The Senate and the lower House approved the reproductive health (RH) bill on 3rd and final reading Monday.
The lower House version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Edcel Lagman, was first approved 133-79, with 7 abstentions.
The vote was made quickly, with 199 representatives present.
It passed by a higher margin of 54 votes on 3rd reading, in contrast to the close 113-104 vote on 2nd reading.
Some lawmakers made it to the plenary session to cast their votes despite being ill or having important matters to attend to.
Rep. Miro Quimbo, who voted in favor of the measure, attended the session despite being ill with dengue.
Quimbo, on a wheelchair, was accompanied by a doctor who held up his dextrose bag.
"Para sa bayan, I vote yes," he said when his name was called.
"Can't breathe well. Nursing a cold and headache. I almost screamed inside the plane bcoz of the pressure. But must go to Batasan," Negros Occidental Rep. Mercedes Alvarez said earlier in the day.
Those who voted no include party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and Rep. Mitos Magsaysay.
"Mr. Speaker, this practicing Roman Catholic will always vote no," Arroyo said.
"I just voted NO!" Magsaysay said on Twitter.
House Speaker Sonny Belmonte Jr. and Rep. Lorenzo "Erin" Tañada III, who was the presiding officer in the 2nd reading, voted in favor of the measure in the final reading.
Senate nod
The Senate, meanwhile, approved it 13-8, on 2nd and 3rd reading.
The bill, sponsored by Senators Pia Cayetano and Miriam Defensor Santiago, immediately went to 3rd reading after the 2nd reading because President Benigno Aquino certified it as urgent.
The bicameral conference committee will get both versions of the bill for consolidation before the President signs it into law.
The Senate vote was made after the upper House tackled amendments proposed by Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III.
Those who voted yes were:
Edgardo Angara,
Joker Arroyo,
Pia Cayetano,
Alan Peter Cayetano,
Miriam Defensor Santiago,
Franklin Drilon,
Chiz Escudero,
TG Guingona,
Ping Lacson,
Loren Legarda,
Bongbong Marcos,
Kiko Pangilinan, and
Ralph Recto.
The senators who voted against the measure on 3rd reading were:
Tito Sotto,
Jinggoy Estrada,
Gringo Honasan,
Koko Pimentel,
Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.,
Antonio Trillanes IV,
Manny Villar, and,
Juan Ponce Enrile.
Senators Sergio Osmeña III and Lito Lapid were absent.
'Freedom of choice!'
The vote drew cheers from Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, whom President Aquino earlier tapped to talk to congressmen regarding the bill.
"History in the making! Freedom of Choice!" Roxas said on Twitter.
Angara said the RH bill "is an affirmation of human rights."
"Provisions of the RH bill respond to challenges of the times," he added.
Angara said that while he acknowledges concerns of the Catholic community, the bill does not legalize abortion.
"We have to consider that not all Filipinos are Catholics. We have Muslims, Protestants, Buddhists, non-believers," he said.
"Today, I vote as a Filipino, a public health advocate, a father," Angara added.
Arroyo, who voted "conditional" yes, said the bill should be subject to further amendments in the bicameral conference committee.
"This bill promises more than it can deliver, because sex is not the root of poverty, it is not the cause of underdevelopment," he said.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who voted in favor of the bill, said the RH bill is part of the solution to family problems.
"If I had a daughter who is a teenager now, gusto ko bang bigyan sya ng condom? Of course not. But as a parent, I can only do so much," he said.
"Don't you want your daughter to have [someone] to approach on reproductive health concerns?" he asked.
"We will fight not only to protect marriages. This is not an incentive to the married, this is also for the unmarried," Cayetano said.
His sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano, had tears in her eyes while explaining her vote.
"We will fight not only to protect marriages. This is not an incentive to the married, this is also for the unmarried," she said. "I hope you can join me to strengthen it, to craft it. I will do my best to preserve the integrity of Senate version."
Miriam: An idea whose time has come
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a co-sponsor of the measure, had words for the Catholic Church in explaining her vote.
"I vote yes. The Catholic church has steadfastly rejected RH bill. No force more powerful than an idea whose time has come," she said.
"Copernicus refused to believe that sun revolved around the earth. He was condemned by the Church," she added.
