The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. backed yesterday President Aquino’s responsible parenthood policy.

Speaking at Malacañang, Tan Ching, FFCCCII president, said they agree with Aquino that the quality of life of the 95 million Filipinos can be improved through the Reproductive Health bill or responsible parenthood.

Tan and other FFCCCII officers and members took their oath before Aquino at the Rizal Hall.

FFCCCII also presented a scale model of the 454 units of two-classroom school buildings they pledged to hand over to the government.

FFCCCII also conducts regular medical missions nationwide. Its members provide free medical and dental services to indigent patients through its Operation: Mobile Clinic.

A bus equipped with medical facilities like X-ray, ECG and ultrasound have been provided for the project.

Since the 1960s, FFCCCII has set up volunteer fire brigades to help the government in firefighting. It has also extended relief assistance in times of natural calamities and disasters.

Aquino commended the FFCCCII for giving “so much for the country’s progress.”

“You have consistently spurred our economic growth through your enterprises, and many members of your community continue to display professional excellence in many different sectors,” he said.

Aquino said the FFCCCII’s project of building classrooms will help the administration achieve its goal of constructing 11,926 classrooms to give students an environment in which they can focus on their lessons.

“For all your help, you have my gratitude,” he said.

“We still have so much work left to do, especially in this era, where even if we are no longer fighting for freedom to govern our own country, our people remain shackled by the prevalence of poverty.

“We, as a government and as a people, are judged on whether we can feed our countrymen, on whether we can give them a proper education, or on whether we can create a level-playing field where anyone can succeed if they work hard enough for it – these are the standards upon which we will be judged by history.

“So the pressure is on all of us. As a public servant, I pledge to do everything within my power to achieve our shared aspirations, and I am doing my best to stay true to that promise.”

Senate to gov’t: Continue distributing contraceptives

The Senate has advised the government to continue the procurement and distribution of contraceptives.

In a report, the Senate committee on health and demography said the State has the obligation to provide information and access, without bias, to all methods of family planning proven safe and effective with scientific and evidence-based medical standards, such as those set by the World Health Organization and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“The provision of medically-safe, effective, legal, accessible, affordable and quality reproductive health care services is essential in the promotion of the people’s right to health, especially those of women, the poor and the marginalized and shall be incorporated as a component of basic health care,” read the report.

All accredited public and private health facilities would be required to provide a full range of modern family planning methods, except in specialty hospitals which may render such services on an optional basis, the report said.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, committee chair, said the report made no distinction as to who would be given access to contraceptives.

“No person shall be denied information and access to family planning services,” she said.

Based on the bill’s definition, modern methods of family planning refer to safe, effective and legal methods, whether natural or artificial.

The Department of Health would take the lead and coordinate the efficient procurement and distribution of family planning supplies for local governments.

Supply and budget allotments would be based on the current levels and projections of the number of women of reproductive age and couples who want to space or limit their nature; contraceptive prevalence rate, by type of method used; and cost of family planning supplies.

The report also recommended that hormonal contraceptives, intrauterine devices, injectables and other safe, legal and effective planning products and supplies be classified as essential medicine.

“That is important because our objective is to provide access to all Filipinos to different modes of family planning and one way to achieve that is to consider them as part of the essential medicine list,” Cayetano said.

The report has yet to be signed by the required majority of members of the Senate, which is needed before it can be sponsored and debated in plenary. –Delon Porcalla, Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star)