Reconsider anti-RH stand, Pacquiao urged

Reproductive health (RH) bill advocates appealed to Filipino boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao Tuesday to reconsider his stand against the proposed measure. “Insisting that Filipinos religiously follow the Catholic Church’s outmoded doctrine on family planning and contraception is disregard for women’s universal right to reproductive health," Partido ng Manggagawa Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda said in a news release on the group's blog site. The Partido ng Manggagawa i whose group is part of the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN). Pacquiao on Tuesday reaffirmed his anti-RH stand after a lunch-meeting with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Miranda said while Pacquiao can buy a P4-million bag for his mother Dionisia, poor Filipinos cannot even afford to eat three meals a day, buy clothes, or send their children to school. “Bakit, Manny, pagtutulungan ba ninyo ng Simbahang Katoliko ang pagtugon sa gastusin at pangangailangan ng mahihirap na pamilya kung susundin nila ang kautusang ito?" she said. Miranda said 40 percent of the Philippine population are below the poverty line, and cannot afford having many children. "The workers greatly admire Pacquiao for his boxing prowess, pero sana naman pag-isipan niya na ang deklarasyon niya bilang kinatawan ng Sarangani in particular ay may malaking impact sa kalusugan at buhay na kababaihan," she said. She also said they will not ask Pacquiao for "balato" (share) from his winnings and commercial endorsements, but they will ask him for another gift — "Suportahan mo ang RH bill," she said. - VVP, GMA News