More Filipinos are likely to vote for candidates in the upcoming May elections who support the Reproductive Health Bill than those who oppose it, a survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) said. The survey results showed that 38 percent of the 2,100 respondents (or 798 persons) would vote for candidates favoring House Bill No. 5043 or the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008. In contrast, only 6 percent of the total respondents said they would vote for aspirants who oppose the measure. Twenty percent of the respondents, meanwhile, said a candidate’s stand on the RH bill will have no effect on their votes. The remaining respondents said they do not know the contents of the health bill.
The survey also showed that 39 percent of the surveyed respondents who were Catholics would also vote for candidates supporting the RH Bill. The Catholic Church is one of the staunchest critics of the health bill. The Church has recently criticized the government's free condom campaign. Sponsored by the Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum), the survey was conducted nationwide from January 21 to 24 using face-to-face interviews. The survey also showed that more people think that natural family planning, which is being preferred by the Catholic Church over artificial methods, "sometimes" works. Of the 2,100 respondents, 31 percent think natural family planning is "effective only sometimes" while 26 percent believe the method "almost always works." Sixty-eight percent of the respondents agreed that all legal means of family planning should be made available by government.
The highly-debated measure, which has been pending at the House of Representatives for years due to the Church’s strong opposition, supports the use of either natural or artificial family planning methods. The bill also requires the government to provide the public with artificial contraceptives such as condoms, and to order the inclusion of sex education in school. Contrary to popular belief that it only tackles the use of artificial ways of contraception, the Reproductive Health Bill also addresses a wide array of reproductive health issues in the Philippines.
Expected The result of the survey was expected, and that the SWS study only served to prove that The Forum was right in its assessment of the people’s opinion on the reproductive health issue. “This is a fact that we knew all along. But it is good to be proven right. I think our candidates should realize that RH is no longer a controversial issue but it is an electoral issue that they must answer," said Benjamin de Leon, President of The Forum. The same survey also shows that as far as the availability of family planning methods are concerned, seven out of 10 Catholics agree that it should be available in health centers while seven out of 10 Non-Catholics say the same. “When it comes to family planning decisions, one’s religion is irrelevant. In fact, in the National Demographic and Health Survey, only 3 percent has cited religion as a reason for non-use of any family planning method." De Leon added. Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of the RH Bill, earlier summarized the contents of the various family planning measures and enumerated the salient points in the bill as follows:
- Prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications
- Information and access to natural and modern family planning;
- Maternal, infant and child health and nutrition
- Promotion of breast feeding;
- Prevention of reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases;
- Adolescent and youth health
- Elimination of violence against women;
- Counseling on sexuality and sexual and reproductive health;
- Treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers;
- Male involvement and participation in RH; and
- Prevention and treatment of infertility
Cautious Presidential aspirants, hoping to get as many votes possible in May, have been cautious in expressing their views about the RH Bill, given that the Philippines is a pre-dominantly Catholic country.[See:
Villar rejects passage of reproductive health bill] Liberal Party's Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III earlier threw his support behind the RH Bill, only to "soften" on his stance later on. He would later say in a debate organized by the Philippine Daily Inquirer that he was against artificial contraceptives, but said he is questioning the allotment of a budget for government purchase. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) maintained his "softened" stance on the issue, saying the government should respect the personal choice of couples when it comes to reproductive health. Nacionalista Party bet Manuel "Manny" Villar Jr, on the other hand, believed that individuals should be left to decide how best to protect their reproductive health, including the option to use artificial forms of contraceptives such as condoms. Bagumbayan presidential bet Sen. Richard Gordon said that while he would not campaign for the bill, people should be provided reproductive health information. Olango City councilor and Ang Kapatiran bet JC de los Reyes said he supports what the reproductive health advocates, except for the teaching of sex education in school. Bro. Eddie Villanueva of the Bangon Pilipinas party had earlier said he was "for sound family planning, responsible parenthood without violating the morality of our society."
— Mark Merueñas/LBG, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV 
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