Search PinoyPress                                                                                                                                                                                                 Subscribe

December 02, 2008                             Manila, Philippines
NEWS & FEATURES    |    BLOGS & COLUMNS    |    ANALYSIS    |    SPECIAL REPORTS    |    PHOTOGRAPHS    |    VIDEO    |    SPECIAL COVERAGE    |    PRESS RELEASES
Politics & Governance   |   Economy   |   Business   |   Human Rights   |   OFWs & Migration   |   Environment   |   Insurgency   |   Entertainment   |   Lifestyle   |   Technology
    » ZTE Scandal     » Corruption    » President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo     » The Financial Crisis     » Extrajudicial Killings     » Islamic Separatism

RELATED STORIES

PLCPD Cries Foul Over ‘Malicious Attacks’ Vs Repro Health Bill

World Population Day: ‘Too many women die needlessly’

Reproductive Health Opponents in Philippines ‘Spreading Lies and Scare Tactics’

NAVIGATE: Home » *, NEWS & FEATURES, Other Stories, PRESS RELEASES » ‘Woman Power’ Urged vs Critics of Repro Health Bill

‘Woman Power’ Urged vs Critics of Repro Health Bill

PUBLISHED ON September 29, 2008 AT 3:37 PM

AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros called for the use of ‘women power’ to counter the efforts by anti-RH legislators to stall plenary debates on the controversial bill by questioning the quorum, urging all fifty-two female members of the House of Representatives to be always present and active during session hours.

She said that the 14th Congress is historical because this term has the highest number of female legislators in Congress. “We female legislators must not turn our backs on our fellow women. At the very least, we must give the bill its fair chance and have Congress debate on the merits of the bill. Let us not allow a fundamental women’s issue to be killed because of something as frivolous as absenteeism,” she said.

“We may not be united in supporting the RH bill, but we must at the very least recognize that reproductive health is a women’s issue. It is us, after all, who bear and nurture the child. We owe it to fellow women and fellow mothers that our presence during session hours is constantly felt and that our voices are heard, whether or not we are in favor of the bill,” AKBAYAN Rep. Hontiveros said. “Women are deprived of the right to choose every time the quorum is questioned to block the bill.”

“This effort to block the bill is another glass ceiling that must be broken. This term, we hurdled several firsts– from representation for women in the House leadership to having the reproductive health bill sponsored for the first time in the floor. We must not allow machismo to compromise these gains,” Rep. Hontiveros said.

“Unfortunately, this incessant questioning of the quorum stifles women’s voice,” the AKBAYAN solon added. “It’s a dilatory strategy that achieves nothing since no substantial discussion takes place. It gags hundreds of thousands of Filipino women who have been waiting for Congress to do its job and enact a national reproductive health policy.”

The lack of quorum would be less of a problem if all female representatives commit to stay at all times during session hours. Kagaya ng ating pagsasakripisyo sa pag-aalaga ng ating mga anak, ganun din dapat an gating pagsusunog ng kilay para sa mahalagang bill na ito,” Rep. Hontiveros urged fellow female lawmakers.

She said that not one among the authors has claimed that the bill is perfect. “But how can we work to enhance the bill if the quorum is always used to block meaningful debates on the bill? There is nothing more unfair that this de facto gag on a woman’s issue,” she said.

AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros revealed that majority of female legislators are in favor of the RH bill, an indication that the importance and urgency of the bill’s enactment resonates among Filipino women.

“Akbayan vows to convince the undecided and win over those who have indicated that they are against the bill,” AKABAYAN Rep. Hontiveros said. “It is not too late even for those who already said that they cannot vote for the bill,” she said.###

IMPORTANT NOTICE: INBOX is an archive of press releases, statements, announcements, letters to the editors, and manifestos sent to PinoyPress for publication. Please email your materials to pinoypress @ gmail.com. PinoyPress is not responsible for the content of these materials. The opinion expessed in these items does not reflect those of PinoyPress and its staff. Please refer to our terms of use/disclaimer.

