The Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008, or RH Bill 5043, as it stands, has been at the center of much of the heated debate which has been revolving around such issues as poverty, abortion, contraceptives, and the role of the church in our nation’s progress as it deals with population. The debate has taken a life of its own, much of the commentary of which has gone way south, and into deep philosophical differences between those who are for or against the church meddling in state affairs.
Here is my final verdict on the matter, of which, if you don’t have the stomach to read further commentary on more RH related words, is simply that this bill is redundant and has actually been hijacked by those trying to use it for propaganda purposes to suit their own ideological and/or political motivations.
If proponents say that this will be the solution towards providing for a better population control policy, it will not be because we have not addressed the fundamental issue of the implementation of such a law, which in much of its provisions, should already be implemented by existing agencies.
If those who oppose, such as The Catholic Church, because this might lead to promiscuity, murder, and/or abortion, then they are basing their argument on the notion that knowledge and information leads not to a prosperous nation.
In either case, the debate is misconstrued, pushed towards ideological extremes, and misses the most important of all debates, how and why should any part of this bill be implemented, when in fact, current laws and agencies can already do what is being proposed.
From where I stand, or sit, the strong points, are not strong enough of a motivation for me to support this bill. It is not a catholic point of view, nor a neo-conservative view, it is a view based on the provisions contained therein. It is a view based on the belief that government must first look at its existing departments and streamline their roles. Existing departments can already do much of what is inherent in the current RH Bill. A bloated bill this has become, and in some instances, exerting too much government control on matters it has no right to meddle in.
This is a bill that gives more power to government, more red tape, and more bureaucracy. Making our current system a continuing model of inefficiency. If we streamline our current departments of government, take education head on, and enforce existing laws and bills, including pushing once again the need for cheaper medicines, then the RH Bill need not be necessary.
If you wish to have a debate on pro life, abortion, euthanasia, defining life, and the church stand, separation of church and state, the bill may just be a spark to that debate, but it is not about that debate inasmuch as it is about the need for our nation to progress and if that progression is indeed tied to whether or not population is a key factor to the hindrance of this progress. And still, if it is a debate on population and the related factors including contraception and abortion, we already have agencies created for such. And I will hammer on this point until it sinks in.
One side of the debate says tuh-mey-toh, the other side says tuh-mah-toh, same bill, different interpretations, different ideologies, all going off on tangents, because the current RH bill, as it stands now, is actually a potato.
At the end of the day, if level heads surface, this bill may only take 1 page to actually be effective and non-redundant. Our focus should be efficiency, of which government implementation is severely lacking.
The RH Bill is tantamount to a non-binding resolution, simply because it creates more bureaucracy without the need to actually strengthen existing ones. It is the creation of a piece of paper that is being used by its proponents to effectively loosen the power of the church, and yet, does not do anything much than sound off on existing responsibilities that should be handled by existing agencies and departments of government.
Case in point, here is a FAQ as to the “Family Health Programs” of The Department of Health,
In general, what are the main functions of the Family Health Office?
The Family Health Office formulates or develops policies, standards and guidelines for public health services. It also provides technical assistance in public health program/project planning, implementation and evaluation.
What are the major public health programs under the Family Health Office?
- Family Planning (Artificial and Natural)
- Reproductive Health
What are the different public health services does these programs provides?
A. Child and Adolescent Health
* Care of the unborn
* Immediate newborn care
* Newborn screening
* Infant and young child feeding (including Breastfeeding)
* Full immunization
* Adequate nutrition (including Micronutrients/food fortification)
* Early childhood care and development
* Regular growth monitoring and promotion
* Oral health promotion and care
* Appropriate management of illnesses
* Deworming
* Promotion of child safety/injury preventionB. Maternal Health
* Preparatory services prior to pregnancy
* Quality prenatal care
* Safe delivery
* Quality postpartum care
* Newborn CareC. Womens’s Health
* Family Planning services
* Prevention and Management of Abortion and its Complications
* Women and Children Protection Unit
So, when I say redundant, it’s right there in writing.
But I do applaud this bill because it has stirred the pot on the issues that has been festering, especially in terms of population control, abortion, and family planning, and the stranglehold that the Catholic Church has held on our state. The Church is not our state, there is no concurrent state within our republic. If The Memorandum of Agreement is unconstitutional, the imposing of the Catholic Church on the progress of our nation should also be declared unconstitutional. But this is a bill that has copy-paste written all over it and has failed to realize that the DOH is already mandated and tasked to provide such provisions that have been made.
