Women’s Rights NGO calls on Candidates to Uphold Women’s Rights

"Congressional and local electoral candidates when elected into government posts must uphold women's rights as protected by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Women's Convention)," says Atty. Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of EnGendeRights. She adds, "They must take their stand to protect women's access to the full range of contraceptive methods including emergency contraception, access to safe and legal abortion, sexuality education for adolescents, skills and education for women in prostitution, legalization of divorce, repeal of discriminatory Muslim Code provisions and lesbian rights."


These concerns except for lesbian rights were included in the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Concluding Comments during its 36th Session in August 2006. CEDAW monitors the implementation of the Women's Convention by the Philippine government.


"When elected into office they must provide access to the full range of contraceptive methods in an effort to prevent unintended pregnancy, abortion and maternal mortality and morbidity. They must take a stand in opposing bills restricting access to medically safe methods of contraception such as emergency contraceptive pills, Depo Provera, and IUDs," Atty. Padilla added.

"Congressional representatives should file bills that uphold women's rights including bills on Reproductive Health Care, Anti-Discrimination against Sexual Orientation; repeal of the penalty imposed on women who induce abortion and those assisting them as means to decrease maternal mortality and morbidity related to complications from unsafe abortion; improvement of the implementation of the Policy on Prevention and Management of Abortion Complications; implementation of sexuality education in schools for adolescents; and legalization of divorce," says Atty. Padilla.

In the House of Representatives, staunch supporters of reproductive health and rights in the past were Nereus Acosta (whose sister Malou Acosta is now running), Benjamin Agarao, Jr., Mayong Aguja (Akbayan), Darlene Antonino-Custodio, Agapito Aquino, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel (Akbayan), Liza Largoza-Maza (Gabriela Women's Party), Renato Magtubo (Partido ng Manggagawa), Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna), Gilbert Remulla, Loretta Ann Rosales (Akbayan), Rolex T. Suplico, Lorenzo R. Tañada III, and Ronaldo B. Zamora.

Atty. Padilla said, "Government officials should follow the lead of local government officials such as Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo of Aurora and Governor Glenn Prudenciano of Ifugao who have spearheaded the enactment of ordinances such as "The Aurora Reproductive Health Care Code of 2005" (Provincial Ordinance No. 125 (2005)) supporting increased reproductive health care services, including mandatory sexuality education, responsible parenthood counseling and "Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenthood Ordinance of Ifugao" (Ordinance 2006-33), respectively."

"We cannot have government officials who use their religious beliefs in governance. Clearly, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has wielded her influence in the Department of Health and the Population Commission in vigorously campaigning for the so-called "natural family planning" (NFP) method as a means of courting the religious right," said Atty. Padilla.

Atty. Padilla cautioned against several local officials who used their administrative powers to completely prohibit the delivery of modern methods of contraceptives and to promote natural family planning. She says, "In recent years, policies banning all "artificial" birth control methods, including condoms, pills, intra-uterine devices and sterilization, were introduced in Laguna, Manila City, and Puerto Princesa in 1995, 2000 and 2001 respectively. The policies introduced in Laguna and Puerto Princesa have since been overturned by subsequent local administrations, but the Manila City Policy still prevails."

In Makati, pregnant adolescents are denied access to free medical services through an erroneous assumption of Mayor Jejomar Binay that such policy will "discourage the incidence of teenage pregnancies." Atty. Padilla says, "This policy clearly discriminates against adolescents' right to access reproductive services and unnecessarily puts them at risk."

"Another glaring example is the continued conduct of congressional hearings in the 13th Congress on bills filed by blatantly religious party-list groups such as Buhay party-list that aim to prohibit safe and effective methods of contraception including IUDS and emergency contraceptive pills and even increase the penalty for women who induce abortion all stemming from their religious beliefs," Atty. Padilla continued.


Atty. Padilla says, "We also have the problem of continued arrests by police of abortion service providers and sellers of the medical abortion pill Cytotec. Television crews, who do not understand the issues of women relating to abortion and who are mainly concerned with raising their viewership for purposes of sensationalism, instigated these arrests."


