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Credits: The Mindanao Current
COPC Director Bingo Alcordo, (In blue long sleeved shirt) host of Media Konek, the Press Conference program of The Cagayan de Oro Press Club, with the Student Leaders of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, headed by Arbie Llesis of CSG, as they express their opposition to the Reproductive Health Bill now pending in Congress. Photo by Ed Montalvan/PPA-CdeO.
Student leaders from various groups in Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan have voiced their objections to the reproductive health bill now pending in congress. In a press conference at the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) the leaders lamented the fact that the youth were not consulted on the proposed bill.
“This concerns us,” Arbie Llesis, CSG head said. “It will be our generation that will be faced with the provisions of the bill and therefore our voices should be heard,” she added.
The lack of consultation is one of the major issues that was raised against the bill in the House of Representatives. Oppositors claim that the process undertaken by the bill did not follow House Rules which state “The Committee…may conduct public hearings and invite resource persons or groups to comment on the bill…”
According to the young leaders, among the most objectionable provisions of the bill are 1) the declaration of policy and definition of terms which are contrary to the Philippine Constitution. This is so because Sec 2 says that the state upholds and promotes responsible parenthood, informed choice, birth spacing and respect for life in conformity with international recognized human rights standards (emphasis ours) and International definitions of reproductive health rights are inclusive of abortion and sexual rights include right to have consensual sexual relations which may jeopardize the integrity of families.
2) The bill gives sexual rights to children (Sec 2m Sec 3(1)m Sec 12), which, they claim violates Art II, Sec 13 of the Philippine Constitution.
3) It decriminalizes and promotes abortion (Sec 4,h;Sec5(g,j,l,m) Sec 12, Sec 21a)
4) It defines contraceptives as essential medicines (Sec 10)
5) Sex education Curriculum
6) Irrational obligations impose upon employers (Sec 17)Prohibitive Acts and stiff penalties; and
8) It prohibits discussions or amendments when the bill becomes a law.
The young leaders lamented that instead of giving more attention to the Reproductive Health Bill legislators should prioritize Education and given more attention and the budget for contraceptives be instead used to provide the needs of schools and students and other concerns of the nation.
On the matter of using the RHB as a solution to the problem of over-population, the student leaders pointed out that the problem with not having enough for the population is corruption and the RHB is not going to solve that. The government, they said, should focus in stopping corruption in government rather than try to control population.
In fact, as was pointed out by one of the panelist, all data available says the population growth of the country has gone down and this seems to be under control now.
It was the recommendation of the youth leaders that the RHB be rejected and thrown out and they have asked people, specially in media, to air their concern that it may reach congress.
Meanwhile, the debates on the RHB has started in the House of Representatives and congressmen opposed to the bill have started to stand-up to question its provisions in detail.
Deputy Speaker Congressman Raul del Mar of Cebu stood up to question why the bill defines contraceptives as essential medicines when it does not even cure anything.
It was also reported that some congressmen have questioned the budget for contraceptives which has been incorporated in the P1.4 Trillion budget proposed by the national government for 2009.
The proponents of the bill however got back at DENR Secretary Lito Atienza who has expressed his stand against the RH bill. As a result, the proponents of the bill adjourned the committee session and deferred the deliberation of DENR’s budget.
Meanwhile, some congressmen have warned that future generations would be “devoid of values” once the reproductive health bill was passed. This is the same concern that was raised by the student leaders.
These congressmen said that the Pro-RH advocates have said that the bill is all about informed choice. They pointed out that if a child as young as nine is preconditioned for the next five or six years to take sex and procreation so casually, then that ‘choice’ is effectively taken away from them.
They further said that future generations will be devoid of values, where casual sex is as common as watching a movie, where having children is no longer a blessing but a curse, and where contraception is as easy as buying eye drops at your local drugstore.
The pro RH side however countered by raising the serious economic and survival implications of uncontrolled population growth. They consistently use the line “It’s not a mortal sin to make sure that your children will have enough to eat.”
This line, as pointed out by young student leaders is “barking on the wrong tree.” They say that there can always be enough food to eat for everyone if corruption is stopped in this country. (With a report from Jane Pajares).
