It has been a politically sensed issue that there is over population in the Philippines. This issue has been invariably blamed for the worsening poorness state of affairs.

One side is claiming that unchecked population addition is seting so much strain on the fiscal and nutrient resources of the state that more and more Filipinos are no longer eating three square repasts a twenty-four hours. Economic evaluation system is besides saying a hapless Filipino household is gaining merely below $ 1 per twenty-four hours. This surely can barely feed a household of 4 or more.

On the other side. it is claimed that the cause of poorness is authorities corruptness. They truly claim that while it’s true that the hapless are invariably increasing. and that the income spread between them and the following economic degree is similarly widening. fiscal resources that are intended to back up the hapless are being pocketed by corrupt authorities functionaries. Population is non the cause of poorness. corruptness is. the Catholic Church claims.

The authorities is acute on crafting redresss to control population. Several Torahs have been passed to control corruptness. But since they lack heavy punitory steps. they became barely effectual. Corruptness has already downgraded the country’s economic standing that adversely affected our capableness to borrow money from recognition or fiscal establishments. peculiarly the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) and World Bank.

So the authorities resorted to outlining a measure that drew the anger of the conservative and the Catholic Church. Foremost is the generative wellness measure. which was authored by Senator Pia Cayetano and Congressman Edcel Lagman. The measure underwent unsmooth seafaring on the legislative seas.

The President is set to subscribe the measure into jurisprudence before 2012 terminals.

Discussion OF THE ISSUE

Generative wellness. or sexual health/hygiene. addresses the generative procedures. maps and system at all phases of life. Generative wellness. hence. implies that people are able to hold a responsible. satisfying and safer 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. One reading of this implies that work forces and adult females ought to be informed of and to hold entree to safe. effectual. low-cost and acceptable methods of birth control ; besides entree to allow wellness attention services of sexual. generative medical specialty and execution of wellness instruction plans to emphasize the importance of adult females to travel safely through gestation and childbearing could supply twosomes with the best opportunity of holding a healthy baby. On the other manus persons do face inequalities in generative wellness services. Inequalities vary based on socioeconomic position. instruction degree. age. ethnicity. faith. and resources available in their environment. It is possible for illustration. that low income persons lack the resources for appropriate wellness services and the cognition to cognize what is appropriate for keeping generative wellness.

As a personal sentiment. generative wellness is besides the ability of a twosome – a adult male and a adult female – to reproduce and raise kids. It is a familial procedure of increasing the figure of the earth’s dwellers which continuously work for their ain nutriment or supply for their basic demands to last – nutrient. shelter. etc.

But the disproportional addition of population vis-a-vis resources. the consequentially widening disparity between these two elements is seting strains on both the natural and fiscal resources. Science has undertaken redresss to increase nutrient production and prolong natural resources. Sustainable development is employed.

There are successes in several states. particularly in rich states. But other states. peculiarly the 3rd universe. where authoritiess are beleaguered by awkwardness and corruptness have barely taken off. The Philippines. for illustration. go on to dawdle behind in development and nutrient production due to this job. Over population. as the authorities and recognition or fiscal establishments claim. is therefore blamed as the cause of underdevelopment and poorness. Recognition or fiscal establishments which provide loans to hapless states for development hence advise hapless states to control population or their resources shall be depleted and their ability to borrow money from them regulated or limited.

In this visible radiation. 3rd universe or hapless states like the Philippines had to craft Torahs that they believe could work out the job of over population.

Therefore enters the generative wellness jurisprudence. other authorities policies intended to control over population in the grapevine.

The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 ( Republic Act No. 10354 ) . informally known as the RH Law. is a statute law in the Republic of the Philippines vouching cosmopolitan entree to methods on contraceptive method. birthrate control. sexual instruction. and maternal attention. While there is general understanding about its commissariats on maternal and child wellness. there is great argument on its cardinal proposal that the Filipino authorities and the private sector will fund and set about widespread distribution of household be aftering devices such as rubbers. birth control pills ( BCPs ) and IUDs. as the authorities continues to circulate information on their usage through all wellness attention centres.

