Contact Details

Rm. N-411, House of Representatives, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
+63 2 931 5497, +63 2 931 5001 local 7370

Press Statements
Rep. Edcel C. Lagman
Independent – Albay
12 December 2012
0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137
             The passage of House Bill 4244 or the Reproductive Health Bill is a signal victory for Filipino women and children who will reap the benefits of improved maternal and infant health which the bill seeks to guarantee.
             I laud the courageous Representatives who stood their ground and refused to be intimidated by the presence of Catholic bishops in the Plenary Hall today. They have indeed proven that the voice of the people is the voice of God.
            Finally, the Representatives of the people have spoken in accord with their constituents who have long favored the enactment of the bill.
            These legislators are truly the guardians of the peoples’ rights, health and sustainable development, and not centurions of the dominant church.
Today, reason triumphed over fanaticism; logic over dogma; and hope over fear.
              We have prevailed over a well-funded campaign to demonize the RH bill because we have unshakable faith in our cause – that every child born deserves to be planned and wanted; that women should not die from unplanned, mistimed and high risk pregnancies; that people must have the right to decide when and how often they want to become parents; and that sustainable human development and genuine progress cannot be achieved if the Philippines does not address its population problem.
             We could not have achieved this victory without the unwavering support of the NGO community and civil society groups as well our partners in the tri-media and social media. The authors of the bill are truly grateful for their invaluable encouragement and endorsement.
             We also thank President Aquino for his steadfast endorsement of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Bill and the House of Representatives' leadership under Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II for delivering on their commitment to have the bill voted upon.

Press Statements
EXPLANATION OF AFFIRMATIVE VOTE ON HOUSE BILL 4244
OF REP. EDCEL C. LAGMAN

           This bill is not about sex. Neither is it about religion. It is about human rights, maternal and infant health and sustainable human development.
             The hallmark of this bill is freedom of informed choice. This bill recognizes that neither the State nor the Church has the authority to compel the citizens or the laity to follow a particular family planning method. The choice belongs to couples and women who shall freely and responsibly determine the number and spacing of their children.
              The nexus between human development and population is too close and interrelated to be ignored. While this bill is not a population control measure and has no demographic target, it pursues a sound population policy that addresses the population issue because sustainable human development cannot be attained without first solving the population problem which impacts adversely on all major human development indicators  - education, healthcare, food security, mass housing, employment and the environment.
                The substitute bill has already addressed the objections, concerns and reservations of critics.
            This bill does not duplicate existing laws. It has substantial innovations not found in current statutes. In fact, it strengthens existing laws. The Magna Carta of Women (MCW) is not duplicated by the RH bill because the MCW is for women while the RH bill is for all.  It is relevant to place on record that many of the bicameral conferees who crafted the final version of the MCW signed the conference committee report with the express colatilla that their conformity was without prejudice to the subsequent enactment of a reproductive health law.
           It is constitutional because what the fundamental law prohibits is abortion, not contraception. The RH bill repeatedly acknowledges that abortion is illegal and punishable and is not included in the menu of family planning methods. In fact, there is no Philippine statute which prohibits the manufacture, procurement, distribution, sale, prescription and use of contraceptives which have been medically validated as not abortifacients.
              The sponsoring committee, through this Representation, rejected the attempt of anti-RH colleagues to insert a provision on “when life begins” because legislators do not have the competence to resolve this issue which no less than medical authorities and the international scientific community have so far failed to determine. Moreover, the proponents made fertilization synonymous to conception which are different stages of the reproductive process.
                Our people have spoken. Survey after survey show that the great majority favor the enactment of an RH law.
            I beseech our colleagues to be true representatives of their constituents by voting in accord with the people’s genuine choice.
                Let us be true representatives of our people, not centurions of an established religion.
                Let us have children by choice, not by chance.
               I vote yes.