Take for example, in the bill, the stipulation that medical care must be extended to those who are requiring emergency treatment in cases of pregnancy and those of maternity cases, or even those that need post-abortion attention. Redundant. Inasmuch as this seems like a responsible statement to make, the most responsible and legal act is to extend medical care to all medical emergencies, period. Already, such statements flies against the face of the fact that emergency care must be provided to everyone, in all cases, irrespective of the background of that case.
And in this instance, this statement goes at the heart of health care in general, and in the end, it should be a push towards a proper health care plan, so that such emergencies are reduced, and preventative care emphasized.
The proponents of the bill may have had the goal of loosening the Church’s hold on the state, which is fine, just don’t insult our intelligence by crafting a redundant piece of legislation.
I mean, such a move towards this goal should not be handled through legislation, but through civil society. Leglislating is serious business, time lost, money spent, all of which could be channeled towards crafting a more comprehensive health care program.
The Church is already supposed to not meddle in the affairs of state, no amount of legislation can repeal this, because it is already stated plain and clear in the constitution. It is our society’s need to rest on the church for its morals that should be questioned.
We should be looking towards DOH since many of the provisions mentioned are already mandated by DOH, not to mention a competing bill regarding medicine, which is the cheaper medicines bill, which would make medicine including contraceptives more affordable. Furthermore, as stated, regarding emergency care for maternity patients, this should already be taken care of irregardless of whether or not this bill passes.
It is not that what is contained in the bill is irrelevant, not important, or is false, and will not help in our need to help our nation progress. That’s contrary to the point. and the point, as I will have to stress, over and over, here on this article, is that the bill is redundant.
At the risk of alienating myself from both sides of the debate, I have to say, both sides are wrong for reasons that are clear, that the debate is no longer about the bill itself, it is about philosophical differences, that should be waged, not with the use of taxpayers money, and the time of our legislators.
Why has this bill received such great fanfare? Because it is once again, going to the heart of our culture, and the need for many to finally try to separate the church’s role in our affairs of state.
The RH Bill has become nothing more than the talking point with which both sides can argue their points on abortion, right to life, population, and the role of The Catholic Church. Fine, let the discussion take place, but don’t insult the Filipino people, waste valuable legislative hours, by a redundant bill.
All the arguments regarding population is fine by me, because I actually happen to agree, but this is not the bill with which anything positive will result. The fact is, it is a redundant bill, a copy paste type of legislation.
Take a stand against the imposition of the Catholic Church to legislate from its high horse, but don’t push a piece of legislation that is nothing short of redundant.
Pro or Anti RH Bill? Maybe we should be discussing pro or Anti efficiency of government institutions that should already be doing what is contained in the RH Bill.
March not on the streets, but maybe towards your local DOH offices and push for them to stop sitting on their asses, and actually do something they were supposed to be doing in the first place. Act on their mandate.
The RH Bill is not a silver bullet cure of what ails our nation, even if its premise lies in population control as one of the means to alleviate poverty, nor is The RH Bill the proponent for pro Abortion and anti-life. It’s simply the main propaganda tool for which proponents need to lodge an attack on the church. fine, it has done so, mission accomplished, now let’s move on to actually making certain departments and the current government accountable for its lack of implementation of its mandate given to it by the people.
The fact is, that this is becoming a test case, to slowly chip away at the church, and as Manolo would suggest, a litmus test.
And so, the bill and the debate moves ahead, without anyone really looking at the implementation of such a scheme, and the realization, that the debate has gone south, veered away so much so, that it is no longer about Reproductive Health per se, but a debate on the religious merits of issues that should not be tied to it in the first place.
And oh, did I mention that this bill is redundant? Well, just wanted to make sure you got my point.
Popularity: 5% [?]
You are putting the cart before the horse in your redundancy argument. If the bill is made law then local politicians cannot lawfully withold these services. You conveniently forget that under health devolution, local governments are responsible for providing RH services.
okey, now that’s better, framing the debate on the implementation of policy.. well, to be fair, wouldn’t it be better to address this in terms of the budget allocation for DOH, so that they wouldn’t need to kiss ass to the lords of these individual kingdoms?
