Women's agency under Palace backs Reproductive Health Bill

The government office that acts as advisory board to the President on matters regarding the advancement of women yesterday expressed its support for the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, believing that “God would understand” a couple’s family planning choice.

While waiting for President Arroyo to announce her official position on the RH Bill, National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women-Office of the President (NCRFW-OP) executive director Emmeline Verzosa said she supports the passage of the bill.

“We know that she (President Arroyo) has been supporting that position, we know that for a long time she did not favor the RH Bill… She knows that we advocate the RH Bill. The RH Bill is among our women’s priority legislative agenda,” Verzosa said during yesterday’s seminar on “Wellness in Body, Spirit, Environment and Economics for Peace and Nation Building.”

She believes that the bill on the Magna Carta of Women has better chances of becoming one of the Chief Executive’s legacies because it is already in the bicameral committee, while the RH bill may see progress some other time.

The national government has left it up to the local government units on what family planning method to promote. So far, more than 20 LGUs support the use of contraceptives.

As a sign of their support for the cause, the NCRFW attends congressional hearings on the bill and circulates its own petition papers.

Verzosa said they have submitted their position papers to the proper committees in the House and the Senate.

“We are still hopeful that the RH Bill would be signed. But in terms of content we are not sure what it will say, what would be retained in the bill. I think it would be important for the Philippines to have a national policy on RH that would protect the lives of women, and reduce the number of maternal deaths in line with our commitment to the Millennium Development Goals,” she said, stressing that women should be given the freedom to decide on the number of babies that they would have. – With Helen Flores