It’s the New Year 2011 and we expect that one of the big issues that would hug the headlines for this year will still be the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. Its proponents have gone into high gear in its propaganda machinery to lie, cajole or con the Filipino people into believing that our country is overpopulated, hence they devised the RH bill to sound like it is for the health of our women.
But we know too well that the bottomline why Congress is pushing for the RH bill is due to the monies that many pharmaceuticals are pushing their governments to force an RH bill in our country, despite the fact that this is contrary to Filipino customs and beliefs. These people have chastised the Catholic Church for being a huge stumbling block to the RH bill, naming it as too ancient in its ways and not adapting to the modern world. But in truth, despite its deficiencies, it is only the Catholic Church who gives us our moral compass as a nation and people. Without the church we’d be lost!
Tonight we bring you one of the most controversial issues that have divided many people and kept them from supporting the RH Bill. It is a question that the Filipino people should tell their respective Congressmen and women: “Where does Human Life really begin?” We have with us tonight Dr. Melfer Montoya of the Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM) who will give us what really happens when a man’s sperm meets the woman’s egg.
It may be a bit technical for us lay people, but Dr. Montoya tells us what most doctors agree on this issue. It is quite interesting to know these things especially if you’re amongst the youth so you will know what really happens inside the woman’s womb after the sex act. So watch this very interesting show, a first for us in Straight from the Sky, which is why it is our maiden show for the year. See it on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00 pm tonight.
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For most of the time we had a holiday, I spent it in the house, mostly reading books and watching TV. One very interesting piece of news was happening in Bolivia when the government of its popular President Evo Morales decided to cut fuel subsidies, which meant a sudden increase in the pump prices of fuel in Bolivia by a whooping 80%! This sent angry protestors rampaging the streets of La Paz and other Bolivians cities, destroying government buildings or facilities because suddenly the ordinary people could no longer afford the prices of fuel in that Andean country.
In order to defuse the social tensions brought by the decision to remove the fuel subsidies, President Evo Morales then increased the minimum wage in Bolivia by as much as 20%, but this did not appease the angry protesters as the fuel prices were just too high. But so far, it has not dampened the angry mob that has burned many government buildings in Bolivia. I don’t know how this crisis would end, but one lesson we can learn from this is that, no matter how popular your President is, if he makes a wrong decision, it would cost him his political life or worse, if this tension isn’t quelled soon, who knows Pres. Morales might be ousted from power. We shall keep watching events in Bolivia as they unfold.
The situation in Bolivia is eerily similar to ours, except that in 1998, in one brilliant moment, the 10th Congress enacted Republic Act. No. 8479 known as the Oil Deregulation Law, which allowed the free market forces of oil prices to move high or low without any interference from the government. In the past, we had our Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF), which allowed the government to control the prices of oil, which actually cost the government more than it could afford.
This is why every time there are increases in the world fuel prices, the Philippines also increases its pump prices, but then it triggered massive protest marches or worse, transportation strikes that gave the world an ugly picture of the Philippines because these protest marches was happening with uncanny regularity. Of course, in the end our Presidents always succumb to the mob rule and stop the fuel price increases, which actually cost the government more as fuel prices were subsidized.
When the Oil Deregulation Law was signed into law in 1998, it was one of the best acts that our politicians did for our country as it brought stability in our country. Hence you can say that we prevented a similar chaos that we now see happening in Bolivia. If any, only the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and their allied front organizations were not happy with the Oil Deregulation Law as they suddenly lost one of the best ways to recruit members into their struggle especially from the transport sector that always holds mass transport strikes to cripple the government. So let’s be thankful that we already have an Oil Deregulation Law.
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Email: vsbobita@mozcom.com