Groups call on presidential candidates to take a stand on the Reproductive Health bill. (Photo courtesy of Dodie Lucas, PLCPD)

MANILA - Reproductive health advocates on Friday urged presidential candidates to lay bare their proposals to handle the country's population growth rate as well as their position on the controversial Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill, also known as the RH bill.



Ramon San Pascual, executive director of the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), said the recent statements made by Catholic leaders threatening the withdrawal of support for Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's presidential bid has made the reproductive health debate an electoral issue.



"Reproductive health as an issue has matured to the point that the candidates and the electorate have a clear appreciation for it. It affects mothers and fathers who are having problems raising their kids. It affects the single people who are planning for marriage. Family planning and reproductive health are topics that are close to the heart of ordinary people and now that it has been touched on by the Church, it has become a legitimate electoral issue," San Pascual said in a Quezon City forum.



He added: "The candidates therefore should make their positions very clear. What are their positions on neonatal health? How about maternal deaths and lack of access to family planning services? These are issues that should be articulated by the candidates and their parties."



Aquino recently came under fire from Catholic leaders, particularly Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, after the senator expressed support for House Bill No. 5043 or the RH bill.



San Pascual said Aquino is not the lone potential presidential candidate who has expressed support for the RH bill. Aside from Aquino, he said Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Sen. Francis Escudero, both potential candidates, have also backed the bill.



San Pascual said all candidates should make reproductive health a central issue in the elections by articulating their stand on the proposed law.



"The best way to handle the issue is to be honest about it. Keeping silent about it shows the kind of character you have. People are looking for candidates who are forthright, have integrity and who stand by their word," he told abs-cbnNEWS.com.



He said candidates should also accept the challenge laid down by Catholic leaders that pro-RH legislators would face Catholic pressure in the 2010 elections.



"If certain bishops say they will take away votes from you, there are many other groups who can say that they will vote for you. The RH bill speaks to a broad constituency and those groups will support those who back the RH bill," he said.



Elizabeth Angsioco, secretary-general of the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network, also said various women groups are taking up the cudgels for candidates who have been on the receiving end of Catholic pressure because of their stand on the RH bill.



"It is true that the Catholic hierarchy puts pressure on candidates that they oppose. We have seen it in past elections. However, the other part of the equation is that pressure does not work. In relation to Noynoy, Teodoro and the other presidential candidates, women's groups and nongovernment organizations who support the RH bill will support [these] candidates. This is actually an improvement over the past elections because candidates before would just remain mum on the issue," she said.



She also said the RH debate is a test of the candidates' principles and character. "Kung kaunting pitik lang e uurong ka na, eh it says something also about your principles," she said.



14-year delay



San Pascual said the House of Representatives should act now and vote on HB5043 before Congress goes on recess on October 15.



Angsioco also denied claims made by some Catholic bishops that the RH bill is railroaded in the Lower House. She said the first bill that covered reproductive health was submitted by then Bukidnon 1st District Rep. Socorro Acosta in July 1995.



"How can people say that we are railroading when it has been stalled in Congress for the past 14 years? Fourteen years is more than enough time for the bill to be discussed, evaluated and finally passed," she said.



Angsioco said more than 150 congressmen have pledged support for the RH bill including 132 Lower House members who have signed up to be co-authors of House Bill No. 5043. She said this means that only about 50 congressmen are undecided or opposed to the bill.



"In terms of numbers, the RH bill already has that. If they took a vote today, I am certain it will pass," she said.



On the other hand, she said some legislators have engaged in delaying tactics to ensure that the bill would not be passed before Congress goes on recess. In a recent House session to discuss the bill, three congressmen stood up and asked for additional time to discuss the merits of HB 5043.



"It seems that the minority is holding hostage the legislative process," she said.



Angsioco said that in this Congress, 14 out of the 90 session days were spent on discussing the RH bill. She said that while Congress continues to dilly-dally on the bill, more families are doing without access to potentially lifesaving procedures such as vasectomies and ligations that would help them plan their families.



Bishop Rodrigo Tano of the Interfaith Partnership for the Promotion of Responsible Parenthood also criticized some Church people for threatening potential candidates that they would lose the support of the Catholic Church if they support the RH bill.



"This is a misuse of religious authority. As a churchman, I do not agree that we should use our ecclesiastical position to blackmail candidates. Our Constitution clearly allows freedom of the practice of belief and religion and it upholds the separation of Church and State. Religious authority should not be used to threaten," he said.



"It's really a matter of rights. Our candidates should be free to make their own judgments on what programs to support without the threat of religious blackmail," he added.