Statement of Individual Faculty of UP &

ADMU in Support of HB 4244 (RH Bill)

PASS THE RH BILL NOW

Statement of individual faculty of the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila
University in support of HB 4244, “An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on
Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and for Other
Purposes”

We, the undersigned faculty of the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila
University, in our individual capacities as educators and scholars from various academic
disciplines, declare our strong support for the consolidated reproductive health bill (House Bill
4244) and urge its immediate passage in Congress. We issue this statement because we see the
need for our active engagement in social issues, believing as we do that the academe has a
distinct role to play in achieving social justice and national development.

We have read House Bill 4244 on “Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and
Population and Development” currently filed in the House of Representativesand have kept abreast
of the ongoing debates. Many of us have been working on reproductive health and its related
issues, some of us for decades. We have undertaken our own studies (literature reviews and
analysis, policy studies, empirical researches, etc.) on reproductive health. Many of us have
also participated in legislative processes such as public hearings and technical working groups.

Our studied and collective opinion is that House Bill 4244 is a vital piece of legislation. Its
passage will mandate policies which will save women’s and men’s lives, improve infant
survival, enhance young people’s health and well-being, and enable couples and individuals to
make responsible decisions in planning their families. We also endorse this bill as a necessary
element to achieve the goals of social equity,poverty reduction, and national development.
There is overwhelming scientific evidence that these goals can be achieved without resorting to
population control. Our reading of HB 4244 is that it is not a population control bill, nor does it
violate any other rights and freedoms. HB 4244 in fact promotes the sexual and reproductive
rights, the right to health, and the right to informed decision making of all Filipinos but
especially the poor, in fulfillment of the provisions of our Constitution and our obligations under
international covenants. The passage of a national and comprehensive law will also guarantee
budgetary support from the national government for reproductive health initiatives and ensure
their implementation by local government units, regardless of the vagaries of national and local
leadership.

We are issuing this statement because we wish to support those legislators who rely on scientific
evidence when they craft legislative proposals or decide how to vote. Their endorsement of HB
 4244 is an encouraging example of progressive legislation that is necessary to national
development.

In this light, we feel the need to comment on the way science has been misused by those who
oppose this bill. We have seen the misrepresentation of easily verifiable information, such as
the actual text of the proposed bill. We have witnessed the misuse of outdated studies, data that
have already been disproven, or studies that cannot be replicated to support what are merely
ideological positions. One example that is particularly dangerous is the lie that condoms do not
protect against sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. There have also been
those who misrepresent extremist positions as the prevailing consensus of the scientific
community. This evidence-based consensus, however, does support the provision
of reproductive health services that include contraceptive access and sexuality education. It also
supports the services for adolescents and children that HB 4244 mandates.

We are concerned over reports that teachers offer incentives, such as bonus points, for students
to make anti-RH statements or engage in anti-RH activities. We welcome disparate opinions as
necessary to the vitality of any scholarly community. Thus, we believe that it is an abuse of our
role as value formators to dictate the political actions of our students in this way. We denounce
any such violations of our duties to inculcate critical thinking and respect our students’ right to
their own opinions. We denounce this, regardless of whether the teacher is for or against the
RH Bill.

We caution our people to be more critical of the data and opinions presented to them and find out
the truth for themselves. We are heartened by polls that show that most Filipinos know of the
bill and support it, and in so doing have shown their capacity for enlightened citizenship.

Together with the legislators who have proven themselves worthy of their mandate by their
support for the bill, we reiterate our full and unequivocal endorsement of HB 4244 and call for
its immediate enactment into law.

John Piermont Montilla

Project Specialist

Philippine NGO Support Program, Inc. (PHANSuP)

(engaging communities for health and development)
Operating Units: APRDC, ARETS and SAGAT
4/F VD&S Bldg., 59-B Panay Avenue, Quezon City 1103 Philippines
Tel/Fax: (+632)-332-1914 | +639166682183 | johnpiermont_vm@yahoo.com | skype:
fareasternsoul |
Weblink: http://www.aidsalliance.org/linkingorganisationdetails.aspx?id=15

PHANSuP is the linking organization in the Philippines of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance
since 1994.
__._,_.___
.

__,_._,___