On October 2012. a revised version of the statute law was re-named the Responsible Parenthood Act and was filed in the House of Representatives as a consequence of reintroducing the measure under a different feeling after overpowering resistance in the state. particularly from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. The jurisprudence is extremely dissentious and controversial. with experts. faculty members. spiritual establishments. and major political figures back uping and opposing it. frequently knocking the authorities and each other in the procedure. Arguments and mass meetings suggesting and opposing the measures. with 10s of 1000s of resistance peculiarly those endorsed by the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church and assorted other conservative groups. have been go oning nationally. It has polarized the Filipino state.

PRESENTATION OF ALTERNATIVE VIEWS

Differing sentiments have emerged from assorted sectors and divided the people into the “pros” and “cons” – or those against and for the RH Law.

The Catholic Church. whose philosophy of pro-life as understood from the bible. is steadfastly against the Reproductive Health measure ; and place is absolute and sturdy. said an functionary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines ( CBCP ) . There is no manner that the Church will soften its place against the controversial measure. It allegedly opposes the measure because of its anti-life commissariats. or the prophylactic plan it engenders. The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines ( CEAP ) besides joined the Catholic Church’s voice in opposing the measure. These groups propose that the best signifier of birth ordinance is self-discipline. Alternatively of assigning P2 billion from taxpayer’s money for the purchase of preventives. CEAP has urged lawgivers to utilize the money for instruction. support and basic public services.

The same place is shared by other groups and some conservative spiritual denominations which value life right at construct or the brotherhood of the woman’s egg cell and the man’s sperm cell.

These “cons” ground that over population is non the job. or that there is no over population. The purported over population stems from the fact that the authorities has failed to developed states or countries beyond the metropolitans countries. Metropolitan Manila and its suburban metropoliss are dining while distant states are merely trusting on crude agriculture and minimally supported support. In hunt of the needed fund to back up support in their place state. some people therefore migrate to the metropoliss to happen work.

Government has allocated some fund to prolong agribusiness support. Unfortunately. this is non sufficient to consequence important advancement on farming system. Furthermore. corrupt functionaries tasked to administrate the fund tend to pocket some of the financess. Faming substructures funded by local revenue enhancements and foreign contributions are limited. therefore unable to raise the fighting rural economic system.

The hapless husbandmans have already been subservient to private loaners and Bankss. And their green goods has merely become fresh fish for loan sharks. who lend these husbandmans virtually everything they need including their nutrient. In consequence. they could barely retrieve. to whom their green goods would merely travel as payment for their debts.

To the pro-RH Bill. they claim that the generative wellness measure would let greater entree to modern preventives and sex instruction. It allegedly proposes more maternal wellness services. raising the figure of accoucheuses to one for every 150 bringings. Contraceptives would besides be funded for hapless adult females and would be included in the standard supplies of medical specialty in infirmaries. Modern household planning methods would be provided in all commissioned wellness installations. The measure. allegedly. will supply equal support to the population plan. It is a going from the present apparatus in which the proviso for generative wellness services is devolved to local authorities units. and accordingly. subjected to the changing schemes of local authorities executives and suffers from a famine of support. It will advance information on and entree to both natural and modern household planning methods. which are medically safe and lawfully allowable.

