Public sentiment is the sum of single temperaments and beliefs with respects to of import issues. Public sentiment holds great importance in democracies because a democracy, by its very definition, connotes a signifier of authorities that is antiphonal to the people. Democracy is most frequently defined as a set of processs and establishments intended to do the holders of political power straight responsible to the electorates. The quality of democratic authorities is measured by the reactivity of public policymakers to the penchants of the mass populace. For that ground, public sentiment will ever play an of import function in policy-making procedure in the Philippines, a democratic state. Positions and sentiments of the general populace should be taken into consideration in formulating, passing and implementing a policy. Hence, stakeholders and involvements groups ‘ functions are really critical in impacting policy results since stakeholders and involvement groups are the agencies through which public sentiment is brought in the Halls of the Congress. In position of this, the authorities is faced with the demand to equilibrate the conflicting positions of different stakeholders, involvement and force per unit area groups in the decision-making procedure. This is clearly exemplified in the controversial Reproductive Health measure.
This paper surveies the different stakeholders involved in the Reproductive Health Bill and the grade in which they affect policy result based on the resources and resource mobilisation capacities they have. The first portion of this paper includes definition and the presentation of wellness and population state of affairs in the Philippines. The 2nd portion focuses with the commissariats, arguments and advocate of RH measure. The 3rd portion provides an analysis of the different stakeholders and resources and resource mobilisation capacity that they have. Last, the scrutiny of how these stakeholders and involvement groups can really impact policy result and the grade on which they affect it.
The contention of RH measure led to many deductions. Generative wellness is now a proverb that enthralled the public attending. Therefore, there is a demand to specify the term based on a standard definition. “ Generative wellness addresses the generative procedures, maps and system at all phases of life. Generative wellness implies that people are able to hold a responsible, hearty and safe sex life and that they have the capableness to reproduce and the freedom to make up one’s mind if, when and how frequently to make so ” ( World Health Organization ) .
Although this appears to be the lone definition of the term in any international papers, the definition implicitly implies that generative wellness includes the right of work forces and adult females to be informed of and to hold entree to safe, effectual, low-cost and acceptable methods of birthrate ordinance of their pick, and the right of entree to allow wellness attention services that will enable adult females to travel safely through gestation and childbearing and supply twosomes with the best opportunity of holding a healthy baby ( International Conference on Population and Development, 1994 ) .
Of the eight Millennium Development Goals, accomplishing cosmopolitan entree to reproductive wellness by 2015 is one of the two marks of Goal 5, Bettering Maternal Health. Due to this, a comprehensive survey of the generative wellness in the Philippines is greatly needed and in bend, to develop and really implement a policy that will give Filipinos equal opportunities to the right to reproductive wellness and develop plans that will seek to turn to jobs related to generative wellness in the state.
Over the past 30 old ages, developing states ‘ population have rise up about twice the rate of those in the developed and advanced states. As an consequence, a figure of people have caught up with high baby mortality, low life anticipation, disease, malnutrition and illiteracy. Rapid population growing causes troubles in pull offing economic and societal alterations, including the reconciliation of the fruits of economic development attempts ( Leverage International, 2011 ) .
Governments of the Third World states and every bit good as of those developed states recognized that the measuring of economic development is non based merely on economic indexs such as income distribution but besides by the quality of life of its people ( Leverage International, 2011 ) .
Philippines, as a underdeveloped state, experiences rapid population growing. Harmonizing to the 2007 Census by the National Statistics Office ( NSO ) , the Filipino population was 88.57 million and the estimated population as of 2010 is 94.3 million and this made the state as the 12th most thickly settled state in the universe. This high population consequences to high infant mortality rate which is 19.94 % in 2010. In add-on to this, the life-time hazard of maternal decease in the Philippines is 1 in every 140, harmonizing to United Nations International Children Emergency Fund ‘s State of the World ‘s Children 2009 study. Each twenty-four hours, approximately 11 Filipino female parents – or 4,500 each twelvemonth – dice because of hypertensive upsets, terrible bleeding or other labor- or abortion-related jobs. The state is besides portion of a group of 68 states where 97 % of world-wide maternal, neonatal and child wellness deceases occur.
