A better ASEAN summit

I have it on good record that Cebuanos are looking forward to the ASEAN summit to be held January 10 to 13 in Cebu city. The rescheduling of the meeting of heads of state and top officials from Asia, Europe and the Americas on account of the threatening super-typhoon may even be better. Excellent weather will allow the showing off of the progress and glitter of the province of Cebu and the city.

Showcase for the ASEAN spectacular is the controversial Cebu Convention Center which some critics had predicted would not be finished in time for the summit. But it was finished on time. A leaking roof was all that critics needed to lambast the governor of the province. But the leak was not an uncommon result of heavy rains, and this was rectified faster than the critics could think.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia proved that she was a gutsy executive. Eight months ago, she said the convention center would be finished on time for the summit. The center was built, and Foreign Secretary Bert Romulo remarked upon seeing it, "It’s a miracle!" Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal intoned that the center’s completion was a "symbol" of the Cebuano’s effervescent and indomitable spirit epitomized by Governor Garcia’s vision and ability to manage grand undertakings.

The postponement of the summit date for sure caused financial losses to people in the hospitality business and entrepreneurs. But not to worry. The governor, as strong-willed as her father, former Cebu Gov. Pablo Garcia, is saying that the January 10-13 summit will give Cebuanos an even greater opportunity to welcome the coming foreign heads of state and delegates. If I know Gwen, she will deliver!

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EnGender Rights, Inc, through its executive director Clara Rita A. Padilla, has sent its position paper on H.B. 5458 to the Committee on Revision of Laws, which is hearing the bill that expands the coverage of the Revised Penal Code provision on abortion.

H.B. 5458, authored by Rep. Rodante D. Marcoleta, expands the coverage of the practice of abortion, thereby amending RA 3815, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code. The bill penalizes a physician or a midwife who performs a medical procedure designed or intended to terminate the life of an unborn human being. It also penalizes the physician, midwife or pharmacist who without the proper prescription from a physician, dispenses any abortive, or knowingly administer, prescribe, procure or sell any medicines, drugs, device or other abortifacient substance. The penalty is arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding P10,000.

The EnGender Rights Inc. position paper asks the committee "to face the realities of Filipino women’s experiences to enable them to comprehend the grave consequences of the (bill) and to recognize (its) blatant violation of women’s rights to health and life and its total disregard for international law."

Below are those realities expressed in the paper written by EnGender Rights Inc. executive director Clara Rita A. Padilla and addressed to Rep. Orlando A. Fun Jr., chair, Committee on Revision of Laws, and David Clarence M. Cosalan, committee secretary:

Half of all pregnancies of Filipino women are unintended. About 200 Filipino women die from maternal-related causes out of every 100,000 live births (UNFPA, 2005 State of the World Population). Nine in 10 women who induce abortion are married or in a consensual union; more than half have at least three children; roughly two-thirds are poor and nearly 90 percent are Catholic.

About 27 out of every 1,000 Filipino women induce abortion; eight in 10 women who succeed in ending their pregnancy due to unsafe abortion have health complications; one in every 200 women are hospitalized for abortion-related complications; 800 women die every year (or two women die every day) due to complications resulting from unsafe abortion. (Singh S et al., Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Causes and Consequences, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2006).

According to Atty. Padilla, "The law criminalizing abortion does not eliminate abortions; it only makes it dangerous for women who undergo clandestine and unsafe abortion."

She notes that the August 25, 2006 United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Concluding Comments on the Philippines recognize the relation of the illegality of abortion and maternal deaths related to abortion. Hence, it recommended that the Philippine government "consider reviewing the laws relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who have abortions and provide them with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to reduce women’s maternal mortality rates."

Padilla continues that as a legally binding treaty that the Philippines ratified, "the Philippines is obligated to uphold the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women."

Several countries permit abortion, says Padilla. Hunger permits it despite its constitutional protection of life from conception. The Catholic religion as practiced by Spain allows abortion on grounds of rape and fetal impairment. Catholics in predominantly Catholic Belgium, France and Italy, are able to choose to terminate their pregnancies safely upon a woman’s request. Colombia recently liberalized its law to allow abortion in cases where the women’s life or health is in danger, the pregnancy is the result of rape, and/or when the fetus has malformation incompatible with life outside the uterus.

Padilla says that access to the full range of contraceptive methods including emergency contraceptive pills "is effective to prevent unintended pregnancy and abortion. Making abortion safe and legal has proven to save women’s lives in Romania and the United States. By removing the punitive provisions imposed on women who induce abortion and those assisting them the Committee on Revision of Laws can actually prevent Filipino women from dying and suffering from complications due to unsafe abortion."

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A favorite of media girls, Frank Evaristo, is marking his 65th birthday with a bash at the Manansala building poolside at Rockwell, Makati, on Saturday, December 16. Frank says his children are making sure that their dad’s birthday will be a memorable milestone in his life.

Frank has served as national president of the Philippine Jaycees and the Rotary Club. Today he is chair of Alay Lakad, a national organization that sponsors annual walkathons to raise funds for the livelihood training of out-of-school youths.

Frank has an MBA in economics from Fordham University. He worked for an international bank in Manhattan where he lived for 10 years.

Our best wishes on your birthday, Frank!

My e-mail:dominimt2000@ yahoo.com