It assures an enabling environment where adult females and twosomes have the freedom of informed pick on the manner of household be aftering they want to follow based on their demands. personal strong beliefs and spiritual beliefs. It does non hold any prejudice for or against either natural or modern household planning. It will besides advance sustainable human development. Taken as a footing for the “pros” base. the UN stated in 2002 that household planning and generative wellness are indispensable to cut downing poorness. The UNICEF besides asserts that household planning could convey more benefits to more people at less cost than any other individual engineering now available to the human race. Harmonizing to this group. coverage of RH are the undermentioned: ( 1 ) Information and entree to natural and modern household planning ( 2 ) Maternal. baby and kid wellness and nutrition ( 3 ) Promotion of chest eating ( 4 ) Prevention of abortion and direction of post-abortion complications ( 5 ) Adolescent and young person wellness ( 6 ) Prevention and direction of generative piece of land infections. HIV/AIDS and STDs ( 7 ) Elimination of force against adult females ( 8 ) Reding on gender and sexual and generative wellness ( 9 ) Treatment of chest and generative piece of land malignant neoplastic diseases ( 10 ) Male engagement and engagement in RH ; ( 11 ) Prevention and intervention of sterility and ( 12 ) RH instruction for the young person.

The chief writer of the RH Bill. Congressman Edcel Lagman of Albay. claims that the measure is non anti-life. wholly discrediting the “cons” base. but allegedly a pro-quality life. Allegedly. it will guarantee that kids will be approvals for their parents since their births are planned and wanted. Additionally. he stated that the measure will authorise twosomes with the information and chance to be after and infinite their kids. This will non merely beef up the household as a unit but besides optimize attention for kids who will hold more chances to be educated. healthy and productive. The Congressman further stated that the measure does non interfere with household life. but will heighten household life: The household is more than a natural karyon ; it is a societal establishment whose protection and development are impressed with public involvement. It is non untouchable by statute law.

For this ground. the State has enacted the Civil Code on household dealingss. the Family Code. and the Child and Youth Welfare Code. Further harmonizing to the Congressman. the measure does non legalise abortion: It expressly provides that abortion remains a offense and bar of abortion is indispensable to to the full implement. ( To this. the Catholic Church countered that the Reproductive Health Bill as a precursor will finally pave the manner for more anti-life policies. like legalisation of abortion and divorce. which are already in the grapevine ) . He used comparative studies or information to bolster his place.

He stated that it is non true all states where preventive usage is promoted finally legalize abortion. Many Catholic states criminalize abortion even as they smartly promote prophylactic usage like Mexico. Panama. Guatemala. Brazil. Chile. Colombia. Dominican Republic. El Salvador. Honduras. Nicaragua. Venezuela. Paraguay and Ireland. The Muslim and Buddhist states of Indonesia and Laos besides promote prophylactic usage yet proscribe abortion. Harmonizing to surveies. correct and regular usage of preventives reduces abortion rates by every bit much as 85 per centum and negates the demand to legalise abortion.

Furthermore. preventives. allegedly. make non hold dangerous side effects. Medical and scientific grounds shows that all the possible medical hazards connected with preventives are boundlessly lower than the hazards of an existent gestation and mundane activities. The writer besides claims that the measure merely recognizes the verifiable nexus between a immense population and poorness. Unbridled population growing stunts socioeconomic development and aggravates poorness. The connexion between population and development is well-documented and through empirical observation established.

However. in states where population control is prevailing. there is now grounds that they are desiring of more able and immature work force. Japan for case is holding job with its ageing work force to prolong its leading economic standing. The state has practiced population control in order to make immense excess of resources and production which they sell or trade abroad to inculcate big income to its export-oriented economic system. Sadly. the state is now sing work force deficit. Population control has become damaging to their economic advancement.

On the other manus. China. the world’s most thickly settled state. is now basking economic roar due to a immense supply of human resource. The state is able to supply inexpensive labour to industrial states around the universe with immense economic benefit. This could turn out that over population is non wholly the cause of poorness.

Sing some demographic profiles. some states are more populated than others on a individual per country footing. There is merely disproportional distribution of dwellers. Metro Manila is over populated due to unregulated inflow of rural people in hunt of menial or professional work. Work wage is the difference. While Metro Manila is offering rewards which comply with lawful rates. provincial rewards are lesser. The comfortss are like conspicuous everyplace in Metro Manila than anyplace in Luzon.

Worldly things are merely hard to defy that many people are flocking to Metro Manila.

