'Plebiscite last resort for RH bill'

MANILA, Philippines - A co-author of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill yesterday said Congress could resort to a plebiscite if it fails to pass the measure that is strongly contested by the Catholic Church.

“Let the people decide. Let us give the decision to the people if they really want or not the RH Bill or not,” Bukidnon Rep. Jose Ma. Zubiri said in a news forum in Quezon City.           

In the past years, the Catholic Church has been successful in blocking any law on population management.                     

Zubiri said the plebiscite may be held in the next elections to determine if the people support the use of contraceptives for population management. He reiterated that the bill, titled “Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population and Development,” does not promote abortion as the Catholic Church claims.                     

“We needed this law 30 years ago. But the political elite does not want to deal with it, nobody wants to deal with it, so it becomes worse,” Zubiri said.

He noted that in 1980s, the population of the Philippines was only 45 million; it has grown by 100 percent after 30 years.