While I agree on the redundancy of the bill, I do believe it is a nec. piece of paper if only to make a stand and a statement.
Consider the alternative? Wait for this so called “streamlining”, “ellimination of red tape”, etc. and in ten years we’ll have a few million more children who will grow up just as uneducated about birth control as their parents. It will never happen.
Filipinos are a notoriously DENSE bunch, and the Catholic church is the big gorilla on their back with its paws held tightly against their ears. This bill, while understandably a burden and most likely a means to increase bureaucracy, will at least bring us out of the dark ages and empower the agencies who have been trying to do their jobs. It’s a foot down, it’s a statement, one that says a powerful message:
We refuse to be saddled with the archaic catholic and conservative values that are doing nothing but keep us in the third world.
So yes, it’s more red tape, more bureaucracy, whatever, but can we really afford to wait for the changes you say you’d rather have? Do you even think that’s realistic? Can you tell your kids 15 years from now when they ask you why our streets are swamped with unsupervised children begging for alms, that you meant well in voting against it?
then, okey guys, how will this bill be implemented?
@blackshama,
they must still conform and discharge The Department of Health’s mandate..
you mis-undertand this sentence u bolded. that sentence means that the job that the DOH once had is now implemented by the LGU. including budget prioritization (i.e.including policy setting)
Spot on Nick. At the day’s end this measure if it becomes a law will become a ‘dead letter measure’ unless there is political will to implement it. Like many of our laws, the proverbial devil is in the details and absent proper IRRs. any law no matter how well meaning remains just that, well meaning. Among lobbyists in fact a law’s passage is just stage two of the battle. Those opposed to any measure can still effectively kill it by throwing monkey wrenches into the IRR’s crafting. This happens believe you me.he other reality is absent real public acceptance in the Philippine context the law, any law, takes on an “optional’ character.
Could it be that the RH bill is a condition for The UN , IMF and World Bank as prerequisites to their giving of Aids? It might be for legality purposes?
In 2002: “The World Bank and unidentified “foreign donors” have launched a $20 million (USD) campaign to push population control on the Philippines. Dubbed the “Maternal Health and Population Management Program,” the venture is set for implementation starting in 2004 or 2005. However, the Philippine government under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has resisted the population control push, with good reason. “
Recently: President Arroyo had committed to the United Nations that the Philippines would meet the 2015 target date for achieving the MDGs.In her speech at the 63rd United Nations General Assembly held in New York City last month, the President stressed that the Philippines has made solid gains in reducing poverty and hunger. The eight MDGs are the following: 1. eradication of hunger and poverty; 2. universal primary education; 3. gender equality and empowerment of women; 4. reduction of child mortality; 5. improvement of maternal health; 6. eradication of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 7. environmental sustainability; and 8. the development of global partnerships for development.
So let’s review what these people are saying:
Tatad said that while there is no “Church vote” during elections, those who are aspiring to seek public office in the year 2010 would still have to remember that their vote on the RH bill would affect their political careers.
“They have to think of their political future,” she said.
“The Church laity is campaigning against the bill. The congressmen have to think that they are representing the interest of their constituents. They are not there to represent their own personal interest.
“There is no Catholic vote but there is a Catholic backlash. The Church will not dictate who to vote, it is the freedom to think what is right according to their conscience.”
Yes it is redundant. Talking about implementation. we need money… Aids.
http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl107942.htm
Leytenian , you mean to say that the UN,IMF, and WB are the ones responsible for spreading Aids???
Karl,
AIDS as in donation. :)
(H/T to <a href=”http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-14-ateneo-professors-3.html?showComment=1225613640000#c3433650679288801138″.TE)
Based on the current population levels, implementing the bill would mean at least the following. This does not take into account future growth. This is just to hit par for the course.
1. The birth rate is around 25,3 per 1000 population. With a population of 80 million, this averages around 2.024 million per year. There are around 1610 municipalities in the country. This averages to around 1,257 births per year per municipality or 3.44 births a day.
The professors’ paper, (page 4) says “Section 6 of the bill enjoins every city and municipality to endeavor to employ adequate number of midwives or other skilled attendants to achieve a minimum ratio of one (1) for every hundred fifty (150) deliveries per year.”
