Birth control, information, other bills tackled at Cabinet meeting
MANILA, Philippines—The freedom of information reproductive health bills were among the more than 20 pieces of proposed legislation that President Benigno Aquino discussed with the Cabinet on Friday afternoon as his administration prepared for a meeting with congressional leaders on Tuesday.
Deputy palace spokesperson Abigail Valte said, however, that some of the bills the administration was planning to prioritize have been sent back to their proponents for either improvements or additional inputs.
“So far, (the Cabinet) finished the bills that were set for discussion. Some were sent back to the proponents for additional details. Others are up for refinements agreed upon by the Cabinet,” Valte said over the government-run radio station dzRB on Saturday.
“Still others, again, there are still details that the other members of the Cabinet and President Aquino are looking,” she added.
Valte confirmed that the FOI and RH bills were among the legislative measures discussed during the Cabinet meeting.
She said she did not know if these two were among among that the Aquino administration will endorse as priority measures at the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting on Tuesday.
“I do not know yet because yesterday, there were bills that still need details. Others need refinement so at this point, we don’t know what the final list will look like yet,” Valte said.
Valte said the Cabinet meeting lasted for four hours.
Among the bills discussed were those that Aquino mentioned when he addressed Congress during his second state of the nation address late last month.
These include measures providing compensation to martial law victims; standardization of salaries for household workers; the expansion of Department of Science and Technology scholarships; advanced universal quality health care; management of the environment; facilities for the safety of citizens during calamities; and improvements in the Bureau of Corrections, National Bureau of Investigation, National Electrification Administration and the government’s People’s Television Network.
