PB seeks barangay discussions on RH Bill

CEBU, Philippines - The Provincial Board of Cebu (PB) has called on mayors of component cities and municipalities to initiate barangay-level discussions on the controversial Reproductive Health Bill.

PB members supported the move of Board Members Arleigh Jay Sitoy and Ribomapil Holganza, Jr. who heads the Liga ng mga Barangay in the Province of Cebu.

Sitoy and Holganza are requesting the mayors to initiate the discussions on the proposed House Bill 4244 or “The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011.”

The said bill has become a highly contentious social issue not only discussed among the religious circles, the academe but also even among ordinary Filipinos.

While the bill has become a divisive issue, Sitoy said a “sober and intelligent discussion on the matter is a necessary imperative.”

Sitoy said it is reasonable that barangay-level discussions be initiated on this issue rather than use government funds to aggressively campaign for or against it.

Sitoy believes that the choice to use contraceptives is a matter of individual conscience.

“Such that when couples choose after arriving at an informed judgement, no one should interfere with their choice,” Sitoy said.

Many congressmen are reportedly still noncommittal on the bill because of the Catholic Church’s influence.

The House’s consolidated version of the RH bill titled “An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population Development and for Other Purposes” is being deliberated for second reading. 

At the Senate, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III was reported to have been saying that his fellow legislators should stop debating about the bill and instead look at the alleged anomaly in the health department’s handling of the family planning program since 2008. He claimed that the Department of Health “mishandled” P423 million as many local government units complained they did not receive anything. (FREEMAN)