Belmonte hopeful RH bill 'won't be killed'

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has assured Reproductive Health bill (RH) advocates that the proposed law will be discussed in the House of Representatives. “I cannot say that under my leadership it will be approved but I can say that under my leadership it will be discussed and hopefully brought to a fruition," Belmonte told reporters at a press conference Thursday. Belmonte, the Quezon City representative, said he cannot predict the fate of the RH bill but he is hoping that it will not be killed in the committee and that there will be a full discussion on it. The previous Congress shelved the reproductive health bill under intense lobbying by the Catholic Church, which promotes only natural family planning methods and opposes artificial contraception. However, Minority Leader Edcel Lagman earlier expressed confidence that the RH bill will finally be enacted into law because many of the 132 co-authors of the RH bill in the 14th Congress ran for reelection and won. He re-filed House Bill 96 entitled “Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population and Development" on July 1, the first day of the 15th Congress. The first comprehensive version of the RH Bill was filed in 1999. Lagman recalled that during the 14th Congress, the RH bill reached extensive debates on second reading, unlike in previous congresses where the RH bill languished at the committee level and sponsorship stage. He said the bill was not approved by the 14th Congress because of maneuvers from the opposition, lack of quorum, and faltering commitment of the House leadership. The lawmaker clarified that his proposed measure does not advocate abortion and that its central idea is the freedom to choose family planning methods. Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara believes the passage of the proposed measure rests on the neophyte congressmen. “I favor the provision of the RH bill which provides for information on reproductive health and responsible parenthood as well as access to contraceptives for those who cannot afford these. The chances of the RH bill will depend upon first termers, I believe," the lawmaker said in a text message to GMANews.TV. Of the 268 House members, at least 130 are on their first term, Angara said. No to abortion In a press statement issued Friday, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) expressed strong opposition to the appeal of a group for Congress to pass a law that would lift the ban on abortion in the Philippines. PLCPD executive director Ramon San Pascual said the legalization of abortion is not the right approach to address the issue about maternal deaths. Eleven mothers reportedly die every day due to pregnancy and related complications. San Pascual said the PLCPD and authors of RH bills stressed that the proposed measure does not consider abortion as a family planning method. He said the Guiding Principles of the bill even state that “nothing in this Act changes the law on abortion". San Pascual reiterated that abortion is not part of PLCPD’s proposed measures on reproductive health and that the organization is not a part, and will not be a part, of any group that will call for the legalization of abortion in the Philippines. However, PLCPD emphasized that although abortion is not legal, the government should ensure that all women needing post-abortion care must be treated in a humane and non-judgmental manner. San Pascual said the legal and culturally-sensitive approaches in reducing maternal deaths are: (1) for couples to practice family planning; (2) to provide skilled birth attendants at every delivery, and (3) to make basic and emergency obstetric care accessible in both urban and rural areas. The PLCPD said the RH bills currently filed in Congress seek to give couples access to legal and medically safe family planning methods that reduce unplanned pregnancies, which will eventually lessen the number of abortions in the country. PLCPD further emphasized that voluntary family planning can reduce maternal deaths by 20 to 35% based on data from the World Health Organization. –VVP, GMANews.TV