This averages to 10 midwives or skilled attendants for every municipality. I admit this would help employment levels but can each municipality afford it?
Note that the bill delegates implementation to the municipalities. Because of the differences in how much municipalities can afford, implementation is sure to be uneven. This is exactly what the professors decry in their paper – see page 3. Moreover the wording of the bill using the words “enjoin” and “endeavor” (see quote above) clearly implies that this is not mandatory. The cities and municipalities can opt not to do this at its own discretion. How effective do the lawmakers really want this to be?
BTW, while implementation seems clearly discretionary, the curtailment of freedoms are clearly mandatory. Are we slowly moving towards a police state?
2. As we already calculated, at 5 hospitals per 500,000 (or 10 hospitals per million people), we would need to have a total of 800 hospitals or around 10 hospitals per province. The wording of the bill here, again also implies this is not mandatory – “instructs each province and city to seek to establish…”
In other words the bill is telling the provinces to try to come up with the needed hospitals and the municipalities to try to hire the personnel. And how should that work? The hospitals will be run by the provinces and the midwives will be employed by the municipalities. How do you get the health care services to be consistent? What if the provincial government builds the hospitals but the municipalities will not hire the staff?
But by constructing it this way, the complexity the authors of the bill built into it makes it easy for corruption to be practiced. I wonder how many millions the senators and congressmen will make out of this.
3. Playing some more with averages. 1610 municipalities, 81 provinces averages to 20 municipalities per province. At 10 midwives per municipality, that comes to 200 midwives per province. At 10 hospitals per province, that averages to 20 midwives per hospital.
Add doctors, nurses and administrative staff, it looks like the smallest such hospital could theoretically be a 40-staff hospital. My guess would be around a 20-bed hospital. At 3.44 births a day, the hospitals would have to operate at least 2 shifts a day plus on-call duties. Some of them would be operating 24×7. I’m estimating an operating budget of at least 12 million a year.
To build a hospital this size, I’d estimate around say 25 million to build. Equipment would be probably be another 5 million. These might be low, Willy, but each one of these could take 30 million to build and equip and another 12 million a year to run.
To build 800 hospitals would need around 24 billion pesos and another 9.6 billion a year to operate. If we add a 50% corruption factor it would require an expenditure of 36 billion or roughly 2.5% of GDP just to build the hospitals. According to FDC: “The proposed (2009) P1.415-trillion total budget obligations would be funded by P1.393 trillion worth of revenues thus creating a deficit of P21.66 billion. P302.650 billion will go for interest payments of outstanding debts.”
However, the budget does not count the principal amortization for outstanding debt, which is pegged at P378.866 billion. In truth, this makes the real deficit to be at P400.53 billion pesos instead of P 21.66 billion, according to FDC. Without this bill, the government is already planning to spend 130% of expected revenues next year!
If this bill passes, does the country really have the money to implement it? Shouldn’t the lawmakers be concentrating on creating wealth instead?
Finally!
Nicely done, Nick.
Could it be that the RH bill is a condition for The UN , IMF and World Bank as prerequisites to their giving of Aids? It might be for legality purposes? – Leytenian
Could be.
NSSM 200 has never been repudiated by the U.S.
Nick, declaring the bill ‘redundant’ would suit the status quo just fine.
Kudos to Nick for putting this debate in the proper perspective. Finally!
I agree 100% that this bill is redundant. We do not need to legislate a separate policy for promoting reproductive health because everything written in this bill can be found in the mandate of the Executive via the DOH. Let the DOH do its job. Let the LGUs do their job in the case of devolved basic services. At the end of the day, the LGUs would have to carry out the functions of the agencies that were devolved to them anyway.
With regard to the bill itself, a few quick points:
1. Penalties and Sanctions. Why should I be penalized if I refuse to administer what to my mind is wrong? That is my belief. My judgement. Do I automatically lose my right to choose just because I am a Catholic?
2. The contention that contraceptives are also essential medicines. When I think of essential, what comes to mind is basic. Hence essential or basic Medicine would mean something like paracetamol which is used to treat or heal ailments such as a simple cold. Does this mean that pregnancy or moreso fertility can now be likened to a simple cold that can be treated by something as basic and essential as paracetamol?