The same thing happens in metropolitan metropoliss of the Visayas and Mindanao. Consequently. farms are slightly abandoned for the interest of seeking fiscal additions from working in mills or offices. This hegira of farm workers go forthing the farm could somehow make a vacuity in the farms. Food production therefore construed as a mark of poorness.

There appears to be three major points of position from which to near the controversial generative wellness measure. viz. : legal. moral. and scientific. This is so since. the proposed legislative step one time enacted into jurisprudence will impact society. In short. there are many stakeholders by differing institutional concerns. It so becomes hard to raise a tripod to keep the issue that has carried so much weight.

There are those who think. one time legislated. the proposed Reproductive Health will in fact set the phase for other anti-life Torahs or alleged D. E. A. T. H. measures ( acronym for decease. mercy killing. abortion. two-child policy. and homosexualism ) . The job that has been brutally overlooked in our legislative factory is the fact that legislators themselves violate the regulation that a measure should hold merely one capable affair.

Up until today. there is a serious resistance to a generative wellness measure in whatever signifier or substance it comes merely because there are such groups or organisations that are against it. For case. the CBCP is against it and for that affair other like-minded Catholic sub-groups. True plenty. from the clip it was foremost filed in the past Congresses. the measure already experienced a twine of failures – to be passed into jurisprudence – owing to commissariats that are questionable lawfully. morally. and scientifically. It can be said that once more. this proposed HB 812 may travel through another unsmooth seafaring unless it can be railroaded in Congress and Senate.

One theory stands in defence of the measure which claims it is necessary in order to control population growing which is now pegged at 86 million Filipinos every bit good as for the interest of limited resources such as rice. But the myth of this Malthusian fright has already been settled long ago and it does non anymore hold H2O. Why a ‘zero population growth’ as that which was a affair of policy in the whole of the United States and Europe? If we consider the net incomes being remitted into our state from OFWs as the individual factor that buoys up our fledging if pale economic system. so we should hold no ground to reason against this measure. That ‘zero population policy’ practiced by states in the First Bloc now reached the irreversible scenario of a greying population that depletes their several economic systems in heavy province subsidies.

The National Academy of Science and Technology supports reproductive wellness measure. The Catholic Church or the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines does non. There are pro-life advocators versus pro-choice advocators. This cantonment says it involves no abortion. another cantonment says otherwise. This group claims preventives to be abortifacient. another such group claims it is non so. Within the legal community. a cuneus divides their sentiments as to whether it is against the Divine Law to let any room of pick toward abortion or to some extent mercy killing. Cases of abortion do sometimes affect “life-boat ethics” – that Catch 22 of holding to take which individual to salvage – the unborn baby or the female parent. There are issues at every cringle. claims at every bend. and calls in every way the measure takes – for or against.

Moralists. legalists. scientists follow their ain lines of thought that are parallel unto one another – no lines intersect. There is where the job lies. Is it so possible to weave from assorted strands or weave a beautiful tapestry of the proposed measure? Has it become clip to control population growing or corruptness?

Decision

Whether it is called generative wellness. or responsible parentage. the argument is a polarising one. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines came out with a pastoral missive. on the issue of the Reproductive Health/Responsible Parenthood Bill. Their words. avering they come from the spring well of morality. It is why when you read. or listen to the pastoral missive. or the place of the Church they think that preventives are immoral. or are abominations. There is nothingwrong with that place. and it is a absolutely valid one from a certain point of position. On the other terminal of the spectrum. the advocates of the Reproductive Health Bill say. “yes we should. ” What the proposed statute law is about: it asks the authorities to explicate to work forces and adult females. regardless whether they are married. individual or of age. about their human organic structures. They teach about a full scope of methods— natural household planning. unreal contraceptive methods. from Condoms to IUDs to the Pill and the forenoon after pill and everything else in between. Now. all this isn’t new.

