Akbayan counters Catholic Church's 'Team Buhay/Team Patay' campaign

Purple and yellow take on red and black as the women members of Akbayan Party-list on Wednesday mounted their own tarpaulins in response to the "Team Buhay/Team Patay" posters plastered on the wall of San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City. Akbayan's posters, mounted in Manila, are stamped with "Team RH" across the top. The yellow tarps call on voters to choose senatorial candidates who will defend the RH Law. The purple tarps campaign for universal healthcare, which the group characterizes as having a doctor in every hospital, access to free medicine and hospitalization for all, training and skill-building for barangay health workers, and barangay health education. On the other hand, the Buhay/Patay tarps list senatorial candidates who voted against the RH Law under Team Buhay, and Pro-RH senatorial candidates under Team Patay. The Supreme Court had earlier issued a temporary restraining order that prevented the Commission on Elections from removing the tarp. Oral arguments on the issue are scheduled on March 19. According to Akbayan leader Dr. Guy Claudio, the Buhay/Patay poster is simplistic and deflects attention from other issues. “By using a candidate's support for or against the RH Law as the sole determinant and guide in voting, the Team Patay drive oversimplifies the elections and risks distracting the voting public from other pressing issues like the reform of the country’s health system,” she said in a press release. “As an alternative, we mounted ‘Team RH’ tarpaulins to provide the voters with clearer and broader electoral guideposts this coming election anchored on universal health care and other important issues surrounding the country’s health care system,” she added. According to Akbayan, they will be mounting the Team RH tarpaulins in key provinces and cities nationwide, along with a campaign to educate voters on issues to consider when choosing candidates in the upcoming elections, particularly those related to health. — DVM, GMA News Photos by Akbayan