Furthermore, the county is witnessing the fastest spread of the human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) in its history. Five new HIV instances are recorded mundane harmonizing to the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health.
High infant mortality rate, high maternal mortality rate and a figure of HIV instances are non the lone jobs that the Philippines is sing in relation to reproductive wellness. Because of the deficiency of a concrete generative wellness and household planning policy and plan in the state, unwanted gestation incidences become high. Due to this, Filipino adult females are forced to undergo induced abortion as one of the methods that they use to run into their generative ends. Although abortion is illegal in the Philippines, and despite the possible harmful effects of an insecure abortion for adult females ‘s wellness and life, many adult females resort to abortion to run into their family-size ends or to infinite births ( The Guttmacher Institute, 2003 ) .
The Incidence of Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Current Degree and Recent TrendsA ( 2005 ) , a survey conducted by Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Susheela Singh, and Rubina Hussain for the Guttmacher Institute revealed the followers:
Six in 10 Filipino adult females say they have experienced an unintended gestation at some point in their lives. About 1.43 million gestations each twelvemonth — about half of all gestations in the Philippines — are unintended.
Some 54 % of adult females who have ended an unintended gestation by abortion were non utilizing any household planning method when they conceived. Of those who were practising contraceptive method, three-quarterss were utilizing a traditional method.
The mean Filipino adult female wants 2.5 kids. In order to accomplish that end, she must pass more than 19 old ages utilizing effectual prophylactic methods.
However, about half of all married adult females of generative age have an unmet demand for effectual contraceptive method — that is, they are sexually active, are able to hold kids, do non desire a kid shortly or of all time, but are non utilizing any signifier of contraceptive method or are utilizing traditional methods, which have high failure rates.
Aside from induced abortion that can take to deceases, other job due to the deficiency of generative wellness policy is the hazard of geting cervical malignant neoplastic disease. The Human Papillomavirus ( HPV ) is a sexually-transmitted, wart-forming virus that has been implicated in doing malignant neoplastic disease of the neck. This is the most common malignant neoplastic disease in adult females secondary to breast malignant neoplastic disease ( Department of Health, 2008 ) .
Due to these findings and other statistics such as high baby and mortality rates, these imply that there is an huge demand for a policy to guarantee the right to reproductive wellness in the Philippines. Although generative wellness has long been considered a basic cosmopolitan human right, this right remains elusive and illusory for 1000000s of Filipinos, particularly the hapless.
The first comprehensive version of generative wellness measure, House Bill 8110 or “ The Integrated Population and Development Act of 1999 ” was filed in the 11th Congress. Twelve old ages after, the state still does non hold a generative wellness policy and the issue of the current generative wellness measures remains a het and controversial issue as the first RH measure.
Today, the battle of RH advocators still continues for the transition of a comprehensive generative wellness measure.
House Bill 4244 or “ The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011 ” is the most recent version of a generative wellness measure that was filed in the fifteenth Congress. H.B. 4244 is popularly known as the amalgamate RH measure in permutation to the other generative wellness measures that are pending in the Congress. The other generative wellness measures are as follows:
House Bill 96 ( Rep. Edcel Lagman )
“ An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development and for Other Purposes ”
House Bill 101 ( Rep. Janette Garin )
“ An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population Development and for Other Purposes ”
House Bill 513 ( Reps. Kaka Bag-ao and Warden Bello of Akbayan Partylist )
“ An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population and Development and for Other Purposes ”
House Bill 1160 ( Rep. Rodolfo Biazon )
“ An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and for Other Purposes ”
House Bill 1520 ( Rep. Judy Syjuco )
“ An Act to Protect the Right of the People to Information on Reproductive Health Care ”
House Bill 3368 ( Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela Women ‘s Party )
“ An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health for Women and Development and for Other Purposes ”
H.B 4244 ‘s aims are as follows:
To continue and advance regard for life, informed pick, birth spacing and responsible parentage in conformance with internationally recognized human rights criterions.
To vouch cosmopolitan entree to medically-safe, legal and choice generative wellness attention services and relevant information even as it prioritizes the demands of adult females and kids.