RSS feedSubscribe via email Discuss

Leave a Comment

Advertisement

LATEST STORIES FROM BULATLAT.COM
Bonifacio Day Marked with Anti-Cha-cha Protest
Dancing the Cha-Cha over Money
Fisher Folk Battle Huge Mining Proposal and Its Defenders
On the November Elections and the Next Steps in Building the Anti-Imperialist Movement in the U.S.
3 of Tagaytay 5 File Damage Claims vs Police, Navy

LATEST STORIES FROM DAVAOTODAY.COM
Duterte-Nograles tiff over park prelude to 2010?
Urban poor group hits Arroyo on housing mega-sale
Military operations in ComVal is linked to mining – environmental alliance
San Isidro town govt to penalize cacao felling
Boston villagers recount tales of military abuses
STORIES BY CARLOS H. CONDE
40 die as Philippine ferry capsizes
Asia, too, feels the pain
As the MOA Unravels, What Now?
Peace process fraught with peril for Arroyo
Islamic separatists kill 28 in Philippines rampage
THE NEWS IN PICTURES

Spawn. This photo, taken by photojournalist Sonny Espiritu, won the Best Single Photo award in the recent annual PopDev Awards. The photo was first published by the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project with this caption: "An urban poor woman feeds her youngest child while washing clothes for a living and looking after other children. Modern contraception advocates say having fewer children would help fight poverty and hunger, but the predominent Catholic Church says there is no link between poverty and population, of which the Philippines has now almost 90 million."

End The Violence. Members of the women's group Gabriela make known their sentiments about violence against women. They commemorated yesterday, Nov. 25, the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. (Photo courtesy of arkibongbayan.org)

Anti-GMA Protest in LA. Members of GABNet, the progressive Filipino women's group in the United States, outside the LAX Sheraton in Los Angeles last week to protest the persecution and killing of political activists in the Philippines. The protest was timed for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stopover en route to Peru for the Apec summit. (Photo courtesy of Ninotchka Rosca/GABNet)

Tagaytay on a Sunday. Kite-flying has become a favorite activity at the Picnic Grove in Tagaytay. On an overcast but generally pleasant afternoon last Sunday, dozens of kites colored the skies, complementing the view of Taal Volcano in the background. (Photo by Ayi Muallam)

Downed. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front released Friday this photo of some of its members playing with what the group claimed was an unmanned spy plane that crashed earlier this month. The front said the alleged drone was a property of the US military. More details here.

Hunger Amid War. This child refugee is one of the thousands affected by the war in Mindanao. The situation in North Cotabato and Maguindanao has deteriorated since renewed fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) broke out in Aleosan and Midsayap, North Cotabato last Aug. 8, according to groups that held last month the National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission in North Cotabato and Maguindanao. (Photo courtesy of Kalinaw Mindanao/arkibongbayan.org)

Another Bayan Muna Leader Killed. Danny Qualbar, an officer of the Compostela Farmers' Association and coordinator of Bayan Muna was on his way to Compostela town Thursday afternoon to buy fish for his family when assassins in motorcycles shot him. Qualbar was the second Bayan Muna member killed this year in Compostela Valley. Top photo shows Qualbar’s eldest child grieving his death. (Photo by Jonald Mahinay/davaotoday.com)

Stairway to Heaven. Found in the middle of the forest, the cascading waters of Aliwagwag waterfalls in Cateel, Davao Oriental, looks like a descending stairway. No wonder it is considered one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Mindanao. (Photo by Grace S. Uddin / davaotoday.com)

Stop Militarizing Communities! Members of farmer's group Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas in Southern Mindanao Region held a rally October 8 in front of the headquarters of the Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Camp Panacan, Davao City. The group called for the pullout of troops conducting massive military operations in Tamayong in Davao City, Talaingod in Davao del Norte, Monkayo in Compostela Valley and in the towns of Baganga, Cateel, Boston in Davao Oriental and Lingig Surigao Del Sur. (Photo by Jonald Mahinay/davaotoday.com)

