MANILA, Philippines?The Reproductive Health Bill has become a political hot potato for presidential candidates and members of the House of Representatives.

Speaker Prospero Nograles Tuesday sounded the death knell for the controversial measure, admitting it would not be discussed in the last two session days of the House as it was too contentious and had little chance of being voted on.

He said other equally divisive bills would not be tackled in the plenary so the House could focus on measures that have a good chance of being passed. Today is the last session day at the House.

?We won?t tackle the RH bill [today] because it?s controversial. There are 20 people who are going to stand to interpellate [its proponents]. We can?t do it in the last two days,? Nograles said Tuesday in a press conference.

The reproductive health bill, which seeks to step up the promotion of both natural and artificial birth control methods through government programs, is still in plenary debates.

Many long hours have been devoted to the bill, which had been introduced in previous Congresses. However, it never made any headway, as it had been opposed by the Catholic Church and pro-life groups.

Meanwhile, several candidates have softened their stance on the measure. Proponents of the bill, who claim to have garnered enough signatures to ensure its passage, have been pleading to the House leadership to put the bill to a vote, especially since so many hours had been spent debating it.