The Philippine Senate has removed controversial provisions that
purportedly promote abortion and the use of birth control devices in a bid to
break a deadlock in its version of the reproductive health (RH) bill.
Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada
yesterday said the upper chamber was evenly split 10-10 on the measure a day
after contentious issues were addressed, with three senators still undecided.
He disagreed with Senator Panfilo Lacson that 14 senators supported the bill in
its current form.
“I will have to read it all over
again, including the amendments,” Estrada said. “A lot of senators are still
going to amend the provisions of the bill.”
Senator Pia Cayetano on Wednesday
night moved for the deletion of an entire subsection in the Senate RH bill that
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said could be used to effectively
legalise abortion in the country.
Cayetano also moved to amend the
provision including certain family planning supplies and drugs in the
government’s essential list of medicines.
Both committee amendments that Cayetano
introduced on the floor “to put the issue to rest and allay fears that the RH
bill will promote abortion” were adopted unanimously.
Amendments
One amendment deleted the
provision that said, “While this Act does not amend the penal law on abortion,
the government shall ensure that all women needing care for postabortion
complications shall be treated and counselled in a humane, nonjudgemental and
compassionate manner.”
A new subsection was inserted
saying that “abortion is a criminal act in accordance with existing laws,” said
Cayetano, principal author of the bill which went into the period of amendments
on Wednesday night after Sotto’s series of speeches blasting the proposed
measure.
“Filipinos are known to espouse a
culture of kindness and empathy. We uphold the tradition of reaching out and
extending genuine care and concern for our countrymen in need, more so for
women who are pregnant and in need of special care,” Cayetano said.
The other amendment said that the
Philippine National Drug Formulary System should be observed in including or
excluding birth control supplies in the essential list of medicines “in
accordance with existing practice.”
In his turno en contra speech,
Sotto said providing care for women needing postabortion complications could
pave the way for unscrupulous doctors and midwives to conduct abortions in the
open.
In the House of Representatives,
lawmakers said they would attempt to discuss with representatives of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) their objections to its
version of the RH bill, which is also in the period of amendments.
No party position
House leaders said that President
Benigno Aquino was watching developments on the measure and could intervene
again, as he did last month to end debates after 12 years and move the measure
to its second stage.
In his State of the Nation
Address in July, the President pushed for the immediate passage of the measure
regarded as an essential component of his economic development programme.
Cavite Representative Joseph
Abaya said the ruling Liberal Party had not talked about a common position on
the issue, and even the president was being prudent.
“This is not like the impeachment,”
said the party’s secretary general, referring to the swift vote in December in
the lower house that led to the ouster of then Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“There are certain other non-political issues involved so he has been very
careful,” Abaya said in a press briefing.
Abaya also said both sides were
hopeful that a proposed working group, which would possibly include Catholic
bishops and opponents and supporters of the bill, would produce results.
With positive results, an
intervention from the president may be unnecessary, he added.
Aquino as arbiter
House Majority Leader Neptali
Gonzales II said it was difficult for the President to issue marching orders
because opposition to the bill also concerned religious belief.
While Congress wants to maintain
its independence, an issue that has split the House right down the middle is
difficult to resolve and may need the president as an “arbiter”, Gonzales said.
“We will always be extending our
hands of compromise,” Gonzales said when asked about the reported rejection by
the bishops of the proposed technical working group.
Lawmakers intend to take
advantage of the two-week break after budget deliberations and before the House
resumes sessions to discuss issues in the panel.
They would present a compromise
version of the bill, in which the distribution of contraceptives would be
limited to the poorest of the poor, who could not afford these.
“It will give us the opportunity
to hear the side of the bishops. After all, if it would be okay with them,
maybe they would be able to convince House members who are stricter than the
bishops to agree to the bill,” Gonzales said.
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