CEBU, Philippines - The controversial Reproductive Health bill came closer to being signed into law after the House of Representatives passed it on second reading after an overnight nominal voting that was concluded early Thursday.
A total of 113 members of the House voted for the passage of the bill on second reading, 104 voted against it and three abstained.
Five of the nine district representatives from Cebu voted against the bill while four did not take part in the voting.
Those who voted no were Rep. Eduardo Gullas (1st district), Rep Pablo Garcia (2nd district), Rep. Pablo John Garcia (3rd district), Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (4th district) and Rep. Cutie del Mar (Cebu City North).
Rep. Luigi Quisumbing (6th district) and Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City South) abstained while Rep. Arturo Radaza of the lone district of Lapu-Lapu South was present in the early part of the session but failed to cast his vote as he had to leave for Cebu.
Absent during the nominal voting was Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano (5th district).
Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy party-list Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr. describes the RH bill as an “evil bill” that will “destroy choice and divide the nation”.
Trade Union of the Congress Partylist Rep. Raymond Mendoza is also against it.
Prior to the voting, Pablo proposed for the RH education provision in the bill to be scrapped since it is the obligation of the parents to educate their children on matters concerning the health.
His son, Pablo John voted against the bill because of the ‘unconstitutional burdens the bill imposes upon local government units.”
“This puts tremendous financial pressure and strain on local governments — the barangay, whose health centers can hardly respond to the common cold; on cities and municipalities, whose rural health units are already bleeding, and draining resources away from basic services; and provinces already hamstrung in the maintenance of district hospitals,” Pablo John said.
He said that by voting against the bill, he may be called anti-women but he would take the risk than to use the name of women to push an agenda which is not actually for the real interests of women.
The younger Garcia said that they would be fighting it out during the voting on the 3rd reading, which results can still change, especially if those who were not present last Wednesday, would attend.
But Salimbangon said it would be difficult to battle against the bill in the 3rd reading and a better fighting chance is barring it in the senate.
The senate also had amendments heard last Wednesday and will push through with the rest on Monday, along with the voting.
In an interview with The FREEMAN, Salimbangon said he is against the bill because he finds it unnecessary as these are the services and responsibilities under the Department of Health.
He added that having it approved would mean appropriating a huge amount to buy contraceptives, which can be used for other more important matters like health services and education.
Gullas is against the bill as it contradicts one’s commitment to uphold the value and dignity of human life.
This was also expressed by del Mar who added that there is no other bill that has divided the House of Representatives so severely than the RH bill.
Hundreds of people who donned purple shirts rejoiced yesterday after the passage of the bill on second reading, the farthest a reproductive bill has reached in the process of being enacted as a law for more than 10 years.
But those from the anti-RH bill groups believe that the fight is not over and can still bar House Bill 4244 from being passed into a law.
Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, country director of Human Life International, said that they were saddened over the outcome of the voting but they believe that ‘the fight is not over.’
Bullecer expressed his dismay over the absence of some congressmen from Cebu during the voting.
Bullecer said that if only the Cebu legislators as well as two other representatives from Bohol who are also against the bill attended, it would have made a big difference.
He said that there were close to 60 representatives who were absent, which half are against the bill.
Bullecer said they are strengthening their campaign and asking for more prayers as they wait for Monday.
He said the bill would be passed and enacted into a law, they are willing to fight it out in the Supreme Court.
Quisumbing said he understands the sentiments of those against the RH bill who were expecting them to cast their vote.
But he explained that even if he has always been against it, he has earlier said he will be abstaining.
Quisumbing clarified reports that those who were not present last Wednesday were under the Liberal Party of President Benigno Aquino who is for the passage of the bill.
According to Quisumbing, his decision to abstain has nothing to do with his affiliation with LP since they do not have a party stand on the RH bill.
Quisumbing explained that his decision to abstain was a personal choice and was because he respected President Aquino who said that the bill is an important part of the reform agenda.
“I support the president in his vision which have been proven on the recent gains on the reform agenda through investments and the like,” Quisumbing said.
Although Quisumbing did not cast his vote, he was present during the second reading of the bill.
Radaza was also there but was scheduled to come back in Cebu by evening on the same day, said Jonji Gonzales, his spokesman.
Schedule for the voting was initially at 6pm, but proposal of amendments took hours which delayed it to almost near midnight and ended early dawn, with each representative given a chance to defend their vote.
As of press time, Durano could not be reached for comment. Yamie Vestal, Durano’s PR coordinator, said the congressman was in a mountain barangay of Danao City which possibly did not have cellphone signal.
Mayor Michael Rama encourages everyone to pray that the RH Bill will not be passed, being an anti-RH Bill advocate himself.
“On our part, it’s anti-RH. I will continue to pray and I encourage everybody to pray. Until it’s over, it’s not yet over,” Rama said. (FREEMAN)