RH bill survey in two districts malicious?

CEBU, Philippines – A foreign-funded lobby group is waging an “insidious, malicious and well-oiled campaign” against some congressmen who have strongly opposed House Bill 5043 or the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008, according to Cebu 2nd district Rep. Pablo Garcia.

Garcia, House deputy speaker for the Visayas, did not name the group but results of a survey done in Cebu were presented to the chamber by the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development.

The said survey reportedly urged lawmakers to consult first with their constituents before making a stand on the controversial bill.

“To commission the SWS to conduct an out-of-town survey is expensive and somebody must have spent good money for it to happen,” Garcia said.

The fact that the survey was conducted in only two out of the eight districts of Cebu is a manifestation of malice and bad faith for the ones who spent on those surveys, he added.

“One does not have to be smarter than a fifth grader to know the motivation and purpose of the SWS [Social Weather Stations] survey and its subsequent publication but to discredit and smear the reputation of my humble self and to expose me to public embarrassment and ridicule, and thereby influence my conduct as a legislator,” Garcia said.   The former governor cited news item carried by Cebu’s three leading newspapers last April 20, reporting on a special SWS survey conducted in Cebu City north district and the second district of Cebu, which are represented by Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar and Garcia, respectively.

Survey results indicated that both Garcia and del Mar’s stand in the Reproductive Health Bill are contrary to the position of their constituents on the same issue. Survey said that 76 percent of 600 respondents, or 456 people, opposed the stand of the two Cebuano lawmakers.

The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development holds office at the North Wing of the House of Representatives.

“The group operates right inside the House premises and the House is unwittingly harboring a snake,” Garcia said.

Further, Garcia questioned the presence of the said group holding office in the House when the newly installed partylist lawmakers have not been accommodated yet for lack of office space. — Garry B. Lao/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)