To recognize these ends, the amalgamate RH Bill has the undermentioned cardinal commissariats:
Mandates the Department of Health ( DOH ) and Local Health Units in metropoliss and municipalities shall function as the lead bureaus for the execution of this act.
Mandates the Population Commission, to be an affiliated bureau of the Department of Health, shall function as a organizing organic structure in the execution of this Act.
Provides for the creative activity of an enabling environment for adult females and twosomes to do an informed pick sing the household planning method that is best suited to their demands and personal strong beliefs.
The LGUs and the DOH shall guarantee that a Minimum Initial Service Package ( MISP ) for generative wellness, including maternal and neonatal wellness attention kits and services will be given proper attending in crisis state of affairss such as catastrophes and human-centered crises.
Provides for a maternal decease reappraisal in LGUs, national and local authorities infirmaries and other public wellness units to diminish the incidence of maternal deceases.
Merchandises and supplies for modern household planning methods shall be portion of the National Drug Formulary and the same shall be included in the regular purchase of indispensable medical specialties and supplies of all national and local infirmaries and other authorities wellness units.
Ensures the handiness of hospital-based household be aftering methods such as tubal ligation, vasectomy and intrauterine device interpolation in all national and local authorities infirmaries, except in forte infirmaries.
Provides for a Mobile Health Care Service in every Congressional District to present wellness attention goods and services.
Provides Mandatory Age-appropriate Reproductive Health Education get downing from Grade 5 to Fourth Year High School to develop the young person into responsible grownups.
The Department of Labor and Employment ( DOLE ) shall guarantee that employees respect the generative wellness rights of workers.
Mandates private and nongovernment generative wellness attention service suppliers to supply at least 48 ( 48 ) hours yearly of generative wellness services free of charge to indigent and low income patients, particularly to pregnant striplings.
Mandates metropoliss and municipalities to supply sexual and generative wellness plans for individuals with disablements ( PWDs ) .
Mandates the inclusion of the subjects on responsible parentage, household planning, suckling and infant nutrition as indispensable portion of the information given by local Family Planning office to all appliers for matrimony licence.
Mandates no less than 10 % addition in the honoraria of community-based voluntary workers, such as the barangay wellness workers, upon successful completion of preparation on the bringing of generative wellness attention services.
Creation of Congressional Oversight Committee ( COC ) which shall be composed of five ( 5 ) members each from the Senate and from the House of Representatives which shall supervise and guarantee the effectual execution of this Act, find the built-in failing and loopholes in the jurisprudence, recommend the necessary remedial statute law or administrative steps and execute such other responsibilities and maps as may be necessary to achieve the aims of this Act.
Penalizes the lawbreaker of this Act from one month to six months imprisonment or a all right ranging from 10 thousand to fifty thousand pesos or both such mulct and imprisonment at the discretion of the Court.
H.B 4244 screens all other six pending RH measures in the Congress but despite the clear intent of the measure, the passage of RH measure is long delinquent.
On the other manus, RH measure advocates see the transition of the amalgamate RH measure in the 15th Congress since it was already approved by the House Committee on Population and Family Relations last February 1 and it was besides approved by the Committee on Appropriations with a ballot of 20-3. Last March 8 which is by the way the International Women ‘s Day, RH measure reached the plenary. Biliran Representative Rogelio Espina, president of the Committee on Population and Family Relations, delivered his sponsorship address on Committee Report 664. Three of the six patrons of the measure besides delivered addresss pressing for its transition – Minority Leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, Gabriela partylist Representative Luz Ilagan and Akbayan partylist Representative Arlene “ Kaka ” Bag-ao.
Meanwhile, President Benigno Aquino III ordered Health Secreaty Enrique Ona to outline the Responsible Parenthood Bill that would possibly function as a “ in-between land ” between RH advocators and the Church. Furthermore, the President did besides non include RH measure as portion of his list of policy precedences after the Church issued a pastoral missive entitled Choosing Life, Rejecting RH Bill. Though Rep. Lagman believes that the Malacanang-sponsored version of the RH measure would non be able take the topographic point of a more comprehensive RH measure since it is limited to the issue of household planning and responsible parentage. Furthermore, Health Secretary Ona is a known advocator of generative wellness and household planning. His public dictums have confirmed that he, like his predecessor Sec. Espie Cabral, is unwavering in his belief that RH is a basic human right. Because of this, Cong. Lagman believes that the crafting of the Responsible Parenthood measure would and should non detain the transition of the amalgamate RH measure.