Land and Peace Concert. Students from Tribung Bayanga National High School perform before the crowd at Gaston Park in Cagayan De Oro City on October 23 night during the Yuta ug Kalinaw Concert. The two-hour concert was part of the Integrity of Creation Solidarity week that kicked-off last October 19. The week-long activity was a gathering of mining affected communities and support groups to discuss the issues affecting their communities. (Photo by AKP Images / Keith Bacongco)

Full Capacity. Normally, passenger vans are allowed to carry 14 people. But this one is apparently beyond its carrying limit as it negotiates the zigzag road in Sulop, Davao del Sur, a known accident- and landslide-prone area. (Photo by Keith Bacongco / AKP Images)

The Child as Vigilante. A 10-year-old boy carries a firearm and joins members of the Ilaga, an infamous anti-Moro militia, in its camp in Aleosan, North Cotabato. The child's father leads the dreaded vigilante group in the area. (Photo by Romy Elusfa/Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project)

Under Repair. A "Skylab," the most common mode of transportation in the Agusan provinces and elsewhere in Mindanao, undergoes a repair at a shop in Butuan City. The motorcycle is fitted with wooden "wings" on both sides -- hence the moniker -- and is capable of carrying up to eight passengers. (Photo by Keith Bacongco / AKP Images)

Free At Last. Pastor Berlin Guerrero of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, shown above with wife Mylene, was released after 15 months in police detention. He had been abducted and went missing for days before the police came out to say that he was arrested on a murder charge, which his family and colleagues said had been fabricated. A court ordered him released on Sept. 11. (Photo by arkibongbayan.org)
TOP STORIES
Philippine Airlines Cancels Bangkok Flights Due to Political Tension
Selling People Overseas to Save the Economy At Home
Arroyo Survives as House Allies Junk New Impeachment Case
‘No Election’ Plot Revived; Arroyo Vows to Veto It
In Major Rebuke, UN Faults Philippines for Killings
Worsening Storm for Philippine Economy?
Smart to Junk Thousands of E-Load Dealers?
With Guns Blazing, de Venecia Testifies, Links Arroyo to ZTE Bribery Scandal
As US Economy Tanks, Philippines Gets Set for Downturn
Philippine Airlines Reports P5.7-Billion Loss in 6 Months
Davao Villagers Battle World’s Largest Mining Company

SPECIAL COVERAGE

TAGS
BLOGS & COLUMNS
Right of Reply, Wrong Premise
November 28, 2008, 10:36 AM

PRESS FREEDOM   By Carlos H. Conde |  A Right of Reply law will undermine the Bill of Rights. It will intimidate journalists and prevent them from performing their watchdog functions because the potential cost of doing their job is rather high – fine, imprisonment or closure.

Save the Refugees in the Eastern Congo
November 27, 2008, 11:43 AM

HUMAN RIGHTS  By Fr. Shay Cullen |  A stronger, better-armed UN force is urgently needed to protect the hundreds of thousands of innocent women and children and youth in the Eastern Congo. Five millions have died over the past several years and the world hardly noticed.

Politics, Philippine Style
November 26, 2008, 02:15 PM

POLITICS   By Benjie Oliveros |  What do the Senate coup, the fertilizer and Euro generals scams, and the continuing extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and filing of trumped up charges against activists have in common? These show the rottenness of politics in the Philippines.

Aspartame: Sweet, Sweet Poison
November 25, 2008, 11:49 AM

HEALTH | BUSINESS  By Carlos H. Conde |  What convinced me that aspartame is not safe are not just the studies that have found its link to cancer but also the efforts of Donald Rumsfield and the biotech giant Monsanto in ramming this product down our throats.

Caterwauling About Hillary Clinton
November 25, 2008, 10:28 AM

POLITICS   By Ninotchka Rosca |  Semantical analysis will show it’s all driven by fear of a strong intelligent woman. Will she take orders? Whose foreign policy will it be – hers or Obama? Will she be working for him or for her own political interests? Blah, blah, blah.

Back to Main Page | About PinoyPress | Contact Us | Advertise | Archives | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Credits
Copyright © 2008 PinoyPress | Manila, Philippines | Hosting & design by Web Host Philippines
News & Journalism - Top Blogs Philippines