Advocates push passage of RH bill

MANILA, Philippines - Advocates of the controversial Reproductive Health bill renewed calls yesterday for Congress to pass the measure, which has been pending in the legislature for more than 11 years.

Romeo Dongeto, executive director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), urged the leadership of the House of Representatives to follow the lead of the Senate and end the period of debates and vote on the RH bill.

“There is still enough time if they really want to vote on the measure. It has been pending for more than 11 years already and it has been subjected to political blackmails,” Dongeto said in a statement.

“It is about time that we institutionalize comprehensive RH education and services that will help end the deaths of 11 mothers every day due to pregnancy and pregnancy-related complications,” he said.

In the Senate, after almost a year, the bill finally passed the period of interpellation and is now on the period of amendments.

At the House of Representatives, however, the RH bill is still being debated on the floor.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has committed to tackle the RH bill when Congress resumes session in July.

The RH bill promotes sex education and allows for both natural and artificial means of family planning, among others.

The measure is strongly opposed by the Catholic Church and other pro-life groups.