She said the Vatican has made many mistakes in the past "because it is a human institution."
"Today is the time for the RH bill. In antiquity, the Church committed grave mistakes. It is not perfect, it is only human," she said.
"Surveys showed women die because of birth complications because they are too ignorant to control their bodies," Santiago added. "God gave me a conscience, gave me a brain. He asked me to use it for the good of my fellowmen."
Escudero, who also voted in favor of the measure said he is against abortion and is in favor of the RH bill because he wants to ensure the well-being of women and children.
"Pabor ako sa RH bill dahil gusto kong bigyan ng pagkakataon ang mga kabataan na magpasya para sa kanilang mga sarili," he said.
Sotto, the staunchest voice in Senate against the measure, said he will ask for God's forgiveness "for we do not know what we are doing."
"We took an oath, a promise to God. We promised to support the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, not just the parts that suit us," he said.
"Malamang pagsisihan natin ito," he added.
He also claimed the bill will not even be discussed if President Aquino's mother, Cory, were alive today.
Enrile said the RH bill divided families.
"I hope that RH bill will bring the benefit that was sought to be accomplished," he said. "I vote no. But I hope those who propose the RH bill is proven right. Only time will tell." - with reports from ANC, dzMM
source: abs-cbnnews.com
Showing posts with label RH Bill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RH Bill. Show all posts
Monday, December 17, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
'Sotto apology insincere'
MANILA – One of the academicians who filed an ethics complaint against
Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Wednesday criticized the senator for
his "insincere" apology to the Kennedy family.
Kerry Kennedy earlier wrote Sotto a letter demanding an apology for the latter's use of the words of her father, the late US Senator Robert Kennedy, in his turno en contra speech on the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill.
Sotto eventually said sorry, but added that "copying or imitation is the highest form of flattery. If it upsets the Kennedy family, I'm sorry. But that is not the intention that we have."
Dr. Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, University of the Philippines Center for Women’s Studies Director, said Sotto's apology did not show any remorse at all.
For her, the senator's words were as good as not saying sorry at all.
"Yung tungkol kay Kennedy, kung pansinin niyo ang sorry, siguro ho sabi nga ng isang nabasa ko sa Twitter, dahil may salitang sorry ang sentence hindi ibig sabihin apology iyun. It did not sound like an apology," Claudio told dzMM.
Immunity
Claudio also appealed to Sotto to face the complaint and not invoke his parliamentary immunity, as provided by the Constitution.
She asked that the Senate leadership, particularly the Ethics and Privileges Committee, impose the sanctions Sotto deserves.
"We also ask the Senate committee on ethics and privileges dun sa rules nila na kung ang senador ay nagdala ng kahihiyan sa Senado ay talagang dapat siya ay bigyan ng parusa. Kasi hindi lang po kahihiyan ng Senado ito, kahihiyan din po ito ng ating bayan," she said.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the ethics committee, said that the Senate will soon come up with its code of ethics following failed attempts to draft it in the past.
Claudio is also confident that many Filipinos are rallying behind the complainants, as shown by the reactions on social media.
"Karamihan po ay sang-ayon sa aming ginawa. Itinataguyod ito ng marami pa sa iba nating kapwa mamamayan. Hindi na siguro namin iwi-withdraw [ang complaint] even if he apologizes.
"Although sa akin po, isa lang ang dapat niyang hakbang, isa sa mga hinihingi namin ay apology, isang maganda at fully gracious apology. Pero humihingi na rin kami sana na may pagdadagdag na displina," she said.
Claudio also reiterated that while the complaint stemmed from Sotto's speeches on the RH bill, the complaint was, in no way, triggered by any ire against Sotto's opposition to the controversial bill.
source: abs-cbnnews.com
Kerry Kennedy earlier wrote Sotto a letter demanding an apology for the latter's use of the words of her father, the late US Senator Robert Kennedy, in his turno en contra speech on the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill.
Sotto eventually said sorry, but added that "copying or imitation is the highest form of flattery. If it upsets the Kennedy family, I'm sorry. But that is not the intention that we have."
Dr. Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, University of the Philippines Center for Women’s Studies Director, said Sotto's apology did not show any remorse at all.
