House to put RH bill to a vote Wednesday

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Reproductive Health Bill will be put to a vote on Wednesday, whether legislators finish deliberating on its amendments or not.

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, main proponent of the bill, told reporters that they will push through with voting despite only reaching page 4 line 5 in discussing amendments on Monday.

“The slow pace in the amendments is the look out of the RH critics since their dilatory tactics and repetitive amendments would foreclose their articulating for the record all of their proposed amendments,” he said.

The House leadership, in consultation with its members who are for and against the proposed measure, have scheduled voting on the RH Bill on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow (Wednesday), ‘finished or not finished, pass your paper’, and pass the RH Bill on second reading,” Lagman told his fellow legislators.

He has earlier said that the bishops were welcome to watch over their discussions on the RH Bill after hearing the Catholic Church’s plan for Wednesday.

The lawmaker however warned the church not to treat lawmakers “like docile sheep to be watched and shepherded.”