3. The provision saying that mandatory sex education be taught in schools from the 5th grade to the end of highschool. Those with the propensity to have large families in the first place are also the ones who do not have access to education at all. Why not make EDUCATION accessible and not just singling out sex education which inherently should be the parents’ responsibility and not the State’s?
4. Lastly, I don’t want my taxes to go to condoms and IUDs etc. I’d rather they go to education and infrastructure. Infrastructure attracts investments. Investments create employment. Education and employment make people empowered and responsible. Educated,responsible and empowered people do not need to be imposed on.
I truly support the passage RH Bill to enhance our financial
family planning.because,majority of our population is finan-
cially corrupt.not only we are populating our country but.
we are cluttering it.”GOD”said in Gennesis, Be Multiplied
but be Responsible.Faith with out action is Dead.”JESUS”
said in Mathew, Be aware before generation many false pro-
phet will come many will be corrupt,or many will be decieve,
and many will suffer.they will try to figure “ME” out base
upon thier oun understanding,they will condem my people
by my sake,or by my Name,just like they crusified me at
the Cross.if you think the religeous righteous,the political
power,and the people power will save the world.you must be
corrupt.By Grace We are Save.not because of your own good
work or your own goodness.even thou you prophesising my Name
but you hipocrite you practise lowlesness i never knew you.
Depart from Me your worse enemy live inside you.History is
“GOD”story. Hindi tayo humihinga sa mundong ito nang dahil
sa ating dangal.Pride,Dignity,Ego,Self-righteounes,popularity,
etcs.this are the greatest sin in the”BIBLE”.IF 90 percent
of our population dont have”GODLY” Moral Principle then 90
percent will be corrupt.we need to humble our self to one
another or else we are all gonna suffer.the greatest Com-
mandment in the Bible is Love one Another as you Love”ME”.
“GOD”is not Religion,its about Relationship.
i agree with jen. it’s good for nick to point out the redundancy of the RH bill, but it’s also good for jen to dwell on specifics. my five-cents’ worth:
i wonder why some people insist it’s the church meddling in the affairs of the state here. it’s the state encroaching on the turf of the church, condemning a well-formed conscience as “archaic”, dignifying a permissive “morality” into a law and then imposing it on people or else…?
you have a very good point there (#1) Jen. indeed, why should i be penalized for not doing what i believe is wrong?
what supporters of the bill do not see is its long-term implications. their horizon is just 2 inches from their noses. people should wonder why otherwise intelligent lawmakers, media people, etc. would jump into the RH bill bandwagon while remaining blind to its consequences.
loads of moolah involved here, believe it or not.
Clarification and rejoinder to my second point:
On the section that Classifies contraceptives as essential medicine. What I find also objectionable is how contraceptives are being placed at the same level of importance as medicine. Medicines save lives, treat patients, cure ailments. Contraceptives prevent a life from being conceived. Calling contraceptives as essential medicines is tantamount to reducing pregnancy and fertility into a “disease” or “ailment”. Since when did the ability to bear children ever become a sickness or an ailment?
Jen, you’re right. This reminded me of the “Ligtas-Buntis” campaign of the gov’t several years ago — following a “Ligtas-Tigdas” program wherein people were vaccinated against measles. If I’m not mistaken, the Ligtas Buntis campaign came during the time of another house bill aimed at population control. “Ligtas Buntis” as if a woman needed to be rescued or protected from danger.
I wish the DOH made sure that all health centers around the country consistently had a ready supply of REAL essential medicines — to prevent and treat colds, cough, TB, diarrhea, and the like. Instead of birth control pills and condoms, stock up on vitamins — which would be invaluable to poor and/or undernourished families.
Instead of dispensing “contraceptives” to supposedly avoid maternal mortality, hospitals and health centers ought to provide infanticipating women with prenatal vitamins, folic acid, iron, calcium supplements. Improved maternal health, after all, is one of the aims of the RH bill, I believe. We don’t need a new bill to address this concern.
“P.S. to HB 5043 – reproductive health bill” full comment here
Jen,
Two points:
- While I contest the idea that “sex education is not the duty of the State” — I will argue that it is, I should emphasize that sex education should really, really be focused on out-of-school adolescents. Relegating it to public schools should not be the be-all and end-all of that education; that being said, it should not be considered illegal and/or immoral for public schools to have it in their curriculum.
It must be there; I do not believe a person can be called “properly educated” without knowledge about sexuality and reproductive health.