Cong. Edcel Lagman of the First District of Albay is the chief writer of the amalgamate RH measure. Harmonizing to him, the incidences of baby and maternal mortality in his ain territory are within the scope of the national norm. As a solution, they have set up lying-in clinics and delivering centres in the highland and island barangays of the first territory of Albay so as to guarantee that female parents in far flung barangays can be given exigency and basic obstetric attention. However, the job of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity goes beyond the First District of Albay. The preventable deceases of female parents and kids happen on a national graduated table so the demand to explicate a national policy on generative wellness is imperative.
Although he is a Catholic he believes that like many other Catholics in the state, they can be good Catholics and still back up a step like RH measure that puts a premium on quality of life and the protection and fulfillment of the basic human rights to reproductive wellness and sustainable human development. He besides noted that the word “ Catholic ” when used as an adjectival means across-the-board, advanced and broad. The opposite word of Catholic is conservative, shockable and intolerant. That is why it is really dry that the Catholic Church peculiarly the Catholic Bishops ‘ Conference of the Philippines ( CBCP ) strongly opposes RH measure.
Rep. Lagman is besides the newly-elect chair of one of the governing party in the state, the Lakas Kampi Catholic Muslim Democrats ( CMD ) . However, because of the nature of the party system in the Philippines, this place in his party would non vouch the transition of RH measure. Harmonizing to him, his co-workers are free to back up or oppose an issue as they see fit. Members of his party are non required to vote for or back up RH measure. It is interesting to observe that the former President and the incumbent representative of the 2nd territory of Pampanga, Rep. Gloria Arroyo, who is a member of the Lakas Kampi CMD is known to be a critic of RH measure.
In line with this, the conflicting positions on RH measure make non merely happen inside Congress. Central to the issue of RH measure is the political kineticss of the legion histrions involved in impacting the transition of the said measure. The different stakeholders and involvement groups play of import functions in the deliberation of the policy. This put the challenge to the legislators to equilibrate and to be able to accommodate the conflicting positions of these stakeholders and involvement groups.
But how did citizens get down to take part in the decision-making procedure?
Due to influx of information, there came a higher degree of consciousness among citizens. Peoples ‘s desire to take part in decision-making procedure amplified. People demand more of representation and engagement in the authorities. In less complex times, elected representation was a sufficient agency for most citizens to take part in authorities. Recently, for a figure of grounds, including the diverseness of citizens ‘ cultural heritage, needs, values, and involvements, that has been altering and of class, the alterations brought approximately by modernisation, there is now a strong desire for citizens to be involved loosely in administration and straight in policy determinations.
Governments, particularly in developing states, are really vulnerable and they are being assessed based on their economic and political public presentation. And one of the bases of a authorities ‘s political public presentation is its capacity to supply locales for people ‘s engagement and engagement. Hence, positions and sentiments of the general populace should be taken into consideration in formulating, passing and implementing a policy. For this ground, one of the biggest challenges which authorities faces is the demand to equilibrate the conflicting positions of different involvement groups in a peculiar policy. This job is really much observed in the issue of coming up with a generative wellness policy in the Philippines.
Conflicting positions and sentiments from legion histrions and stakeholders in the generative wellness measure have ever marred the transition of the said measure. Certain sectors and sections of the population will decidedly be affected upon the execution of the said policy and they besides have different positions sing the transition of RH measure. However, the stakeholders who have the resources to act upon or really find the success or failure of the generative wellness measure are the Roman Catholic Church, the adult females sector and pharmaceutical companies in the state. The tabular array below shows an analysis of the four primary stakeholders in the RH measure.
Stake-
holder
Interest in the Undertaking
( Stake-
holder ‘s Potential Impact on the Undertaking )
What does the undertaking expect the stakeholder to supply?
