A Forum with 3 Congressmen, an Economist, and a Historian (Part I)

It was December 3, 2011 when I attended the RH Bill Forum 2 at the Sarangani Study Center, Dos Castillas St., Sampaloc, Manila. (Click on link to see my blog on RH Bill Forum 1) I and the other attendees were blessed with the presence of Rep. Fatima Aliah Dimaporo (2nd District of Lanao del Norte), Rep. Mariano Michael Velarde, Jr. (BUHAY Party List), Rep. Victorino Dennis Socrates (2nd District of Palawan), Dr. Bernardo Villegas, and Dr. Raul Nidoy, as forum presentors and panel reactors.

Rep. Dimaporo presented the Economic Implications of the RH Bill (9YL Stand). She stated that the initial budget allotted for the RH Bill in the Appropriations was Php 3 Billion. However, she pointed out that deliberations in Congress had revealed it was not just Php 3 Billion but Php 13 Billion of taxpayers' money!

She expressed her belief that the proposed budget for the RH Bill could better be used in solving the real causes of poverty: the poor's lack of access to education and employment or livelihood opportunities. "We do have a lack of classrooms. We do have a lack of teachers. Many of our farmers are industrious on their own. But they are not supported [by the government] with farm-to-market infrastructures," the young congresswoman said.

"The problem with the Philippines is that we do not have the policy to absorb the new would-be members of the labor force," the legislator from Lanao del Norte added. She deeply emphasized that the RH Bill does not center on the Filipino's progress and that taxpayers' money should not be used on contraceptives or other RH services or proposals.

Additional trivia was provided by Rep. Dimaporo when she said that the term "population control" did not pass [in] the United Nations, but they [population control pushers] changed it to the term "reproductive health" with the same definition, for marketing purposes.

When asked about Islam and the Muslim community, "It is black and white from the Holy Qur'an that contraception is not okay," the Muslim congresswoman shared. "There are Muslim countries who have supported RH, but the Holy Qur'an is black and white on that," she further clarified.


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See more on Islam Against RH Bill HERE

(9YL is a coalition of nine young legislators coming from the three major geographical areas of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. As Atty. Jose C. Sison of The Philippine Star put it in his article The Filipino Youth's plea, the 9YL, though young, seem to already have that "wisdom of the ages".)