- “Letting the DOH do its job” does include the distribution and administration of reproductive health procedures and products including condoms, pills, IUDs, etc. My wife herself got her IUD from a public health center, after our first child.
Dismissing contraceptives as a personal expense for those who cannot afford them but wish to employ them deprives those people from choice as well. That being said I concur that it shouldn’t be considered as “essential”.
Lastly banning the distribution of contraceptives from public health centers should be made illegal as my reaction to the ordinance set by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza in his term. It is part of the mandate of the Department of Health to distribute them, and thus he his preventing the DOH from fulfilling its mandate.
Hi Jon,
Call me old-fashioned, conservative, prudish, or whatever, it’s just that I don’t believe there should be a separate curriculum just for reproductive health alone.
Why? Because it should be taught in biology class scientifically just the way all the other organ systems are taught (the respiratory, the circulatory, the gastrointestinal, the cardiovascular etc). By approaching it scientifically (biologically), the youth will be able to appreciate the value of human life from the moment of conception, to the different stages of development, and until the baby is born. Human life will thus be treated with respect. I’m just afraid that a new curriculum will alter the way reproduction ought to be taught.
I agree with your take regarding the out of school youth. However, I believe the greater need is to bring them back to school. Make education accessible to them. Teaching them reproductive education only as opposed to giving them the whole deal would be like cherry picking. It limits their ability to make real informed choices. Which is also why I believe that the resources allocated in this bill should instead be poured into EDUCATION, basic services, primary and preventive health care, and even mental health.
Jen,
If it is included in the biology curriculum (as I suppose it is — it’s where I got most of my sex education, as a high school student of PSHS, which *is* a public institution — although we don’t follow the DepEd standard curriculum) it should definitely be intensive, deemed fundamental, and can and should not be arbitrarily stricken off syllabi or curricula, as perhaps Catholic schools are bound to do (which I do not have knowledge of, since I didn’t take my highschool education in a Catholic institution).
That being said, cherry picking reproductive health is as important as, say, “cherry picking” livelihood or vocational skills to give unschooled individuals a chance to apply for jobs or find their own livelihoods. We could idealize and say “everybody should be given access to education” all we want, but it will take decades to implement that considering where we are, and leaving those who are already out of school and already uneducated out of the equation will be as dangerous as considering the RH bill as the be-all and end-all of the population question conundrum.
And yes Jen, from now on I’ll call you a prude ;)
…it’s such a nice open discussions on Reproductive Health/Family Planning … Re: RH Bill- i strongly support for its passage into law.
If the rich people can easily afford to go to private clinics/hospitals for their RH/FP services, the poor families can’t!
The poor families can only depend on the free gov’t services including free ligation,no-scalpel vasectomy, pills, condoms,etc of which the services/supplies are scarce nowadays, (not even allowed in Manila during Atienza’s time) thus adding more unintended pregnancies/children to poor families particularly in the slum areas where they would have wanted to PLAN their families because of extreme financial difficulties.
If we or the rich families have no problems re: access and availability of RH/FP services, the poor greatly needs it! but it is still Informed Choice and still they have the options whether Natural or Artificial, what is safe, effective and best method for them! will let them decide!
If we want to prevent abortion, we have to prevent unintended pregnancies, we have to educate them of the various methods to prevent pregnancy,let’s not restrict them to Natural FP only! we know that there are cases where NFP is not applicable to the couples or the particular woman,she has to know other options! but it should be clear that Abortion is not one of the methods, and is NOT a contraception.
If we want to do something to lessen the problems of our society, let’s educate them to be RESPONSIBLE! the poor also deserves and can have a Quality Life also,
by … at least, to PLAN the number of children they can afford to provide for their needs and guide/attend to them and not to be malnourished or children in the streets,begging, snatching,etc. and eventually becoming criminals … thus, adding more problems to our already problematic society.
Let us all remember that, WE or our family members, loved ones, (rich or poor) can be victimized,affected by the problems of our society, so we have to be SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE!
PRO QUALITY LIFE Training & Dev’t. Inc.
