Palace defends Duterte RH order: Let’s keep an open mind

Malacañang on Saturday defended the executive order of President Rodrigo Duterte backing modern family planning amid criticisms from pro-life groups.

“Ang pananaw ng Presidente (The President’s vision) is not just to serve the interest of a small group but to serve the interest of the whole nation,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in an interview with state-run dzRB radio.

Duterte has signed EO 12, intensifying access to modern family planning amid a Supreme Court temporary restraining order (TRO) on some provisions of the Reproductive Health Law.

“The signing of the Executive Order on Reproductive Health reflects the President’s stance on the issue and shows his strong position on the importance of the implementation of Reproductive Health,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a separate statement.

READ: Duterte signs EO backing modern family planning

Andanar said reproductive health was part of the President’s 10-Point Socio-Economic Agenda.

“To have a marked reduction of poverty incidence, the President’s economic managers believe that we must have strong economic growth and fast track the generation of millions of jobs in the next six years, complemented by the full implementation of the RH law,” he said.

“We hope that with this order, we will have stronger collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, and international bodies like The United Nations Population Fund, to implement quality modern family planning information and services,” he added.

On Friday, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) lauded  Duterte’s intervention to provide free contraceptives to poor women, describing it as a “new momentum” in the provision of family planning services in the Philippines.

“We thank the Filipino people for supporting that and also for the United Nations for recognizing the efforts of the President,” Abella said.

READ: UN hails Duterte’s RH order

Abella urged those who opposed the President’s EO to have an “open mind.”

“Ang panawagan po natin sa kanila is… to have a broader and a more open mind, hindi lang po basta pure — ‘yung basta sa, coming from ideology,” he said.

(We ask them to have an open mind, not just one that is pure, but one that looks at ideology.)

“Kailangan po siguro na mag-evolve rin ang pag-iisip ng certain sectors in society to become ano, na maging mas bukas sila at maintindihan nila ang kalagayan ng tao at hindi just — hindi naman sa ano, hindi ko minamaliit ‘no pero we need to be able to be more responsible even with our faith. Sabi nga sa…kailangan mapakain din natin ‘yung pamilya natin diba,” he added.

(Perhaps certain sectors of society must evolve in their way of thinking for them to become more open, and for them to understand the people’s condition–I don’t mean to belittle anyone, but we need to be able to be more responsible even with our faith. As they say, we also need to put food on the table, right.) CDG