Advocates tell House to vote on RH bill now

Former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral

As tension escalated between reproductive health (RH) proponents in the House of Representatives over the supposed death of the bill, its advocates from other sectors on Thursday stepped up calls for lawmakers to act on the measure, warning them of consequences in the 2013 elections if they failed to do so.

With only 12 session days remaining for the House, former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral publicly appealed to lawmakers to do their job, show up on the floor, and put the crucial RH bill to a vote.

“As we see the urgency of a reproductive health law, we call on our legislators to take a stand and vote for this bill to be enacted into law,” said Cabral, the lead convenor of the Purple Ribbon for RH campaign.

The RH bill would allow the distribution of contraceptives and make other family planning methods available to the poorest of poor, among other provisions.

The bill is now undergoing amendments in the House, but cannot gain progress because of quorum problems. Earlier, opponents stood up to make privilege speeches whenever the bill was taken up on the floor.

Cojuangco’s tweets

Pangasinan Rep. Kimi Cojuangco took to her Twitter account to disclose that Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II had told her that the RH bill was dead.

She sat with Gonzales last week to ask him about the fate of the bill, according to Cojuangco. She said the majority leader’s response was: “Wala na yan, forget the RH bill. If ever baka 16th Congress na lang. We can just repackage it (That is no more, forget the RH bill. If ever, it will be in the 16th Congress, we can just repackage it.)”

She added that she was “flabbergasted” and asked why Gonzales was leading Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman along and telling Speaker Feliciano Belmonte something else.

She said she kept this to herself for a few days, but then decided she could not handle the “blatant politicking.”

“No way will I keep quiet. We were all being [taken] for a  ‘ride’ by such trapo style politics,” she said.

“I can’t live with myself if I become just one of the many who will just accept things as they are. If this means that I should not be a member of the [House of Representatives], that’s OK with me. I would rather not be a rep than be there [and] be part of a big lie,” she later added.

Gonzales on Thursday raised the possibility of withdrawing the purportedly “watered-down” version of the reproductive health bill to avoid further delay in plenary deliberations.

‘Not a magician’

Gonzales also cried foul over suggestions by Cojuangco that he was partly to blame for the chamber’s failure to resume the period of amendments on House Bill No. 4244.

“I’m not a magician that when I tell (my colleagues) to show up, there would suddenly be a quorum,” he told the Inquirer by phone, following another round of attacks from Cojuangco in her Twitter account.

Gonzales said many pro-RH congressmen were also to blame for the lack of quorum.

“Let’s face it. The truth is the anti-RH (lawmakers) are more passionate and dedicated (in attending plenary sessions). And you can’t blame them because that is their advocacy,” said Gonzales, himself a vocal supporter of the RH bill. “Pro-RH (congressmen) should go beyond lip service. They should show up and stay on.”

Drop substitute bill

To avoid more “skirmishes” among House members, Gonzales said it would be better to do away with the proposed substitute to HB 4244 and just go directly to the period of committee and individual amendments.

Before House members went on a break last month, they were given copies of the proposal, which was intended to accommodate concerns raised by those opposed to the RH bill.

One key amendment is the replacement of the term “universal” with “public” to refer to access to “relevant information and education on medically safe, legal, ethical, affordable, effective and quality reproductive healthcare services, methods, devices and supplies.”

But critics of the RH bill argued that the measure still contained provisions that might encourage a “culture of permissive sex,” especially among the youth.

Critics like Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said there was no quarrel on the need to promote women’s health and reduce maternal mortality. But he said these issues were already being addressed by existing laws.

Rodriguez also questioned the introduction of an “omnibus” substitute bill at this stage in the deliberations. He said it would have to go back to the committee level.

Gonzales admitted that pushing for the substitute version would only further delay the proceedings, citing the objections that his anti-RH colleagues were expected to raise.

He said he had mentioned his proposal to Belmonte, who then warned that the period of individual amendments would “take long.”

“It’s true, but so be it, just so we could move forward with this,” Gonzales said. “Let’s just go straight to the period of individual amendments and vote on each proposed amendment.”

Divided leadership

Gonzales said the delay in the deliberations was an indication that the chamber, including the House leadership, was “indeed divided” on the matter.

Cabral noted that at least three deputy speakers led by Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia were opposed to the bill.

“So even if you want to tackle the bill on the floor, you have to consider who is the one presiding,” he said in Filipino. “If it’s a pro-RH congressman, you can expect to proceed. But if it’s someone else, naturally, don’t expect him to allow it to be tackled on the floor.”

Calling on Aquino

Cabral, meanwhile, said that President Aquino could do more to follow through on his declared support for the reproductive health measure.

“We all wish that he would do more than he had already done. He has done considerably a lot, because in no uncertain terms, he said he wants the reproductive health bill passed,” she told reporters at the launch of a monthlong campaign to urge Congress to pass the measure.

She noted that Mr. Aquino even called House members to a meeting to ask them to put an end to the debates and move on to the next step, and that he was successful in doing so.

“I hope he will follow up on this because until the bill reaches the end, it’s not finished,” she said.

Christmas gift

Other proponents of the bill said passing the measure would be a very good Christmas gift for the youth and for women, many of whom are suffering or dying from unplanned pregnancies.

They also criticized House members for failing to show up on the floor, delaying the bill.

“The people are paying their salaries. They should be doing their duties,” said Jessie Dimaisip of Akbayan at the Purple Ribbon event.

Cabral said advocates were expected to campaign against antihealth and antipoor lawmakers, while Christopher Porras of the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines said his group would also campaign against lawmakers instrumental in delaying the bill.