(Advocating Poverty Reduction and Quality of Life for the Poor Filipinos)
e-add: proqualitylife@gmail.com
I do agree in supporting the passage of the RH bill,
to enhance the growth control of our population, We
need to educate them about Financial Family Planning,
because majority of our population is in financial
crisis,not only we are populating our country,but
we are cluttering it.I believe in Absolute Scien
tifical General knowledge.”GOD”uses good Technology,
and good doctors.”GOD”said in Genesis:Be Multiply
but,Be Responsible.HE gave us this world to be
Responsible,and this should be our purpose in life.
Lack of knowledge people perish.”JESUS” said in
Mathew:Be aware before generation many riligious
righteous or false prophet will come, many will be
decieve,and many will suffer.They will try to figure
“ME” out with their own riligoin,or ligalistic
Mentality,and condem many by my sake,just like
when they persecuted “ME” at the Cross.They appear
so beautiful outward, but inside they are full of
dead mens bone.”JESUS”said why do you call your
self father,people revere you,and testify to you
for there sin.No one come to the “FATHER” except
thru “ME”.”I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND LIFE”depart
from “ME”your worse enemy live inside you.By My
Grace you are save,not of your own good works,or
your own goodness.If you think the riligeous
righteous,the political power,and the people
power will save the world,you must be on denial.
If 90 percent of our population dont have”GODLY”
Moral Principle,or Biblical understanding,then
90 percent is corrupt.our form of Government,or
form of Leadership is base upon “GOD” Standard.
History is “GOD”story.Pride,Ego,Self Righteous,
popularity.this are the greatest sin in the bilble.
Be aware of false teaching,and who you vote this
comming election. “GOD BLESS PHILIPPINES”
its just so morbid……
you’re still alive,but what they want is to kill you right away….
Implementation process and approving a law are two different things. As it is today, there is no law enforcing population control and thus we continue to balloon. Hopefully with this law we can start somewhere.
A lot of misguided people are opposing the bill in view of religious beliefs, that’s shallow and irresponsible. There is no biblical basis for that. In fact, contrary to that, God told us to be responsible parents and good steward of earth’s resource. Without planned parenthood and artificial contraception, it is a lot more difficult to achieve desired family size and thus affecting our ability to provide better life for our children.
Hey Nick!
You’re the second person I like with your comments on the RH bill. The first one I read was Neigyl from this website http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/reproductive-health-bill-5043/text-of-rh-bill-no-5043/#comment-8696
I also posted my response there.
True for me, too. the RH bill is a redundancy that our coutry would not need. What I would like to emphasize the the RH bill, or any law that would tend to control the population, is an illogical solution to poverty. The most practical solutions that I have read, and since convinced, is the HYPERWAGE THEORY by JT Bens (or Thads Bentulan). You must have read about it already as I see related blogs on this website. Increase the wages of workers to first world levels should take us out of poverty.
How about practicality and real results? The proponents of the bill claim that because of contraception, abortion will be prevented. They say that it does not intend to legalize abortion. Look around. Who are the countries that pioneered contraception and gave us the same argument? Is abortion illegal according to their laws? Where are the “innocent” claims that they use to have? Is it because they respect the right of a woman to murder her child or because their claims are not true in the first place and would never be true, ever?
bakit ba napaka big deal sa mga religious group ang rh bill? family planning is a choice of the parents. what the law wanted is to teach these parents to make the right choice and not to commit crime. When all of us face our creator on judgement day he will not ask us whether we are using a contraceptive or not. rather, he will ask how did we took care of the gift he betowed on us as parents. kung ang isang magulang anak lang nang anak at hindi nag-iisip kung kaya nyang maibigay ang magandang kinabukasan, anong future meron ang kanilang maraming anak? they will just become a weed of our society because they were not given a good future by their parents. lucky for manny pacquiao he is now a billionaire. he can even have 30 children from jinky. that is, if jinky is capable of bearing that 30 children without making her health ang figure suffer. It is in the bible that god commanded us to multiply but is 2 x 2 not a multiplication? come on… do we need 2 x 50 to say that we have multiplied and accomplished god’s command
ang sino man nagpasa sumuporta tingin po ninyo tatangapin po ba kayo ni god kung nagharap na kayo sa langit,,,, baka dito palang sa lupa karma na ang katapat niyo,,,, lalo kana congressman… kaw din mahirap ang karma,,,, buti kung karma lang ang tatangapin niyo po,,, e kung panu hindi ka tatangapin sa heaven,,,,