Miriam vows full implementation of RH law

Presidential candidate Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Friday vowed the full implementation of Republic Act 10354 or the Reproductive Health (RH) Law if she gets elected president in the upcoming elections.

In a statement, Santiago said that despite RH Law’s passage in 2012, several of its key provisions have yet to be implemented by the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.

Among these provisions are the equal access to family planning methods and contraceptive products as well sex education for teenage women.

Santiago, who was main author of the RH Law in the Senate, said the delayed implementation of the measure “cripples the government” in addressing the alarming maternal and infant mortality rates in the country.

Citing government records, Santiago said that as of 2012, some 221 mothers die per 100,000 live births in the Philippines, a far cry from the target of 52 mothers dying per 100,000 live births set by the international community, and even higher than the baseline of 192 mothers dying per 100,000 live births in 1990.

Santiago said the high maternal and infant mortality rate is associated with unplanned pregnancy and delivery especially among poor and teenage women.

“The total fertility rate has been going down, but poor women are still having twice as many children as they desire. Moreover, a rising trend in teenage pregnancy and delivery has been observed,” Santiago said.

Santiago said this continuing trend is mainly due to “inadequate access to family planning information, goods, and services”.

“Poor mothers in rural communities are more than five times as likely to die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. This reflects the inability of poor women to access family planning—something that rich women take as a given,” Santiago said.

Santiago said the poor state of maternal health is also linked to high infant and under-five mortality.

As of 2012, the Philippines posted a ratio of 24 infants dying per 1,000 live births. Some 75,000 children also die before their fifth birthday.

Aside from fully implementing the RH Law, Santiago said that her administration will veer away from disease-driven initiatives and focus on strengthening the country’s health system.

“A health system is weak if it fails to protect women and children,” Santiago said. —Elizabeth Marcelo/JST, GMA News