Press Statements
Rep. Edcel C. Lagman
Independent – Albay
16 December 2012
0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137
             The writing on the wall spelling the defeat of anti-RH critics is verily patent which even the blind can perceive.
             All viva voce and nominal voting consistently and repeatedly trounced those opposed to the measure.
             The continuing resistance of a few Catholic bishops and their lay allies is inordinate intransigence even after a clear majority in the House of Representatives has spoken in accord with the overriding resolve of the Filipino people in favor of the RH bill.
             Legislation is the joint responsibility of the legislative and executive departments.
             It must be no surprise for Cabinet members of President Benigno Aquino to monitor developments in the approval of the controversial measure which has been endorsed by the President.
            The collaborative efforts between the two political departments are highlighted by the following constitutional practices and precepts:
1)            The Executive traditionally initiates major legislations, particularly when the President presents in his State of the Nation Address his administration’s legislative agenda. The ensuing bills are known as administration bills.
2)            Bills upon the initiative of individual legislators are sometimes endorsed by the President as priority measures to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), like the RH bill.
3)            The President has the power to certify the immediate enactment of certain bills where his discretion has been sustained by the Supreme Court in a number of cases.
4)            A bill becomes a law only when the President signs the enrolled bill or when he allows it to lapse into law without his signature.

             In a secular State like the Philippines, the Church may participate indirectly in the process of legislation by engaging in the national discourse, but religious interference is constitutionally prohibited, more so the threats of reprisal against legislators at the polls which may even be an election offense.

Press Statements

 

  • Rep. Edcel C. Lagman
  • Independent – Albay
  • 17 December 2012
  • 0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137

 

 

MERITS OF THE RH BILL

JUSTIFY ITS PASSAGE

 

              The inherent merit of the RH bill was its badge for passage and the Presidential certification was the assurance for its approval.

 

             While the certification by the President of the necessity for immediate enactment of the RH bill sealed its enactment, the intrinsic merit of the measure and its laudable objectives galvanized legislators’ support and justified the Presidential endorsement.

 

           Being meritorious, relevant and necessary, the bill did not only receive the support of the executive and legislative departments, but primarily of the Filipino people, both adults and adolescents, Catholics and non-Catholics, rich and poor, entrepreneurs and workers, as well as the academe and the marketplace.

 

            Who could successfully argue against the bill’s hallmark of informed choice where there is neither compulsion nor reward for a couple’s or woman’s decision?

 

           Who could refute the valid observation that a runaway population growth rate aggravates the problems besetting healthcare, education, food security, employment, mass housing and the environment?

 

           Who could negate the truism that the enactment of the RH bill will help the country approximate its commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly on the improvement of maternal health, reduction of infant mortality, attainment of universal primary education and eradication of extreme hunger and poverty?

 

             Who could debunk the empirical verity on the linkage between population and human development as one of the guiding principles of the bill?

 

             Who could dispute that mandatory reproductive health and sexuality education among the young will not breed sex maniacs but would instill in them proper sexual values, discourage early entry into sexual relations, promote abstinence before marriage, avoid multiple sexual partners and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases?

 

            Who could rebut that the correct and consistent use of contraceptives will reduce abortion rates by as high as 85% because high risk and unwanted pregnancies, which are the ones aborted, will be prevented?

 

            Who could contest decades of medical research validating that contraceptives are not abortifacients and do not compromise a woman’s health any more than ordinary drugs and medicines?

 

        Who could oppose that family planning is more cost-effective compared to multi-billion mega projects of government with less beneficiaries? UNICEF has asserted that “family planning could bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race.”

Press Statements

 

  • Office of Rep. Edcel C. Lagman
  • Independent – Albay
  • 10 December 2012
  • 0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137

 

 

 

             Catholic bishops are welcome during the consideration and voting on the RH bill, but they are cautioned not to demean Congresspersons by treating them like docile sheep to be watched and shepherded.

 

             The presence of bishops in the plenary during the past session days did not save the “killer” amendments proposed by RH critics from being voted down repeatedly.

 

             What Bishops cannot achieve by reason and persuasion, they must not pursue through fear and intimidation.

 

             If the veiled purpose of the Bishops’ presence in the gallery is to sow fear or employ intimidation against legislators, they will not succeed because fear is destitute of reason and must be resisted with conviction, and not be allowed to deter or delay legislation.

 

             Fear has always been used by the clergy as an instrument of repression and reprisal like fear of eternal damnation, fear of excommunication, fear of offending religious ministers, fear of contraceptives as abortifacients and carcinogenic, and fear of a demographic winter, all of which are wanting of reasonable and empirical anchorage.