Group welcomes RH bill pilot test in Cagayan but…

MANILA, Philippines - A group that supports the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill on Monday welcomed recent government efforts to pilot test in Cagayan province the highly-contested measure. The Forum on Family Planning and Development Inc (The Forum) said it considered the government's initiative as a positive step toward achieving the aims of the bill to provide Filipinos, especially the poor, with the proper tools and knowledge to guarantee a safe reproductive health. “We welcome this development. This is very encouraging," The Forum president Benjamin de Leon told GMANews.TV in an interview. De Leon was reacting to earlier reports saying that the Department of Health (DOH) has just allocated the P150-million budget for the promotion of family planning nationwide, starting off with a P1.8 fund in Cagayan. Doctor Danilo Alonzo of the DOH said the “experiment" in Cagayan is expected to boost the practice of artificial and natural methods among the locals in the said province, which has one of the lowest child and maternal survival rate in the country. Subservience? However, de Leon still lamented how the government, through the Department of Health (DOH), seemed to have washed off their hands from future undertakings in connection to the health program. He said that the Health department might have earmarked a P150-million budget, but it did so by handing over the money to the local government units and passing full responsibility to local officials. “Pinaubaya nila sa local chiefs. Nasa kamay pa tuloy ngayon iyan ng mga gobernador kung gagamitin ba nila ang pondo hindi (The governors will now have the power to decide whether or not to use the fund)," de Leon said. He said it would have been better if the RH bill would be managed and supervised on a national level, but present conditions in the political system seem to work against the bill’s proponents. “The present administration wants to get the support of the bishops. It is subservient [to the Church]," de Leon said. Still, he said the development was still a positive step toward achieving the aims of the bill to provide Filipinos, especially the poor, with the proper tools and knowledge to guarantee a safe reproductive health. “Eh walang political will sa national level. Mas okay na ito kaysa naman abandonahin totally ang RH bill. Okay na din na namamanage ng LGUs on their respective levels," he said. (There is no political will on the national level. This is better than abandoning the RH bill totally. It seems alright to have the programs under the RH bill managed respectively by the LGUs) Oversight committee De Leon however said that just like most government projects, the fact should not be discounted that the RH Bill could still lure some public officials into corruption. As a safeguard, he said the government should form an oversight committee that would ensure that the funds entrusted to the local government units are disbursed appropriately. “We need such a body to monitor the program and prevent corruption," said de Leon, adding that the DOH should spearhead the formation of the proposed committee. “We also need to know which governors would use the money for the RH bill and who would just pocket the funds," he added. Economics professor Felipe Medalla had earlier expressed optimism that the RH bill would not become a viable venue for corruption to thrive. Medalla, former National Economic Development Authority director general, said in a recent interview with GMANews.TV that supposed “corrupt" officials would most likely think twice about attempting to pocket money because there is “only small money involved in the bill." Before the year ends, the government should have spent the P150-million budget allocation for the country’s family planning programs. And if it becomes a law, the RH Bill is expected to shore up only around P2 billion in appropriations every year. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV