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Groups hold SONA spoof to push for RH law


Terrorists and kidnap-for-ransom groups beware: the President has commissioned the Transformers to aid state armed forces in ending lawlessness in the country. President "Goria Makasakal Arrovo," that is. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's newest impersonator, played by 21-year-old University of the Philippines student and performer Norman Brito, issued his "State of the Nanay Address" before hundreds of Filipiniana-clad women and civil society personalities on Wednesday afternoon to parody President Arroyo's own upcoming State of the Nation Address on July 27.

President "Goria Makasakal Arrovo" gestures as he emphasizes one of the points in his speech. Joe Galvez
Arrovo, dressed to the nines in a puffy, sparkly purple Filipiniana, captured the audience with his nearly dead-on impersonation of Mrs. Arroyo, not-so-underhanded swipes at political issues, and frequent pop culture references, the reference to the popular cinematic giant robots included. "In line with our efforts to modernize the Armed Forces, I am proud to have recruited the Transformers. Optimus Prime is the newest consultant of the Department of National Defense," Arrovo said, his statement eliciting loud laughter from the audience. To address unemployment, Arrovo said he wants one "masahista" (masseuse) in every Filipino family by 2012. "The Philippines will become the massage center of the Asia Pacific region with 8 million-strong masahistas," he said, grinning at the crowd like he was very pleased with himself. And to solve the corruption menace: "I have asked all government agencies to issue internal memos limiting kickbacks and payolas to 50 percent para hindi bumubukol." Arrovo said he made the order based on ZTE-NBN star witness' Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada Jr.'s "advice" to "moderate the greed." One statement that got one of the rowdiest laughter was Arrovo's apparent dig at reports that President Arroyo underwent breast augmentation in the 1980s. "To mitigate the effects of the global economic crisis, we shall promote medical tourism. Bababaan po natin ang presyo ng silicone. I have volunteered to be the model of this program," Arrovo said.
Impersonators of President Arroyo, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, and House Speaker Prospero Nograles dance during the "State of the Nanay Address" at UP Diliman. Joe Galvez
But the whole point of the "State of the Nanay Address" was not merely to elicit laughter from the audience. Its organizers, the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) and Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), want to bring attention to the fact that legislation on reproductive health, which is believed to be the answer to issues such as population control, still hasn't been passed by Congress. "We would like to call on the attention of lawmakers to still consider reproductive health as an important issue. We were alarmed when Speaker [Prospero] Nograles, who had promised us that the RH bill will be voted upon in the 14th Congress, did not include RH bill as one of his priority measures in the third and final regular session of the House of Representatives," said Ramon San Pascual, PLCPD executive director, in a statement. Both House Bill 5043 and Senate Bill 3122 are in the period of plenary debates. According to RHAN secretary-general Elizabeth Angsioco, 11 mothers die in the country every day due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. She said those deaths could be prevented had comprehensive reproductive health information and services been put in place. "Continued delay in passing House Bill 5043 and Senate Bill 3122 will mean ignoring the daily deaths of 11 Filipino women. It will always be poor women who will suffer due to serious gaps in the government's RH program. The reproductive health bill should be passed now," she said in the same statement. Malacañang has distanced itself from the controversial measures, leaving its possible passage in the hands of Congress. But the Catholic Church, which wields influence over some political issues, has consistently campaigned against reproductive health legislation which promote artificial contraceptives such as birth control pills and condoms. The Church, which espouses only natural family planning methods, said the proliferation of artificial contraceptives would give rise to immorality and promiscuity. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV
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