TUKLASIN NATIN

Youth RH campaigners in several cities are calling for a national day of the purple ribbon on Friday, October 7 to ask Congress to vote on the RH bill.  The nationally coordinated event is expected to mobilize thousands of supporters from community-based youth organizations, students, health workers and professionals, business and interfaith groups and local government units.

In Zamboanga City, a luncheon-press conference will be held in Sky Park Hotel, German Tower Tomas Claudio cor. Antonio Orendain St. to be followed by a “March for RH” at the Western Mindanao State University where a multi-sectoral assembly will also be held in the afternoon. In Legaspi City, RH advocates will hold a parade at the Penaranda Park as early as 6:30 a.m. The group will then motorcade to Naga City where a forum with city officials and RH supporters will be held in the afternoon. Another motorcade around Naga city will be organized after the forum.  In Cebu City, a multi-sectoral forum and a motorcade will be organized in the afternoon on the same day.

Meanwhile, advocates in Central Luzon will converge in Angeles City for the Purple Ribbon March and a rally in Henson St., at 4:00 PM.  At the National Capital Region, student councils from top universities in Metro Manila will join more than 300 youth from different communities at the AS steps, University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City at 5PM. A simultaneous candle lighting ceremony will take placeat 6PM in all the areas to highlight reproductive health issues of young people and the importance of the passage of the RH bill on the future of the Filipino youth.  

Last September 7, the nationally coordinated purple ribbon for RH event was held in the Senate gate and in the cities of Baguio, Davao, and Iloilo where thousands participated in various mass actions for the RH bill.RH advocates are calling on Congress to act on the RH bill now since the debate on the controversial bill has already taken more than a decade and 11 mothers continue to die of pregnancy and childbirth complications daily due to lack of comprehensive services on maternal health and family planning. Eden R. Divinagracia, PNGOC

Being one of the leading proponents of the much maligned yet popularly accepted reproductive health bill, the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) cannot just be silent and remain in the back seat as the excitement on the issue unfold before us.

Following reports on the result of the recent second dialogue between the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Palace, we are happy to know that the Palace has remained steadfast in its earlier position to support reproductive health despite strong lobby coming from the influential anti-RH force.

PLCPD is thankful to the President for holding on to the principles of responsible parenthood.  We are glad that P-Noy did not abandon the pact he made with the Filipino people under his “Social Contract with the Filipino People.”  During the elections, CBCP dumped P-Noy and made outright endorsements of his rivals, still the Filipino people voted for him, believing that he can be an agent of change.

We are equally happy that P-Noy and his cabinet, despite all the pressures, chose to make responsible parenthood/reproductive health (RP/RH) bill one of the priority bills up for certification.  This is already a clear indication that P-Noy will walk his talk as far as RP/RH bill is concerned.

PLCPD stands firm that reproductive health bills pending in Congress contains the same principles that the Palace has presented after its last meeting with CBCP.  Indeed, a law on reproductive health is an important component to address poverty.  Again, we say, never was the reproductive health bill designed to impose population growth target.

While we remain confident that P-Noy will remain firm on his position, we strongly urge him to certify the bill as urgent, now.  We do not want the Filipino people to suffer the repercussion if the enactment of the bill will be delayed for another year or for another Congress.-30-RAMON SAN PASCUAL, MPH, Executive Director, Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD)