The Philippine Online Chronicles

The 20 plus year old Reproductive Health Bill (HB 5043) may have died in the 14th Congress, but it will continue to haunt presidents and lawmakers to come, if the presidential debates I have been watching and the interviews at Blogwatch I have participated in are any indication. Four presidential aspirants have expressed their unwillingness to support the bill, and they are Senator Manny Villar, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Councilor JC Delos Reyes and lately, Former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

Villanueva, delos Reyes and Villar have made it clear early on that they are against the RH Bill because it promotes artificial methods of contraception as a means to curb our rapidly growing population. Being closely identified with the Christian doctrines and those of the Roman Catholic Church, respectivley, they adhere closely to their churches’ position on the issue. Villar is an active member of the Couples for Christ while JC’s Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP) is the only party that includes a spiritual dimension in its platform of governance.

Individual stance of each presidentiable

JC delos Reyes and AKP insist on responsible parenting and the use of natural family planning methods to artificial means. They believe that the root cause of our national plight is not overpupulation but corruption, abuse of our natural and human resources and underdevelopment of human potential. JC has seen the modules prepared by the Department of Education’s (DepEd) for sex education in schools, which seemed to be teaching young students on the use of contraceptives like pills and condoms. Sex education he said are the responsibility of parents. I found later in my readings that aside from his religious beliefs, his personal experience also bolsters his resolve against any measure that seeks to promote artificial methods of contraception. JC’s father was appointed as the head of the Popcom during Marcos’ time and the elder delos Reyes was at the brink of promoting artificial methods when tragedy struck in the form of the death of his daughter. JC was young then and this incident has affected him deeply. Taking this incident as a sign, the elder delos Reyes quit his post.

There is no compromise for Bro. Eddie Villanueva. He will uphold “the rule of God above anything else." People can be given the freedom of choice without violating the law of God. He is for responsible parenthood and it is important to address overpopulation without sacrificing our morality. He proposes to amend and improve the RH Bill and take out the objectionable provisions.

Manny Villar on the other hand said that people are supposed to be a country’s assets, and not considered as liabilities at all. He believes that a well managed economy would be able to provide a good life for a big population. Let it not be a bill, he said—the government should take care of the economy. If the economy becomes better, people will have better chances of employment. Make the people work hard, and at the end of the day when they reach home, they would better rest than make babies, a sure way to curb population growth.

Gibo Teodoro used to support the RH Bill but has changed his stand because he felt that everyone has been involved in debates with the bill forgetting what the actual problems were and not really dealing with the problems. What good will fighting for a bill do if we know that any effort would simply fail? He believes that family planning is a personal issue and that the government should not substitute itself as the people’s moral guardian. The role of the government in reproductive health is not to influence a couple's moral choice but support it.

Noynoy Aquino, though formerly fully supporting the RH Bill wanted to make it clear that he was not a co-author of the Bill. In fact, he has not authored any bill at all. He used to strongly support the Bill, making contraceptives readily available in government health centers. Couples should be given a free choice on what family planning method to use based on their beliefs and conscience, and that the Catholic Church should not intervene with government programs. But now he supports an amendment of the pending Bill, if it sees light in the next Congress. He advocates “responsible parenthood”—as a parent, one should be responsible to feed the child, raise him, provide him with a home and send him to school. Educational campaigns will be set in place as a solution to the growing population problem.

Dick Gordon supports the RH Bill, but says it still can be fine tuned. People should be given the freedom to choose the right methods for contraception, but not abortion. Population he said should not be an excuse for the non-development of a country. He stressed on the need for an educated population and great leadership, giving China, Brazil and India as good examples of countries with a huge population but with a rising economy.

Nick Perlas’ platform is based on a sustainable population—where no poverty exists. He is against abortion but in favor of giving people the right information and choices for methods of contraception before conception. The RH Bill has to be revised to clear the ambiguities.

Erap has always been a staunch supporter of artificial family planning. This was seen during his administration where strong efforts were made to educate the masses on the use of artificial contraceptives. He reiterated this during the last ANC Leadership Forum.

