RH should be among election issues, says Lagman

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines –The reproductive health law should be among the issues that candidates discuss with the electorate so that the people would know where they stand on this crucial matter, according to its author, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

Lagman, of course, would want voters to elect candidates who are in favor of the measure to ensure that the law would be funded adequately.

In a recent speech at a symposium sponsored by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Lagman called on business and labor groups—which both supported the RH law—to help monitor its implementation so that the country could reap its full benefits.

He hailed their support for the law, one of the few issues in which these two sectors— which usually have an inherent and traditional conflict of interest—shared a similar stance.

According to Lagman, the labor and business sectors would improve with the implementation of the reproductive health law because it would address the country’s huge population growth that worsens the number of unemployed workers in the country and results in lower wages.

“More entrants to the labor market which are untapped increase the unemployment rate, while the effort to accommodate more workers results in lower wages. This is a fatal combination which menaces both capital and labor,” he said.

He said the RH law would address these concerns.

Workers could receive family planning services and contraceptives, aside from other reproductive health services. These would allow them to determine the number and spacing of their children, and help improve the productivity of women workers, he said.

With the RH law, the government and parents can invest more for health and education, he added.