Bicam passes RH bill

MANILA, Philippines - The Reproductive Health (RH) bill is now ready for President Aquino’s signature, possibly before Christmas, after Congress ratified last night the bicameral report on the  measure.

The development followed a “pre-bicam” meeting last Tuesday as well as a last-ditch effort by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III to block final discussions on the measure in the bicameral conference committee.

The Senate ratified the bicameral conference report with a vote of 11-5. Voting to ratify the report were Senators Pia Cayetano, Joker Arroyo, Edgardo Angara, Franklin Drilon, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Teofisto Guingona III, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Sergio Osmeña III, Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson, and Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.

Those who voted against the report were the same ones who had tried to block the measure when it was taken up on third and final reading – Enrile, Sotto, Aquilino Pimentel III, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Gregorio Honasan.

At the House of Representatives, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. led 224 congressmen in ratifying the bicameral committee report.

Pia Cayetano, the sponsor and co-author of the bill, said that she was extremely happy with the results of the bicameral conference committee hearing because the Senate version was practically intact.

“On the Senate’s part, the anti-RH representatives to the bicam I think were extremely happy and they thanked me for defending their position,” Cayetano said.

“It is not a perfect bill. There are a lot of things I would still like to achieve and the antis gave in to some provisions they did not like, so I’d like to believe that this is the best we could come up with at this time. I’m pretty happy with it,” she added.

Sotto said he was somewhat happy with the outcome of the bicameral conference committee hearing because many of the amendments he introduced were accepted.

“That is the most important thing because it is the protection that we want in place just in case they are going to pass the measure. We can say that my apprehensions were a bit reduced,” Sotto said.

“But I have to give credit to the pro-RH legislators because they were very amenable to the protection that we wanted to be placed on persons with their religious beliefs, the religious convictions of the people, the protection of the Filipinos against the possible amendment of the abortion law,” he added.

Sotto said he made sure the possibility of abortion being allowed in the country surreptitiously through the RH bill would not happen.

He said that there were also no population control provisions or appropriations for the implementation of the bill.

While his amendments have all been accepted, Sotto said that he still could not support the bill because of his convictions.

“The problem now is the implementation, if this will truly be beneficial to our people. We will see in the next few years,” Sotto said.

Santiago again ruled out any possibility of abortion being allowed in the country.

“Abortion, never. I am a very avid supporter of RH, but I will definitely fight to the death against abortion as a lawyer, not necessarily as a religious person. I equate it properly with the crime of murder,” Santiago said.

On the threats of some Catholic bishops to challenge the constitutionality of the RH bill before the Supreme Court once it becomes a law, Santiago said that she would be willing to help defend the measure herself.

Santiago welcomed the plan of the bishops, saying it would “give the Supreme Court (SC) a chance to elucidate it or explain further what is the meaning of the doctrine of separation of church and state.”

“I am sure that although they will try to argue that the state has exceeded its powers, the solicitor general on the other hand – who will defend the RH bill – will also argue that the church is exceeding its own powers. So there will be at least a clarification of the doctrine which I look forward to,” she said.

The principal author of the bill in the House, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, also expressed his confidence that the SC will rule in their favor “because this is truly constitutional.”

Among the provisions of the bill that became the focus of debates during the bicameral conference committee were those on age-appropriate sex education, access of minors to family planning information and supplies, and the role of the local government units in the implementation of the law.

On the issue of age-appropriate sex education, Cayetano said that the Senate version was adopted. The version states that RH education would be given to adolescents or children between the ages of 10 and 19.

Cayetano also noted that the term “safe and satisfying sex” was   retained in the final version.

Full access to RH services would also be given to minors as long as they have the written consent of their parents.

However, minors who are already sexually active or are already mothers or who have suffered from a miscarriage would no longer need to secure the written consent from their parents.

On LGUs’ role, Lagman said the implementation of the law is the responsibility of both the national government and the LGUs, “which shall receive the financial and technical support of the national government, depending on the fiscal viability.”

A congressional committee would also be created to monitor the implementation of the measure.

“Reproductive health and sexuality education is retained with the Department of Education formulating the curriculum for the use of public schools and adaptable to private schools,” Lagman said.

Prior to the ratification, Davao del Norte Rep. Anthony del Rosario delivered a privilege speech calling for unity and support for the RH bill.

Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said that she expects the bill to be signed into law by Christmas or before the end of the year, at the latest.

“We would like to thank all legislators, both from the upper house and the lower house, especially the senators who were initially against the measure but who were very open in accepting the provisions that we were explaining are really necessary for women,” Garin said.

“The common goal of everybody was to come up with a legislative measure that will really answer the need of the Philippines,” she added. With Paolo Romero