A big dilemma

As things stand, experts and studies show that the Philippine population has been spiralling out of control and we are expected to hit the 94 million mark this year alone—a mind-blowing number for a small third world country such as ours. A big population per se is not a problem, but it becomes a major dilemma considering other factors. Indeed, common experience and exhaustive studies show that having too many unplanned children in a family puts a strain not only on the immediate parties but ultimately on everyone. Improper spacing and having too many children adversely affect the health of mothers and often lead to death during childbirth (10 to 12 deaths a day, according to studies), not to mention lesser educational opportunities for children in a big but poor family because there are simply too many mouths to feed.

Lack of educational opportunities equals fewer work opportunities and poverty. It becomes a vicious cycle. Experts in the field of population management recommend education and funding to make artificial contraceptive methods short of abortion to those who need it most—poor families who are most prone to having too many children. Experts say that natural family planning methods have not been successful at preventing unwanted pregnancies (which in turn lead to more abortions), and that there are safe and inexpensive artificial contraceptive methods available. They also say that the “demographic winter” is a far-fetched scenario in the Philippines, by the looks of our fertility rates over the years. These the proponents of the Bill say are the underlying reasons for the passage of the RH Bill.

(Mis)conceptions

The (mis)conceptions about the RH bill revolve around three things (depending on who are pro and who are con): that it imposes artificial contraceptives education and dissemination only; that it legalizes abortion; and that it imposes a two-child policy. All these (mis)conceptions are wrong, according the Edcel Lagman, the bill’s author. The bill actually encourages natural and artificial methods—the choice is entirely up to you to pick the methods most suited to your religious beliefs and personal preferences and circumstances. Far from legalizing abortion, the bill expressly states that abortion is still illegal, but only recognizes therapeutic abortion (think abortion for ectopic pregnancies and the like). Having two children under the bill is encouraged but not made mandatory.

A moral decision

Much as I appreciate the efforts that have gone into the crafting and lobbying of this bill, I’m not a big fan of the RH Bill. Let me make it clear that I have nothing against people who wish to use artificial methods short of abortion as a means to plan their family. Like Gilbert Teodoro, at the end of the day, I believe that this is a moral decision best left to every individual.

I don’t believe that the government should spend money to promote and educate people on artificial methods. I think that the private sector is actually in a better position to educate and promote the use of artificial contraceptives. The trend today is for the government to devolve those functions that are best handled by the private sector and for the government to take a regulatory position.

Let the pharmaceuticals take the lead

The Church and its legion of supporters and the supporters of the RH bill will be at loggerheads for much longer, as I see it. Opposition to the use of artificial methods really is the underlying reason for this divide—meantime the problem remains. I propose, instead, a compromise. Instead of letting the government take the lead in promoting artificial contraceptives, why not let the big pharmaceutical companies do it? After all, they are the ones who will stand to gain from the promotion of artificial contraceptives. The government should not take the cudgels for private pharmaceutical firms in advertising and marketing artificial contraceptives. If these artificial contraceptives are expensive, then why not pass a law that makes them cheaper? Give tax incentives to big firms that provide free artificial contraceptives to local health centers (they give free sample medicines to doctors anyway).

Making artificial contraceptives available for free in our local health centers is akin to a dole-out to the poor. Sure, the responsibility of taking care of the present and future citizens of the country devolves upon the state, but the bulk of this burden falls primarily upon the shoulders of each individual father and mother. The poor should not be excused from the duty of responsible parenting.

Lastly, I think the government would be taking the easier route by promoting artificial contraceptives. Promoting artificial contraceptives is a short-term solution—not a lasting one. Not enough efforts have been exerted over poverty eradication, education and combating corruption—these are the reasons why there are not enough resources to go around for our people. The approach for the longest time has been to curb population growth. Why not make our resources and sources of wealth grow for a change?

A message to our leaders—stop corruption, serve the people with full sincerity, and initiate a moral and spiritual revolution—to prevent further economic decline of our country and moral decadence of our people. To our countrymen—let us all be vigilant, and do what we need to do, even in our own small way.

It is not dead!

Edcel Lagman says the RH Bill is not dead. It could still be discussed in the 15th Congress, but I am sure it will be faced with the same opposition. My position is that we kill the bill now and come up with a new one that’s mutually acceptable to both parties. Let’s not wait for another set of debates and another decade for a solution.

Photo by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado. Some rights reserved.