House to decide on RH bill next week

HONG KONG – The House of Representatives will determine the fate of the proposed Reproductive Health bill next week. Deputy House Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III said legislators would decide whether to continue debates on the proposed RH bill or proceed with amendments. 

“We would ask that the Reproductive Health bill be voted on the issue whether to continue still with the debates and interpolation or to terminate. That would be a signal. If we vote to terminate, that means the process proceeds to period of amendments and eventually hopefully a final vote on the bill. That will happen on Aug. 7,” Tañada said in an interview after speaking before the Confederation of Ilocano Associations here last Sunday.

Aside from the Responsible Parenthood bill, President Aquino identified the amendments to the mining law and the anti-money laundering act (AMLA), and the “sin tax” reform bill as priority measures in his third State of the Nation Address last July 23.

The House has approved its version of the Sin Tax bill, which would raise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products to generate additional revenues for the government.

“I am sure we’ll work on the AMLA that would pass without any problems,” Tañada said.

The deputy speaker said Congress would also work on the proposed measure that would allow bigger government share in mining activities.

“But it will be very tight. I am in favor of that. It is at the committee level. If that bill passes the committee level even by the first week of August, maybe there will be time to even pass that,” Tañada said.

“So these are bills that I don’t think that there’ll be that much of a debate. And outside of that, I think it will be left to both chambers of Congress to push their own bills which they feel are priority on their part,” he added.

Next month, the House would start working on the proposed P2.006-trillion national government 2013 expenditure program.

“When the first week of September comes, all pending legislative measures will be put (on) hold. We start discussing the budget. We will try as much as possible to pass on second or third reading all that is pending in plenary at this point. So we will see,” Tañada said.  

Prayer rallies

Various dioceses and archdioceses of the Catholic Church would be holding prayer rallies three days before congressmen are set to cast their vote on the RH bill, to offer prayers and demonstrate their opposition to the passage of the proposed legislative measure.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma told Radio Veritas yesterday that the different dioceses and archdioceses would be holding prayer rallies in their respective areas.

In Metro Manila, the prayer rally would be done at the EDSA Shrine, also known as the Mary Queen of Peace Shrine. 

“This is to demonstrate our sentiment on our advocacy for life,” said Palma, who asked the legislators to vote according to their conscience. 

A recent survey showed that the Philippines had the most believers in God. Pope Benedict XVI has chosen the Philippines as the next venue for the International Eucharistic Congress.

In the CBCP statement, Palma reiterated the Catholic Church’s belief that every birth is a gift from God. “Our country’s positive birth rate and a population composed of mostly young people are the main players that fuel the economy. Even our Constitution acknowledges that human resource is a primary source of social and economic force,” he said.

Palma pointed out that even the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas cited the big contribution of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in boosting the economy. 

“It is therefore quite disturbing when the country is told that having too many children is a burden to the national budget,” he said.

The CBCP president believes that the population control policy through the RH bill would hinder the country’s economic growth. 

He added that some countries are experiencing a slow economy because they lack young workers and have inadequate support for their aging population. “There is a grave reason to worry when the government would rather suppress the population through RH bill instead of confronting the real causes of poverty,” he said.

Fr. Melvin Castro, CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) executive secretary, said that the prayer rally slated on Aug. 4 would be called “Prayer Power Against the RH Bill” and would be held from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m.