MANILA, Philippines—To senators bucking the reproductive health (RH) bill, Sen. Pia Cayetano has aired this appeal: Let’s be open-minded and engage in a healthy debate to craft a “compromise” version.
Cayetano, chair of the health committee that tackled the RH bill in the Senate, said it would be premature to prejudge the measure because it had yet to be presented for plenary debates.
“We live in a democratic society. We each have our own views. What I ask, though, which is what I always ask myself, is that we all have an open mind. I don’t believe that it’s proper for any senator to prejudge any case. Yes, we can have opinions definitely, but to decide without seeing the final version, how can that happen?” she said in an interview.
Proponents of the RH measure in the Senate are up against Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, who had declared opposition to it.
Review necessary
Cayetano said that during the debate on the RH bill, senators could isolate the acceptable provisions from the unacceptable, and in the end, arrive at a compromise.
“I do believe that they will review it. And I’d like to think they will find provisions that are acceptable to them, provisions they want to support,” she said, adding:
“The question remains: What are the provisions that they’re uncomfortable with? I hope they engage in a healthy debate with me so we can really determine and isolate the issues.
“Once we isolate these, that will be the compromise bill. If that’s not possible, everyone is free to vote against it.”
The health committee has wrapped up its hearings on the RH bill, and Cayetano said she was prepared to sponsor the committee report on the floor.
But she indicated that she was willing to reconvene the committee to hear the bills filed by Senators Enrile, Sotto, Jinggoy Estrada and Ralph Recto seeking to “protect the rights of the unborn child.”
‘Show me’
As things stand, the debate in the Senate can start only after Congress opens its regular session late in July.
Meanwhile, Sotto disputed claims by RH proponents that 11 mothers die every day from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
“That came from a 1998 extrapolation of a PGH (Philippine General Hospital) survey. There is no empirical data to prove it right now. Show me 11 women dying every day because of pregnancy,” Sotto told reporters.
“What does that mean? You’re trying to scare off women [from bearing] children,” he said.