Cayetano sees gender issue in RH bill debates

Winding down the day’s debate on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, Sen. Pia Cayetano on Tuesday expressed frustration over the length of time that needs to be spent debating pro-women legislation. “When it comes to women’s legislation, it is always an issue for the men," Cayetano said in response to her colleague, Sen. Vicente Sotto III, who opposes the bill. A previous bill on marital beating, for example, took the Senate three years to argue, Cayetano explained in an interview with GMA News Online after the debate. “It’s because we live in a world – not just in a country – dominated by men," she said. Cayetano was reacting to Sotto’s parting shot in the debate when the actor-turned-politician recalled other instances when the Senate took a long time debating certain bills. She said the Senate can finish debating the RH bill in a month’s time. “But you ask them," said Cayetano, referring to critics of the proposed law. Not a women’s issue In another interview, Sotto told GMA News Online that the issue is not what Cayetano makes it appear to be. “This is an issue of population control," he said. “This is not an issue of women." Cayetano maintained that the RH bill concerns gender-discrimination and gender-sensitivity, saying it is about giving women options – to access reproductive health services, for example – “in a society where men make the decisions." “Can she do that? Can she avail of these services? That is the most basic," she said. Earlier in the same debate, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago defended the RH bill by saying its “crux" is giving the poor access to modern family-planning methods. “Why is there so much heated debate about giving information to a person?" she said. Like Cayetano and Santiago, a number of groups have backed the RH bill on the basis that it tackles women’s health. - KBK, GMA News