Women in the fight vs. RH Bill and trafficking

Since the infamous August 23 which a lot of people tend to forget was a Department of Tourism (DoT) related issue, there’s just been too much brouhaha happening with the DoT under the watch of DoT Sec. Albert Lim. So for tonight’s show on Straight from the Sky, we give you another discussion on the still burning issues involving the DoT. Who else in Region 7 can talk about the ins and outs of the DoT if not former Regional Director Patria “Dawnee” Roa, who gives us a frank discussion on what really is happening in DoT. Watch this very interesting show on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00pm.

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It is heartening to know that the womenfolk in Cebu are uniting together in tackling two important issues plaguing our society today. First was the meeting with the Travel and Tour Agencies called by Gov. Gwen F. Garcia seeking their support against Human Trafficking, which was wholeheartedly supported by the travel industry. In fact a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed in support of this cause. This will be followed by a workshop that would be handled by the Regional Anti-Trafficking Task Forces so whatever loopholes that sex traffickers use can be plugged.

In another battleground, the “I Love Life” group of concerned professional women held a very interesting presscon at the Banilad Center for Professional Development (BCPD) that gave some members of the Cebu media a variety of insights in the fight against the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. First of all, let me point out that there were no priests present, not even one person wearing a “Sotana” which only shows that it is not only the Catholic Church that is against the RH Bill, but professional people who are not afraid to stand up and support the Catholic Church.

To be honest, I thought that it would have been a “scripted” presscon where the professionals come up with the bullets against the RH Bill that was fed to them by priests but it wasn’t so. First to speak was Mrs. Malou Padilla who gave an overview and gave emphasis to their motto, “Strong Families for a Strong Society”, Dr. Delia Mediano, former Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) Regional Director gave the first talk on the raging issue, citing an imbalance in our population distribution and how the RH Bill has mutated from so many years ago because of its rejection.

Then there’s the talk of Dr. Melfer Montoya, a Bio ethics professor and researcher from the Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM) who talked about “When does Life begin?” I was the first time I heard the word “Zygote” which is the actual fusion of the man’s sperm into the woman’s “ovum” where life really begins. Honestly, this is a new word for many of us who do not belong to the medical field; hence, I have asked Dr. Montoya to be on my TV show.

Dr. Annabel Guardiano, a Pulmonologists gave a power point presentation on our “Contraceptive Mentality” and discussed the harmful effects on women who use artificial contraception, especially pills. You women should listen to her talk on this issue and I tell you, you’ll never take that pill again as it is one of the root causes of breast cancer in women. Yes, a Meta analysis (a collection of all the studies done on the subject) came up with a study on what causes cancer and they came up that breast cancer is one of the results.

There were other speakers like Dr. Rodrigo Alenton who talked about the reality that our population was no longer exploding as what others have made us believe. Navies goes about educating the families of our soldiers about the evils of the RH bill. I salute them for their courage and determination to educate Catholics on why we should be against the RH bill. The bottom line is really money and more money for the pockets of our politicians who have succumbed to the lobby money of foreign pharmaceuticals who are of course being helped by the United Nations and the United States.

I have always believed that foreign governments have always interfered in our internal affairs. I mean, why should the USA dictate how many children a family should have? I thought we were already truly independent as a nation? Lastly, let me point out what Singapore and other economically successful countries have already learned, that the best contraceptive is a successful career, where couples do not want to raise more children because it interferes with their careers. I hope someday those people who are supporting the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill would be “educated” on the realities about the RH Bill.

For journalists who are supporting the Bill, it just makes me wonder how they would react to that particular passage in the bill that would penalize anyone who makes comments on this bill? Now isn’t this a curtailment of our press freedom? These media friends should read on this more carefully.

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