Perceived Attitudes
Stakeholder Strategy/Resources
Government
Political public presentation
High
– Provides financess to guarantee equal entree of people to preventives, generative wellness attention services, household planning information and the compulsory sex instruction
– Populace Service
– Rent-seeking functionaries
Roman Catholic Church
– Teachings and Principles of the Church ( Sacredness of Life )
– Credibility
– Has a really high ethos
– Conservative
– Lobbying/putting force per unit area on the government/policymakers to turn down the transition of the RH measure
– Consultation with the President ( national degree ) and with territory representatives through bishoprics ( local degree )
– Capacity to act upon public sentiment
Womans Organizations/Groups
Womans empowerment
High
– Cooperation with the authorities
– Disempowered
– Progressive
– Corporate action/mobilization for the pressing transition of a generative wellness measure
Pharmaceutical Companies
Net incomes
Low
– Brand and supply modern preventives for the authorities
Profit-oriented
From the stakeholders listed supra, the Catholic Church and organized adult females groups are the primary histrions in the argument in following a generative wellness policy in the state because they are the most seeable in footings of their run for or against the said policy.
The Catholic Church is the chief critic of the generative wellness measure because it argues that the policy is anti-life because it promotes the usage of modern contraceptive method steps. Besides, it argues that RH measure does non truly address poorness.
In the research worker ‘s interview with Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz and Carmelo Cruz, Catholic Bishops ‘ Conference of the Philippines ‘ ( CBCP ) News Editor, they said that the Catholic Church ‘s judgement in the political public presentation of former President Ferdinand Marcos that significantly contribute for doing EDSA People Power I happened in 1986 is the same as their resistance to the six pending generative wellness measures in the Congress. Their resistance to the immoral government of Pres. Marcos is the same as their resistance to an immoral policy, the generative wellness measure. ( This was besides written in CBCP ‘s Pastoral Letter entitled Choosing Life, Rejecting RH measure issued last January 30, 2011. )
Furthermore, they believe that it is non the hapless Filipino people who will profit from the execution of the generative wellness measure but the foreign proprietors of multinational pharmaceutical companies who will provide modern preventives. They besides believe that if a generative wellness measure will be enacted into jurisprudence, it will paved the manner for the debut and transition of other policies such as policies on divorce, clemency violent death and same sex matrimony. The Catholic Church believes that the transition of a generative wellness measure will deteriorate the reliable homo values and every bit good as the Filipino cultural values in conformity to the instructions of the Church.
Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz said that although generative wellness measure can decrease infant and maternal mortality, he argued that the ground behind baby and maternal mortality and morbidity is poverty and unaccessible to basic wellness attention services. Harmonizing to him, wellness attention services are unaccessible to hapless households because of bad administration and corruptness, services are non delivered to hapless communities because public functionary corrupt the money that is intended for communities ‘ public Helpance. For these grounds, the solution to infant and maternal mortality in the state is non the generative wellness measure, the solution needs to concentrate to the root causes of the job which is bad administration and poorness.
However, the Catholic hierarchy said that is non against the riddance of force against adult females, the intervention of chest malignant neoplastic disease, maternal and child wellness and nutrition and other elements of RH. It is merely against doing modern household planning methods available to adult females and twosomes and the instruction of gender and RH instruction to the young person. The Church believes that RH measure would go against the instructions of the Church specifically the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae which is the footing of the Church instruction that preventives are “ per se evil ” .
The Church has been firm in its base against RH measure. The Church is holding duologues to the current disposal to turn down RH measures that are pending in Congress. Furthermore, the Church through its archdioceses and bishoprics consults representatives from each territory for them to be convinced non to vote for RH measure. Besides, the CBCP issues statements to inform the public why RH measure should non be enacted into jurisprudence. And what is more of import is the impact of the Catholic Church in determining or act uponing public sentiment since bulk of Filipinos are Catholics. Some functionaries are threatened that their base sing the issue on RH measure might impact their political callings.
Because of the strong resistance of the Catholic Church to follow a generative wellness policy in the state and the resources it has to impact the determinations of public functionaries, the transition of the measure becomes impossible despite the demand for a generative wellness policy in the state. Last January 30, CBCP issued a pastoral missive against RH measure. As an consequence, the President did non include RH measure from among the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council ‘s policy measures that likely would unduly detain once more the transition of RH measure.
