After investing significant political capital to push the passage of the Reproductive Health Act, President Aquino’s zeal appears to be flagging in implementing the law.
Principal authors of the measure, notably Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Pia Cayetano, are up in arms over the slashing of P1 billion from this year’s appropriation for contraceptives and other family planning programs. RH proponents said the cut was engineered by lawmakers who lost the battle to stop the passage of the law. But the President could have vetoed the cut – and he did not.
This means another year lost for many women who have waited for access to reproductive health services. Contraceptives and reproductive health services have been around for decades in this country, but they have been available mainly to women with sufficient education and financial means. These women have enjoyed the right to reproductive health and the freedom of informed choice in planning their families.
The RH Law aims to level the playing field for poor women and put the nation closer to the achievement of UN Millennium Development Goals on reproductive health as well as maternal and infant mortality. The RH program also complements efforts to curb the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus, which is spreading at an alarming rate in this country.
Yesterday Malacañang pointed out that even with the P1-billion cut, there is still over P2 billion allocated for the RH program this year. Still, that P1 billion is a huge amount that could have helped millions of underprivileged women and their families.
Implementation of the RH Law was delayed enough by legal challenges that were finally set aside with finality last year. The program should be moving at full speed. President Aquino, who has supported the measure since his days as a congressman, should make sure the executive branch does not become a party to the delay.