Rep. Edcel C. Lagman
Independent – Albay
14 February 2013
0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137

 

• LABOR AND CAPITAL ARE
• BENEFICIARIES OF RH LAW

 

 

                Labor and capital on the same side of the barricade and working together for a common goal - it’s a rare occurrence but it happened on the road to enact the Reproductive Health Law.

 

              In a symposium sponsored by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, the main proponent of the RH law, stated that “it was truly auspicious that capital and labor momentarily set aside their traditional ‘class antagonisms’ in jointly supporting the enactment of the RH law.”

 

            Lagman underscored that the common advocacy of capital and labor for the approval of the RH bill arises from an accurate assessment and firm realization that an RH law would be mutually beneficial to them.

 

              He urged them to comply with the RH law and monitor its full implementation.

 

           Lagman recalled that at the height of the RH controversy, five of the country’s largest business groups, ECOP, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), Makati Business Club (MBC), Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), issued a joint statement urging the Congress to immediately pass the RH bill.

 

            A similar call was made by labor groups like the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) for the enactment of a rights-based, health-oriented and development-driven law on responsible parenthood, reproductive health and population and development.

 

            He said that the Philippines’ inordinately huge population growth rate of 1.9%, which translates to an annual increase in population of approximately 2 million people, exacerbates unemployment and depresses wages.

 

             “This is a fatal combination which menaces both capital and labor,” Lagman said.

 

           He added that among the beneficiaries of the RH Law are the marginalized workers who will be voluntary recipients of free reproductive health information and services, including family planning and contraception by choice, even as covered employers are mandated to  provide such services in the workplace under the Labor Code.

 

           Lagman emphasized that the RH law will also (1) lessen the gap between wanted and actual fertility rates in the country because of the projected increase in contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR); (2) improve the health and productivity of women workers as they will have the chance to plan and space their children; (3) increase the earning capacity of women workers as less children will afford them greater opportunities for more productive economic activities; (4) result in significant savings for both the government and the private sector as a reduction in the rates of pregnancy and childbirth will translate to lower allocations for maternity and paternity leave benefits; (5) lower unemployment and underemployment rates as it will progressively reduce new entrants into the labor force annually; (6) ease the backlogs in education and help promote quality education and adequate skills development, and eventually produce a qualified and productive reservoir of workers for capital and business; and (7) afford both the government and parents to effectively invest more in human capital, particularly in health, education and childcare.

 

           Lagman maintained that “the RH law will propel the emergence of a healthy, educated, skilled, and competent workforce which would enhance productivity and output in the workplace.”

 

          Moreover, he said that as the population growth decelerates, government’s net savings from healthcare and education can be used to finance more infrastructure development to enhance the investment climate.

 

            Lagman, however, clarified that the RH law is not a magic wand and the benefits will not be instantaneous but “the beneficent effects of the RH law are sure to come with the proper, expeditious and faithful implementation of this historic statute which has long range effects on our economy, the alleviation of mass poverty and the achievement of sustainable human development.”