If the Catholic Church strongly oppose RH measure, organized adult females ‘s groups tell the other side of the narrative. Women ‘s organisations such as Gabriela Women ‘s Party and Likhaan Center for Women ‘s Health Inc. stalwartly run for the transition of RH measure. These RH advocator groups believe that the rights of people to reproductive wellness “ do non depend on a few powerful work forces make up one’s minding the destiny of adult females ” ( Likhaan, 2011 ) . In the explanatory note of House Bill 3368 introduced by Gabriela Women ‘s Party, it states that “ Filipino adult females do non hold to decease at childbearing merely because they are hapless, they do non hold to endure from undiagnosed cervical, chest, vulvar, ovarian or similar malignant neoplastic diseases of the generative system merely because they do non hold entree to adequately staffed and fit public wellness installations… Women do non hold to endure from untreated uterine fibroid or such similar conditions merely because diagnostic processs are dearly-won, adult females should non decease at childbearing because their babies need them for optimum attention, love and fondness if kids are to turn up to recognize their full potency as productive and responsible members of our society. ”
Due to these grounds, entree to reproductive wellness plans, resources and services for marginalized adult females needs to be guaranteed by the authorities. A national generative wellness policy is seen to offer wellness attention services that will fundamentally profit adult females, particularly the marginalized. Advancing generative wellness rights in a comprehensive, available, accessible, acceptable, and democratic mode is a long delinquent authorization of the Filipino authorities to its female population given the societal and economic worlds in the state. Hence, the blessing of legislators to go through RH measure is indispensable ( Likhaan, 2011 ) .
Harmonizing to Junice Demeterio-Melgar, the executive manager of Likhaan and Secretary-General of Reproductive Health Advocacy Network ( RHAN ) , household planning will salvage the lives of female parents because household planning changes the composing of child-bearing. This means that gestations in adult females who are considered at a higher hazard of deceasing from gestation and childbirth-related causes will be dramatically reduced. These are adult females who are excessively immature, excessively old, hold had excessively many kids or have had ceaseless gestations. Medical experts have stated that gestation in adult females below 18 or above 35 is considered high hazard. They have besides emphasized that adult females ‘s organic structures need anyplace from two to three old ages to to the full retrieve from the asperities of gestation and childbearing.
Furthermore, the World Health Organization concludes that if adult females have information and entree to preventives and are taught to utilize them decently, “ the autumn in maternal mortality is likely to be even greater than the autumn in the gestation rate. ”
With their battle for the transition of RH measure, adult females ‘s groups tied up with other RH advocators to coerce legislators to go through RH measure. Generative Health Advocacy Network ( RHAN ) , which has forty-three ( 43 ) national organisations with no less than 10,000 members in grassroots communities countrywide, continues to hold duologues with the President and with their recent duologue, RHAN reminded the President about his Social Contract, which included a committedness to responsible parentage based on informed pick and support to hapless households.
RHAN, specifically Likhaan, is disappointed with the President ‘s determination to fall back to a Responsible Parenthood Bill alternatively of a more comprehensive RH measure. Harmonizing to them, farther duologues of the President to CBCP will pin down his disposal into hold and inactivity, or force it to drop the freedom of pick rule in the President ‘s promise of responsible parentage since the Church will ever differ to any RH measure because its resistance to RH is based on the nucleus rule of human life, it is clear that immoveable spiritual beliefs are the bedrock of the bishops ‘ resistance to RH as pointed out by the recent CBCP ‘s pastoral missive. Further duologues or audiences will ne’er alter the stance of the Catholic Church.
Aside from duologues, advocators continue to keep fora and arguments on the issues of RH and human development from schools and universities to service nines and community-based organisations. In add-on, they hold mobilisations and mass meetings in forepart of Congress to coerce legislators to ordain the said measure.
Both stakeholders prove to be important and effectual in their run for or against RH measure. However, the Church as an established and one of the most powerful establishments in the state which affect public sentiment has an advantage in impacting the result of the said policy. However, RH advocates do non merely have the high quality of Numberss but they besides have the high quality of statements.
