Interfaith Partnership for the Promotion of

Responsible Parenthood, Inc.

Abundant and Healthy Life for Each Filipino Family

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Prof. Vern Compas, ipprp.ph@gmail.com / 0999-3630018

Higit sa lahat, ang Tao: RH PANINDIGAN!

Interfaith urges: Vote wisely, vote RH
Interfaith groups led by NCR-based Interfaith Partnership for the Promotion of Responsible Parenthood
(IPPRP) are appalled by the increasing rates of teenage pregnancy, maternal and child mortality and the
unmet needs for family planning.
They decry the lack of reproductive health supplies and services, and stongly urge the public to support
candidates who will address this crisis through solid reproductive health (RH) policy and budgetary support.
We should vote for leaders who seriously consider laws that protect and promote the right of the citizens.
When occasions arise such as campaigns and dialogues with candidates local or national, the candidates
should be asked whether they are aware of the RH law in the first place and how, in concrete terms, will
they implement the law, Fr. Rex Reyes, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of the
Philippines (NCCP), said in the press conference of interfaith leaders from Muslim, Evangelical, and
Protestant congregations, as well as Catholics for RH and Indigenous People, on April 13, 2016 in Quezon
City.
Any candidate who claims to be truly makamasa/pro-people, pro-life and pro-development should support
and promote RH without reservation, said Luz Frances "Bicbic" Chua, Executive Director of Catholic for
Reproductive Health (C4RH). That sentiment tied into relevant data from Pulse Asias latest survey in
February 2016 which revealed that 8 out of 10 Filipinos say it is important that candidates include family
planning in their programs of action.
She added that the increasing rates of maternal mortality, teenage pregnancies, and HIV incidences are just
some of the compelling reasons why C4RH, along with other RH advocates, is serious about the proper
implementation of RPRH Law.
The Philippines has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), and is the only country where the rate is increasing, according to the United Nations Population
Fund. The Philippines has also failed to meet its Millennium Development Goal of decreasing maternal
deaths. In addition, information from the Guttmacher Institute and the UP Population Institute indicates
that maternal deaths have increased from 11 per day to 15 per day.
The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH Act, RA 10354), came into full force on April 8,
2014, after the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional. However, as shown in the report of the Commission
on Population, the implementation of the law has been rather slow due to several factors: the unmet needs
for FP services is still high, service delivery and capacity building is limited to the public sector and the
budget allocation for reproductive health and supplies is low. The training of skilled workers and service
providers is also negligible. There is also the need for all government agencies to coordinate their efforts.
The Interfaith leaders expressed their deep concern over the current situation, which shows a weak
implementation of the law.
This is appalling and unacceptable. It only means our neighbours in ASEAN have committed themselves to
very concrete RH programs for their own young population, and we have been in denial of this humungous
problem, said Bishop Rodrigo D. Tano, IPPRP President. He added that the problem was clearly
exacerbated
by the reduction of the budget allocation by 1B pesos for commodities and by the non-compliance and
violation of the RH law by some local government officials. Such violation of the law should be sanctioned
accordingly.
Indigenous Peoples National Chaplain of BAGO National Cultural Society of the Philippines, Inc., Rev. Dr.
Simplicio Dang-Awan Jr., added: If a leader supports the full implementation of this law by providing or
increasing the funding of health facilities, so that such agencies can address the needs of our people
especially those in the hinterlands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, particularly persons with disabilities,
the lowly educated, and the poor, which compose the greater majority of our society; then such a leader is
really a public servant.

For his part, Professor Moner Bajunaid, General Secretary of National Ulama Conference of the Philippines
(NUCP), stated that Christians and Muslims agree on the aspect of reproductive health dealing with the
health of both mother and child. In this connection, he referred to the Mindanao Autonomy Act 292, called
the Reproductive Health Care Act 292. However, he stated that in the ARMM, the target in the promotion
of maternal and child health is low, just 10% of the population. He expressed concern about maternal and
child health, as well as gender and family issues. He quoted a provision in the Koran: Do not kill your child
for fear on that because we trust in God.
Church groups can be active partners of the government in implementing the RH law, explained Prof.
Vern B. Compas, IPPRP Executive Director. He said that apart from mobilizing their own doctors, nurses and
social workers, pastors must also include responsible parenting and access to RH services in their sermons,
Bible study materials, in premarital counselling and family and youth development programs. He added
that faith-based leaders such as pastors, priests, and imams, especially those that have been trained in
reproductive health and acceptors of family planning, can be active advocates and implementers of the
reproductive health law.
It is high time for religious leaders, educators, government agencies and civil society organizations to
confront the tragic reality of dysfunctional and poor families, the increasing rates of teen pregnancy,
maternal and infant mortality and HIV/AIDS, so that as a nation we can enjoy total development and wellbeing, Bishop Tano said.

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Descriptions of each organization:
Interfaith Partnership for the Promotion of Responsible Parenthood, Inc. (IPPRP)
IPPRP is a registered faith-based NGO, a gathering of various faith-based groups and support partners
committed on the promotion and advocacy of responsible parenthood which includes family planning,
reproductive health and population and development concerns through information, education, advocacy
and partnership development. In the past 10-years, they have trained over a thousand faith-based leaders
on RP/RH/FP including thousands of youth on faith-based adolescent and reproductive health who are
serving now as advocates.
Indigenous Peoples (IPs) National Cultural Society of the Philippines, Inc. (BNCSPI)
The Bago tribe is the most numerous in population among the Indigenous People (IP) of Region I, recorded
at over 700,000 individuals making up 6% of the total IP population and is described as the most organized
tribe nationwide (NCIP). The Bago are hilltribe dwellers in the border regions between Ilocos and
Cordillera mountains who are the offspring of intermarriages as well as product of trade between mountain
tribes of the Cordillera and the Iloko of the lowlands. They hold the Bago Tribal Congress and Cultural
Festival including Bago youth conference where they do massive information campaigns to help them
regain their ancestral domain, promote their culture and strengthen values including family health and
well-being.
National Ulama Conference of the Philippines (NUCP)
The NUCP is national network of Ulama (Muslim religious scholars) with the principal aim of strengthening
the unity, cooperation and coordination among Muslim religious scholars to allow them to more actively
promote peace and harmony in society through dialogue among peoples of different religions and cultures,
and thereby become effective instruments in the attainment of peace and development in Muslim
communities.
Catholics for Reproductive Health (C4RH)
The Catholics for Reproductive Health (C4RH) is an organization of Filipino Catholics who actively took part
in the advocacy for the passage of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law. They
believe that everyone has the right to reproductive health (RH) information and services [and that it] which
is consistent with our faith and morality as Catholic Christians.
National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP)
Founded in 1963, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) is an ecumenical fellowship of
non-Roman Catholic denominations in the Philippines working for unity in faith and order. This implies
providing the churches opportunities for common prophetic witness and service in responding to the
peoples issues, specifically justice and peace, human dignity and rights, and the integrity of creation. It also
compels the church to bring about Christian hope in to the realm of the possible in a society weighed down
by systemic violence and degradation.