No new backers for new RH bill

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The purportedly “watered-down” version of the reproductive health (RH) bill now being pushed by principal author, Rep. Edcel Lagman, has failed to win over a group of congressmen opposed to the legislative measure.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said he and at least 14 other House members had reviewed the proposed substitute to House Bill No. 4244. In the end, he said they came to the conclusion that the proposal “does not solve the main substance of our complaint, which is constitutional (in nature).”

“Some of us already met during the break and we are unanimously against this bill,” he told the Inquirer by phone. “We fear that these are palliative measures to put some perfume to the bill.”

Despite numerous amendments, the proposed substitute still goes against the constitutional provision that “protects the unborn child from the time of conception,” said the representative.

Rodriguez said the new version still ran counter to “freedom of religion, the primary duty of the family to rear their children, and the state duty to uphold the protection of parents to found their family in accordance with their religious conviction.”

“That’s why we will continue to oppose the bill,” said the lawmaker, who also cited “procedural issues” that need to be tackled before the proposed substitute could be discussed in plenary.