Lagman denies US lobbying for passage of RH bill

MANILA, Philippines - Allegations that the United States is funding a lobby for the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill have no factual basis, House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said yesterday.

“This is a dead and fossilized tirade which anti-RH solons like Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia try to resurrect every time the RH bill is on the threshold of approval,” he said.

“Allegation is not proof. Garcia has consistently failed to prove his bare allegations,” he added.

Lagman, principal author of the RH bill, said Garcia is resurrecting the claim to delay passage of the bill.       

Garcia alleged that non-government organization Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) supports the RH bill because it receives funding from the US.

Quoting from the organization’s website, Garcia said the group is receiving funding from the United Nations Population Fund and the US Agency for International Development, among other international donors.       

PLCPD is an organization composed of congressmen who are charged an annual membership fee of P5,000 each.       

It had an office in the upper floors of the House of Representatives building in Quezon City, but was forced to vacate the space when Garcia and other lawmakers opposed to the RH bill started criticizing them.

The group has been inviting small groups of House members to travel to Asian countries. Last year, it sponsored a trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

The RH bill is not likely to be passed this year. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile announced last week that his chamber would not be able to take a vote on the measure before the end of the month.        

In the House, 20 members who still oppose the RH bill want to debate with bill supporters. 

RH bill supporters, however, accuse them of resorting to dilatory tactics because when their turn to defend their positions comes during plenary sessions, they either disappear, ask for postponement, get sick, or have to leave early for other appointments.

Clash in Senate anew

The Senate has resumed deliberations on the RH bill with supporters and critics of the bill clashing anew on the involvement of pro-abortion organizations and lobby groups in its passage. 

The Senate set aside debates on the RH bill for more than a month to pave the way for the passage of the 2012 national budget.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III led the questioning regarding the true intent of the proposed measure because of the alleged involvement of the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), groups that provide information about abortion.

Sotto also questioned the lobbying done by the organizations Likhaan and the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network, which he claimed are funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

He pointed out that such activity, particularly with funding from foreign sources, is illegal in the country.

Sotto also said that many organizations involved in the lobbying for the RH bill are either not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or have registrations that have already been revoked.

He cited a funding proposal submitted by Likhaan to the UNFPA containing a budget item described as allotted for “nurturing legislators.”

Sotto demanded an explanation about the budget item.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, one of the authors and sponsors of the RH bill, said that the supposed pro-abortion groups, their founders and affiliations have nothing to do with the bill.

Cayetano said these groups did not violate any law by lobbying for the passage of the bill and that she is not aware that any funds were given to legislators.

She said Sotto was taking it too far by associating the personal beliefs of a person or organization regarding population control and abortion to the RH bill. – With Marvin Sy