Pia: Axing RH bill from priority legislation 'disturbing'

Malacañang’s sudden move to exclude the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill from its priority legislation is “very disappointing and disturbing," Senator Pia Cayetano said Tuesday. “At the minimum, it indicates a leadership that is indecisive and vulnerable to pressure," added Cayetano, chairman of the Senate committee on health and demography. She issued the statement after presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda announced that the RH bill will not be among the 17 bills that will be presented to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting on February 28. Cayetano said she was disappointed how President Benigno Aquino III had initially "inspired" lawmakers to proceed with their public hearings on the RH bill then "unceremoniously" backed out before the two Houses went into plenary debate. “We did extensive research to ensure our respective versions [of the RH bill] are kept comprehensive, and yet sensitive to contending moral and religious views. We even took note of the President’s own pronouncements to guide us in crafting our versions," she said. The Catholic Church has consistently opposed the use of artificial birth control methods like condoms and birth control pills, as well as the state support for these methods. It only supports "natural" family planning methods for married couples. Aquino, however, earlier said that the couples would be in the "best position to determine what is best for their family" and the methods that they can use. Cayetano advised Aquino that it is still not too late to re-include the RH bill in the Palace's legislative priorities. "This will be a true test [of] the political will of this administration, as well as [of] the President’s sincerity and conviction," she said. Lacierda, however, said the Palace still has to meet with the Catholic bishops at the end of the month to consider their own version of the RH bill. The bill thus cannot be included in the LEDAC meeting agenda, he explained. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago's Senate Bill No.2378 or “An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population and Development" is pending before the Senate health committee. Under this bill, the state shall guarantee universal access to medically safe, legal, affordable, and quality reproductive health services, methods, devices, supplies, and relevant information on the matter. In the House of Representatives, at least six bills related to reproductive health concerns are also pending.—Kimberly Jane T. Tan/JV, GMA News