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Sen. Lapid takes floor against RH bill

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MANILA, Philippines—In a rare moment, second-termer Senator Lito Lapid took the floor of the Senate on Tuesday to interpellate during a discussion on the controversial Reproductive Health bill.

Lapid, who had earlier expressed apprehension about participating in the RH bill discussion, cracked a joke when Senator Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr. asked what language he would prefer to use in the discussion.

“Ano ang gusto mo (What do you want)? Tagalog or English?” Lapid answered in jest.

Turning serious, Lapid asked for understanding for if he spoke in Filipino rather than English.

“Nagpakuha na po ako ng tuwalya dahil papawisan po ako (I have already sent for a towel because I know I will perspire profusely),” the senator said in jest.

Lapid, during his interpellation revealed that he had lost a child and traced the child’s death to his wife’s use of an artificial birth control method.

Lapid, who has five children, said he lost his third child after he asked his wife to start using contraceptive.

“Noong una hindi kami nag family planning…’yong pangatlo, sabi ko mag-control na tayo. Ang ginawa ng misis (ko) nag injection sya…injection sa puwet. Nabuntis bigla itong asawa ko sa pangatlo. Noong iluwal yung pangatlo, may diperensya (At first we didn’t practice family planning, but after our second child was born, I told her let’s stop at two. So my wife used the injectable contraceptive, but she unexpectedly bore a third child and gave birth to a baby with defects),” he said.

Lapid said their third child was a blue baby and died of heart ailment at age nine.

The senator then asked his wife if they lost their child because of the medicines she took to stop pregnancy.

“Sabi ko magsasalita ako at tatayo sa Senado, siya ang ihahalimbawa ko sa RH bill na ito (I told her I’d speak at the Senate and cite her case during discussion of the RH bill),” Lapid said.


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Tags: Lito Lapid , RH bill , Senate

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PU3BIXSWEA3D6PXSZRKUT2FB5I Mija

    Though it is globally accepted that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, those that are pronounced in the hallowed halls of the Senate, because it directly impacts our lives, should be intelligible and intelligent, based on fact, not on heresay; supported by evidence and not merely personal experience and should, like any scientific conclusion, have a foundation of results that are reproducible, free from the influence of bias. 
    Senator Lapid does not discredit the Senate by the use of our native tongue. I am more disconcerted by the question posed by Senator Marcos who had the audacity to ask a fellow senator what language he will use. Siguro, nagmagandang loob na lang si Senator Lapid at umiwas na lang siya sa sama ng loob na maaring sumibol kung pinatulan pa niya iyung tanong. Ika nga, mabuti na lang hindi niya binara si Senator Marcos.
    It is disappointing however that it appears that Senator Lapid had based his decision on the RH bill on an unfortunate event of his life. Sad and befitting of our condolences was his personal tragedy however, he had not even identified the medication in question that he blames for producing his offspring’s congenital defect. Rather than investigate if his hypothesis holds true, he had immediately concluded its teratogenic potential. He humiliates those who had voted for him and those who rally against the RH bill by his argument that is bereft of logic or at the least, had shunned critical appraisal of the proposal. Truly, if this will be construed his best effort, he must be working for the other side. 
    I therefore hope that the good senators including Senator Lapid would do their homework and study the evidence, uplift the level of discourse unswayed by the cacophony of the irate and decide what is best for this country.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XCVTR7UEL324INPXQGQV47V6HY Bewareiftheworldagreeswithyou

    May your family be blessed Sen Lapid. Thank for standing for life. These people who are against you are thinking hard about pills. You might not see them agree with you but for sure they will not take the pills themselves nor recommend it to their wives. God bless you. That’s what martyrs do…stand up for life in the middle of ridicule.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JE7HPFK4I6BFLCEX5UJF7RQORM ayoy

    i think i admire him enough for speaking up. At least he speaks his mind. Di tulad ng ibang senador at kongresista na papasok lang para magpalamig sa opisina. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JE7HPFK4I6BFLCEX5UJF7RQORM ayoy

    saka di naman natin narinig ang buong debate. nagbased lang tayo sa nabasa natin dito. Mas maganda siguro kung mapapakinggan muna natin before we react. Do not belittle him because of this. Di ako tagahanga niya pero nalaman ko lang na may nagawa naman siya sa Senado katulad ng pagpasa ng Legal Assistance Act of 2008.  



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