For her, the senator's words were as good as not saying sorry at all.
"Yung tungkol kay Kennedy, kung pansinin niyo ang sorry, siguro ho sabi nga ng isang nabasa ko sa Twitter, dahil may salitang sorry ang sentence hindi ibig sabihin apology iyun. It did not sound like an apology," Claudio told dzMM.
Immunity
Claudio also appealed to Sotto to face the complaint and not invoke his parliamentary immunity, as provided by the Constitution.
She asked that the Senate leadership, particularly the Ethics and Privileges Committee, impose the sanctions Sotto deserves.
"We also ask the Senate committee on ethics and privileges dun sa rules nila na kung ang senador ay nagdala ng kahihiyan sa Senado ay talagang dapat siya ay bigyan ng parusa. Kasi hindi lang po kahihiyan ng Senado ito, kahihiyan din po ito ng ating bayan," she said.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the ethics committee, said that the Senate will soon come up with its code of ethics following failed attempts to draft it in the past.
Claudio is also confident that many Filipinos are rallying behind the complainants, as shown by the reactions on social media.
"Karamihan po ay sang-ayon sa aming ginawa. Itinataguyod ito ng marami pa sa iba nating kapwa mamamayan. Hindi na siguro namin iwi-withdraw [ang complaint] even if he apologizes.
"Although sa akin po, isa lang ang dapat niyang hakbang, isa sa mga hinihingi namin ay apology, isang maganda at fully gracious apology. Pero humihingi na rin kami sana na may pagdadagdag na displina," she said.
Claudio also reiterated that while the complaint stemmed from Sotto's speeches on the RH bill, the complaint was, in no way, triggered by any ire against Sotto's opposition to the controversial bill.
source: abs-cbnnews.com
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
UST steers clear of Varsitarian rant
MANILA, Philippines - The University of Sto. Tomas (UST) on
Tuesday washed its hands of a scathing attack made by its campus
publication, The Varsitarian, on other teachers and students of other
universities supporting the reproductive health (RH) bill.
UST, in a press statement, said it did not have any say in the publication's an op-ed article titled “RH bill, Ateneo, and La Salle: Of lemons and cowards.”
"The opinion expressed in the Varsitarian Opinion-Editorial insofar as it supposedly called the pro-RH Bill professors of the Ateneo de Manila University and the De La Salle University as "intellectual pretenders and interlopers" does not bear the University's imprimatur," UST said.
"Arguments for and against the controversial Reproductive Health bill have been expressed in various fora including the social media. Since the bill is a highly charged topic, emotions indeed may reach feverish pitch in the healthy exchanges of ideas," it added.
"The University of Santo Tomas has been steadfastly consistent in its opposition to certain provisions of the bill which are repugnant to the teachings of our Catholic faith," it said.
"The University thus supports the Varsitarian, its official student publication, in its stand against the RH Bill and for that matter any organization united in this regard with the Catholic Church," UST said. "While it is one with the Varsitarian in this light, the University does not impose its will nor exercise prior restraint on the opinions of the school paper's writers nor the manner by which they are expressed."
source: abs-cbnnews.com
UST, in a press statement, said it did not have any say in the publication's an op-ed article titled “RH bill, Ateneo, and La Salle: Of lemons and cowards.”
"The opinion expressed in the Varsitarian Opinion-Editorial insofar as it supposedly called the pro-RH Bill professors of the Ateneo de Manila University and the De La Salle University as "intellectual pretenders and interlopers" does not bear the University's imprimatur," UST said.
"Arguments for and against the controversial Reproductive Health bill have been expressed in various fora including the social media. Since the bill is a highly charged topic, emotions indeed may reach feverish pitch in the healthy exchanges of ideas," it added.
"The University of Santo Tomas has been steadfastly consistent in its opposition to certain provisions of the bill which are repugnant to the teachings of our Catholic faith," it said.
"The University thus supports the Varsitarian, its official student publication, in its stand against the RH Bill and for that matter any organization united in this regard with the Catholic Church," UST said. "While it is one with the Varsitarian in this light, the University does not impose its will nor exercise prior restraint on the opinions of the school paper's writers nor the manner by which they are expressed."
source: abs-cbnnews.com
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