noli, loren, manny & the RH bill
congress reconvening today. sana matuloy ang promised testimony of scam & escape artist jocjoc bolante sa senado. lalo pa, lalo na, sana matuloy ang long-delayed showdown on the reproductive health bill sa konggreso.
kung magkasabay, which one kaya will ANC air: bolante or RH? sana pareho, one on ANC, the other on channel 2. and if, by chance or circumstance, isa lang ang puwede i-cover, then let it be RH, parang awa niyo na. i want to see, we need to see, the world needs to see, which congressmen and congresswomen dare defy the wishes of 7 of 10 filipinos who want, need, deserve, a reproductive health law like the rest of the civilized world.
dr. quasi romualdez, once doh secretary, counts heads in his malaya column:
In the House of Representatives, 114 members have signed up as sponsors of HB 5043 which mandates a government-supported reproductive health program that includes making available to the poor all the possible legal methods of family planning.
Given these numbers, opponents of the measure will likely resort to dilatory tactics that substitute parliamentary tricks for rational discussion.
Working in favor of these tactics is the fact that there are a number of legislative issues that will be competing for congressional attention during the six weeks that remain before the Christmas break.
Among these are agrarian reform extension and the impeachment complaint filed recently. Proponents of HB 5043 are confident however that when it comes to a vote, the RH bill will finally pass.
If the House approves the measure, the situation in the Senate appears to be similar in the sense that the minority members who oppose RH legislation will use all sorts of parliamentary tricks.
By their past statements and recent actuations, advocates of the bill count 14 senators: Angara, Biazon, Pia Cayetano, Enrile, Escudero, Estrada, Gordon, Honasan, Lacson, Madrigal, Pangilinan, Revilla, Santiago, and Zubiri.
Senators Aquino, Arroyo, Alan Cayetano, Legarda, Roxas, and Trillanes are listed as undecided. It is noteworthy that of these six senators, two (Legarda and Roxas) are among those invariably included in surveys for presidentiables, indicating the possibility that Church power may be a consideration in some senators’ decision. The neutral position of Senator Arroyo is noteworthy only becausehe is the only one among the six identified with the administration.
Listed as opposed to reproductive health legislation are Senators Lapid, Pimentel, and Villar. Senator Lapid’s position is clear – he opposes the measure because he perceives Malacañang to be against it. Senator Pimentel’s opposition to any population management or family planning proposals has been consistent for many years – he has always supported the position of the Roman Catholic Church on this issue.
Senate President Villar’s position that is somewhat of a mystery.
As a presidentiable who seems to be sympathetic to the plight of the poor Filipino majority, Senator Villar, more than the other aspirants for higher office, might have been expected to support what is clearly pro-poor legislation. After all, the proposed law is designed to help those who cannot now afford them to use the family planning methods of their choice in order to fulfill their responsible parenthood obligations.
Here again, the factor of Church power in national politics may again be a decisive influence. There are unconfirmed reports that the Senate President has promised a Catholic bishop that he would block reproductive health proposals. Advocates hope that this is just a rumor and that Mr. Villar, just like his political rivals, will in the end decide on the basis the people’s interest rather than political expediency.”
how dismaying that loren legarda, no. 2 presidentiable in the latest SWS survey, is undecided. and manny villar, no. 3, is unequivocally committedly anti-RH pala. alam kaya ito ng 7 out of 10 pinoys who want an RH law? iboto kaya nilang pangulo sa 2010 ang isang indecisive, ehe, undecided? iboto kaya nilang pangulo sa 2010 ang isang anti-RH/anti-women? eh si no.1 presidentiable noli de castro kaya — malamang whatever gloria wants, noli wants, ‘no?
suddenly i’m not sure the RH bill is coming to a vote soon. maybe not until there’s a public outcry for an end to the debates and other delaying tactics. i hope i’m wrong.