Turning up and analyzing in a Catholic school. these were things taught to us. And at the terminal of the twenty-four hours. it is about doing an informed determination on what’s of import to us. Biologically? Work forces have their impulses. Womans have their demands. Science tells us that the human race has been around for about 150. 000 old ages. We wouldn’t be here if worlds didn’t have those inherent aptitudes. What the measure proposes to make is to set everything in the head. To do informing people compulsory. and to set the pick forepart and centre and readily available for every Filipino. regardless of age. or societal position. This chasm is merely one of many philosophical differences that make it impossible for both the Pro Reproductive Health and the Anti Reproductive wellness advocates from of all time seeing oculus to oculus.

What of President Aquino?

The President during the run was explicit. He does non to the full back up the generative wellness measure in the signifier that it was during the run. He was explicit that he believed that the generative wellness measure should be renamed. responsible parentage measure. The President’s place. based on his Platform when he ran for public office could be summed up as: 1. He is against abortion ;

2. He recognizes that there is a population detonation ; 3. He is in favour of giving twosomes the right to take to pull off their households ; 4. He believes in instances where the twosome is excessively hapless. or is in no place to do an informed determination that the province must take duty. 5. He wants all options to be every bit presented. That means including Natural Family be aftering up to modern household methods. 6. He believes that Parents should play a cardinal function in guaranting every kid they bring into the universe will hold the chance to take good lives. The Aquino place is a logical and just one. Parents should truly play a function in their family’s hereafter. Giving everyone an informed pick. and allowing them make up one’s mind on what to make. alternatively of pounding the pick down their pharynx is the logical thing to make. The proposed statute law so has fundamentally met many of those demands. So. is this still the Aquino place on the issue?

If non. what has changed?

Rumor has it that Aquino isn’t so hot on the RH Bill. The President of class expressions at the precedence statute law and sees what he can go through that does the biggest benefit. Did the President see that seting the Reproductive Health Bill or Responsible Parenthood measure on the docket would forestall other. every bit of import statute law sidetracked? This is my letdown with the Aquino Administration. Just come out and state so. and be honest about the wherefore on the affair. This is why many of those who supported the Administration are coming out to state. “this isn’t the alteration we signed up for. ” They are so disillusioned with the province of things. In an issue as charged and every bit polarizing as Generative Health or Responsible Parenthood measure or nevertheless legislators want to name it. there is a simple manner to interrupt the deadlock.

The President uses all the power of understanding he has. The President merely decides. The RH Bill is about duty. It is about doing an informed determination. and it appears non merely for Filipinos. but for the President every bit good. But duty is non merely for the economic wellbeing of a individual but for his/her religious wellbeing excessively. When we talk about ethical motives. we besides must believe about our personal duty to our ain psyches. and fidelity to the church. being the organic structure of Christ. By following or non following what the church Teach is an look of personal autonomy from the dictates of anyone. However. by following the church. the ultimate dictate for human redemption is paramount. After all. merely as Christ Himself used to state in the Gospel. “Thy religion has saved you” . we shall be saved from our staunchness to our religion.

PUNCHLINES

“Safe and hearty sex…”

Delivered by Sen. Pia Cayetano in her defence of the Reproductive Health Bill. which she authored with Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago. which she means to state adult females should hold the right to safe and fulfilling sex. This phrase was moved by Sen. Vicente Sotto to be removed from the measure. “RH measure is being gift wrapped to look like a gift for maternal wellness attention ( even if ) it will take to greater offenses against adult females. ” Catholic Bishops Conference Of The Philippines ( CBCP )

“Show me the same jurisprudence! ”

Chemical reaction of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago to Sen. Vicente Sotto’s statement that the Reproductive Health Bill is excess “Is there gender favoritism in Philippine society? ” Argument between RH measure patron Sen. Pia Cayetano and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile

“Our biggest export is OFWs ( Overseas Filipino Workers ) . That is export. That’s why I’m against RH. ” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s statement in his resistance to the RH Bill “Long after we are gone. we will go forth behind non merely a jurisprudence but a whole outlook and a whole culture…” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle warned of the bill’s consequence on Filipino Culture and the young person.