Although the Church has the capacity to influence or even determine public sentiment, possibly the instance on the argument on RH measure is isolated. Recent study consequences show that bulk of Filipino and Filipino Catholics support RH measure. Although the RH critics say that people are merely misinformed about the content of the step, advocators say that the capacity of Filipinos to understand an issue like RH, responsible parentage and population and development should non be underestimated. Peoples support the RH measure because they realize how of import it is to go a responsible parent. Filipinos besides believe that is non merely of import for them to be able to be after and infinite their kids, it is every bit of import that the State provide information on and entree to all signifiers of household planning methods.
The undermentioned informations are consequences of SWS and Pulse Asia studies:
Social Weather Station ( October 2008 )
71 % of Filipinos are in favour of the RH measure ;
76 % of Filipinos agree that there should be a jurisprudence necessitating authorities to learn household planning to the young person ; and
68 % believe that there should be a jurisprudence necessitating authorities to administer legal preventives like rubbers, pills and IUDs
Pulse Asia ( February 2010 )
93 % of Filipinos consider it of import to hold the ability to be after their households ;
82 % of Filipinos believe authorities should learn twosomes about all methods of household planning ;
Another 82 % of Filipinos say that it is the authorities ‘s responsibility to supply the people with cognition, services, and stuffs on all methods of household planning ;
75 % of Filipinos consider it of import that a campaigner for election includes modern household planning in the plan of action he will prosecute ;
64 % of Filipinos will vote for campaigners who publically promote modern methods of household planning with merely 6 % stating that they will non vote for such campaigners. The remainder were undecided ; and
A considerable bulk of Filipinos ( 63 % ) want the RH measure to be passed into jurisprudence with merely 8 % showing resistance to the step.
Even Catholics have spoken: They want the RH measure passed.
68 % of Catholics believe that authorities should administer free preventives to those who want them ( SWS 2008 ) .
76 % of Catholics agree that there should be a jurisprudence necessitating authorities to learn household planning to the young person ( SWS 2008 ) .
71 % of Catholics favor the transition of the RH measure versus merely 68 % of non-Catholics who endorse the measure ( SWS 2008 ) .
Religion ranks 9th out of 10 grounds why adult females do non utilize contraceptive method ( DOH Family Planning Survey 2006 ) .
RH critics say that people are misinformed about the existent content of the step. However, Rep. Lagman said that if people are misinformed, it is because of the calculated misinformation run being launched by the critics of the measure. The most vocal critics of the measure handily want the issue to be limited to the alleged immoralities of modern contraceptive method.
However, although the bulk of the Filipinos are non in line with the CBCP ‘s place on RH measure, the power of Church to influence and determine policy result has been proven in its battle to oppose RH measure. The Church ‘s sentiment on this affair is really decisive since it was able to detain the transition of RH measure until the present clip.
However, it is of import to underline that the Church ‘s instructions against contraceptive method is non infallible philosophy. Immediately after the release in 1968 of the encyclical Humanae Vitae, which was based on a minority study of the Papal Birth Control Commission and contrary to the bulk place permissive of preventive usage, Monsignor Fernando Lambrouschini, the so official spokesman for the Vatican, announced: “ attentive reading of the encyclical Humanae Vitae does non propose the theological note of infallibilityaˆ¦ It is non infallible. ” Catholics are allowed to oppose Church philosophy which is deemed non-infallible. Therefore, Catholics are allowed to oppose the Church ‘s instructions against contraceptive method.
Furthermore, RH measure is non merely about contraceptive method, RH has 11 elements, including, among others, maternal and child wellness and nutrition, intervention of chest and generative piece of land malignant neoplastic diseases, breastfeeding, gender instruction, riddance of force against adult females, intervention and bar of HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
RH even includes the intervention and bar of sterility and sexual disfunction. In other words, the measure is non merely about household planning. It will besides Help turn to the demands of twosomes who are holding trouble conceiving.
