Advocacy groups dismayed of Speaker Belmonte pronouncement on the RH Bill
Various groups are upset with the recent statement of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. that the reproductive health (RH) bill won’t be passed before the State of the Nation Address of President Benigno
Aquino this year.
Recent data shows that there are 11 Mothers dying daily from preventable maternal complications; increase of teenage pregnancy by 70% in the last decade; 313 new HIV cases for March 2012 alone and 560,000 unsafe abortion cases annually due to unintended pregnancies.
The Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare (PNGOC) believes that delaying the passage of a national policy on RH can worsen the condition of various families especially women and children.
According to Dr. Eden Divinagracia, executive director of PNGOC, “Setting aside a bill that can help family address their RH needs which includes RH information and services is inappropriate and can further deprive them of a good future.”
Dr. Divinagracia is calling on Speaker Belmonte to deliberate immediately the RH bill once session resumes.
PNGOC is a national umbrella network with more than 97 member NGOs believing that NOW is the right time for the passage of a Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood, and Population Development policy to recognize the needs of our women, children and families.
About The Author
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado is a Content Strategist with over 16 years experience in blogging, content management, citizen advocacy and media literacy and over 26 years in web development. Otherwise known as @MomBlogger on social media, she believes in making a difference in the lives of her children by advocating social change for social good. She is a co-founder and a member of the editorial board of Blog Watch . She is a resource speaker on media literacy, social media , blogging, digital citizenship, good governance, transparency, parenting, women’s rights and wellness, and cyber safety. Her personal blogs such as aboutmyrecovery.com (parenting) , pinoyfoodblog.com (recipes), techiegadgets.com (gadgets) and benguetarabica.coffee keep her busy outside of Blog Watch. Disclosure: I am an advocate. I am NOT neutral. I will NOT give social media mileage to members of political clans, epal, a previous candidate for the same position and those I believe are a waste of taxpayers' money. I do not support or belong to any political party. I was part of accredited media covering the Office of the Vice President and Leni Robredo as she ran as a presidential aspirant in the 2022 National and local elections. On August 5, 2021, YouTube announced that I was selected as one of 50 Program participants of its Creator Program for Independent Journalists She was a Senior Consultant for ALL media engagements for the PCOO-led Committee on Media Affairs & Strategic Communications (CMASC) under the ASEAN 2017 National Organizing Council from January 4 -July 5, 2017. Having been an ASEAN advocate since 2011, she has written extensively about the benefits of the ASEAN community and as a region of opportunities on Blog Watch and aboutmyrecovery.com. Organization affiliation includes Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation Updated June 6, 2022