Rep. Lagman: RH bill to win House vote ‘by a huge margin’

The controversial reproductive health (RH) bill will win the House vote “by a huge margin" after President Benigno Aquino III endorsed it as one of his priority bills this year, one of the measure’s main proponents at the House of Representatives said Wednesday. House Minority Floor Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the passage of the bill is almost a certainty. “Anytime tawagin ito [the voting], panalo na kami.... With the endorsement of the President, mukhang lalaki ang margin namin," said Lagman, who belongs to the opposition in the lower house. Lagman did not disclose his official head count, but described Aquino’s backing as “a great push for the bill." Akbayan party-list Rep. Arlene Bag-ao, another proponent of the bill, said she expects her colleagues to fast-track the passage of the bill. “Prioritization of the bill by no less than the President, on top of the overwhelming support of 72 percent of Filipinos, will expedite the already protracted deliberations in the House plenary and send a strong signal to my colleagues that the bill should now be passed," she said in a statement. At the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting last Tuesday, Aquino called for “expeditious action" on the RH bill– formally known as the Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Bill. Lawmakers earlier lauded the President for exercising political will in expressing support for the controversial measure, despite opposition from officials of the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic church leaders are against the enactment of RH bill, saying the measure may promote promiscuity. The RH bill is currently undergoing plenary debates prior to the second reading in both chambers of Congress. Lagman said he expects RH debates to resume next week, although Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said there is no schedule yet on the resumption of interpellations. — LBG/YA, GMA News