Similarly, RH is besides a tool for economic development. The execution of the Reproductive Health Bill could Help in controling the declining effects of rapid population growing. The RH Bill ‘s concrete commissariats on household planning methods would likely Help in commanding the high birthrate and growing rate in the state. Harmonizing to Bulatao ( 1998 ) , member of the United Nations Population Fund, household planning is one of the best methods of turn toing jobs such as exponential growing rate, high birthrate rate and decelerate economic growing rate in the state. Based from surveies, the diminution of entire birthrate rate in the underdeveloped universe over the past decennaries is in conformity with the increasing figure of prophylactic users ( UN, 1991 ) . With this, we could assume that implementing comprehensive household planning methods would perchance modulate the population of the state. Developing states, like the Philippines, could largely profit from household planning merely like in the instances of China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam who practiced comprehensive household be aftering methods during the past decennaries. The said states have shown important economic dynamism after successfully pull offing their population growing ( Del Rosario & A ; Toda, 2009 ) .
Birth Rate of Taiwan
Year
Registered Birth Ratess Per 1000 Womans
Change in Rate
1962
174
-1.5
1963
170
-2.6
1964
162
-4.9
1965
152
-6
1966
149
-2.1The tabular array shows the diminishing birth rate in Taiwan. This lessening on birth rate happened after the execution of household planning methods.
Similarly, a similar narrative happened in Thailand from 1960 ‘s to 1985. Within the new model developed by the Unites States Agency for International Development ‘s Office of Population, developing states are divided into five phases, harmonizing to their degree of modern prophylactic prevalence. States in each of these phases, termed “ emergent ” , “ launch ” , “ growing ” , “ consolidation ” and “ mature ” are characterized by “ similar birthrate rates and common demands for household planning policies, plans and services ” ( Asia-Pacific Population & A ; Policy Report, 1991 ) . Thailand moved out of the emergent phase in the early 1960s and reached the mature phase in 1985 after following a national population policy, developing a scheme of advancing household planning and spread outing preventive services. In 1994, after Thailand ‘s engagement in the International Conference on Population and Development ( ICPD ) , generative wellness policies in the said state were reviewed by its National Family Planning Committee. In 1997, Thailand ‘s Minister of Public Health set forth the National Reproductive Health Policy, which includes household planning and maternal and child wellness ( Department of Family and Community Health, World Health Organization, 2004 ) .
The lessons from the household be aftering narratives of these two states put in the image the call for the acceptance of a concrete household planning policy in the state. Possibly, Philippines might besides hold the same consequences if the Reproductive Health Bill will be implemented. After all, household planning in its most elemental sense helps in the decrease of unplanned gestations and publicity of slower population growing.
Truly, the state needs a generative wellness measure. The arguments on the RH measure are indispensable in guaranting that this policy will profit the whole public particularly the hapless and marginalized sector of the population. However, the endless arguments have besides caused the hold of a policy that the state should hold benefitted a decennary ago. Although these ceaseless arguments had caused the hold of the transition of RH measure, it besides highlighted two of import things: the function of stakeholders, involvement and force per unit area groups in the policy-making procedure and the Catholic Church as a stakeholder is a decisive factor in policy results. The transition of RH measure has been a battle for RH advocators since the primary critic of it is the Catholic Church. However, the recent negativist dictums of the Catholic hierarchy and its determination to non prosecute negotiations with the President sing the step and besides its determination non to take part in the Senate hearings on the RH measure shows that the transition of RH measure is possible in the fifteenth Congress. However, RH critics in Congress besides contribute to the hold of the transition of RH measure. Harmonizing to Rep. Lagman, one of the chief hurdlings being faced by the writers of the measure is the perennial absenteeism and deficiency of warm organic structures in Plenary. In the arguments during the old Congress, those opposed to the measure would ever oppugn the quorum so as to detain treatments and protract the arguments until the clip that Congress is scheduled to recess. Nevertheless, the bulk of protagonists of RH measure from assorted sectors will besides be a factor for the transition of the said policy.
Beyond uncertainty, RH measure would go on to be a controversial issue in the state as different stakeholders will go on to escalate their runs for or against the said measure. It will all boil down to the inquiry whether RH critics would go on to detain the transition of RH measure and would successfully turn down it or RH advocators ‘ battle for a generative wellness policy would be fruitful. The Church had proven to be effectual in their run to oppose the said step while adult females ‘s groups continue to run for the passage of RH measure. Nonetheless, whichever involvement group would win in their battle, it is of import to observe that these involvement groups have played of import functions since RH issue has gripped the public consciousness.