"Such religious stances have no place in governance. These stances disregard women's realities where half of all pregnancies of Filipino women are unintended and about 200 Filipino women die from maternal-related causes out of every 100,000 live births," says Atty. Padilla citing the UNFPA 2006 State of the World Population report. Nine in 10 women who induce abortion are married or in a consensual union, more than half have at least 3 children, roughly two-thirds are poor and nearly 90% are Catholic; about 800 women die every year (or two women die every day) due to complications resulting from unsafe abortion; approximately 473,000 women had abortions and an estimated 79,000 women were hospitalized for complications due to unsafe abortion in 2000 (Singh S et al., Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Causes and Consequences, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2006, at 4). Such stances endanger women's lives and health violating women's basic right to life and health.

The constitutional provision protecting the life of woman and the unborn from conception allows access to information and services to contraception and even abortion. Chile and Peru have the same constitutional protection of the life of the woman and the unborn from conception and they allow access to emergency contraceptive pills. In Argentina and Belgium, emergency contraceptive pills are available without prescription. Spain, upon whose old Penal Code the Philippine Revised Penal Code penalty imposed on the woman who induced abortion was adopted, allows abortion on grounds of rape and fetal impairment leaving the Philippines to contend with its colonial laws. Belgium, France and Italy allow abortion on demand. Colombia allows abortion on grounds of danger to life and health, rape and fetal malformation incompatible with life outside the uterus. Last April 24, Mexico City legalized abortion in the first trimester without restriction.

All the above-mentioned predominantly Catholic countries belie the claim that restricting access to contraception and even safe and legal abortion in the Philippines is a matter of practice of the Catholic religion. It is simply ignorance of medicine, science and law and clinging to our colonial past.

Catholic women around the world--including more than 60 percent of Catholic women in Trinidad, Tobago and Botswana, and 28 percent in the Philippines--have used contraceptive methods, showing that Catholic women exercise freedom of conscience.

It is the obligation of the Philippine government as cited in the recent CEDAW Concluding Comments on the Philippines to "strengthen measures aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, including by making a comprehensive range of contraceptives more widely available and without any restriction"; "give priority attention to the situation of adolescents and that it provide sex education, targeted at girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases."

CEDAW urged the Philippines "to consider the problem of unsafe abortion as a matter of high priority. The Committee recommends that the State party consider reviewing the laws relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion and provide them with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to reduce women's maternal mortality rates."


"Elected officials must realize that our very own Constitution states that, 'Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.' Elected officials must be reminded that they are mere representatives of the Filipino people and that their obligation is to the Filipino people and not to themselves," said Atty. Padilla.

"Elected officials must respect plurality in our society. They should allow access to information and health care services and give primary importance to a person's right to reproductive self-determination. Fundamentalist public officials who restrict access to information and health care services do not deserve any place in governance," Atty. Padilla added.

- www.engenderights.org

Consumers decry P1.73/kwh rates increase, call for cancellation of onerous IPP contracts

Members of Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) staged a picket today in front of the Energy Regulatory Commission office to protest the impending P1.73/kwh increase in their power rates due to recoveries applied for by Meralco at the Commission.


Meralco has filed two petitions at the ERC asking for collection of its "under-recoveries" in generation costs and system loss charges for the months of December 2006 and January 2007. So far, this is second highest power rate hike petition since 2004, when Napocor appealed for a P2/kwh increase in its generation charges. The ERC only approved P1.03/kwh.


The coalition noted that the recoveries for December 2006 alone would mean about P1.11/kWh increase in Meralco consumer's electricity bill once this is approved by the ERC. The increase resulting from two applications of Meralco will actually be higher than P1.73/kwh because Meralco also wanted to impose a carrying cost or interest equivalent to 91-day T-bill rates plus 300 points for the delay in the implementation of new charges and also because VAT would be imposed on the increase in generation rate and systems loss charges.


"The consumers had enough of these increases. We cannot take any more unjust increases. We are already charged about P9/kwh to P9.50/kwh for our electricity," said FDC Vice President Wilson Fortaleza.


Fortaleza explained that electricity rates remain high because of the continued passing on to the consumers of the costs due to the onerous "take-or-pay" provision in the IPP contracts which both the National Power Corporation and Meralco entered into.


"We continue to suffer because of paying for the overpriced contracted electricity from the IPPs even when this is actually not fully generated. It is unjust and immoral to be made to pay for electricity that one did not use, and which is not available in the first place," Fortaleza added.


FDC demanded that the government must make a decisive step towards reducing electricity rates. This can be done by either canceling the onerous IPP contracts or change its onerous terms such as the take-or-pay and the fuel guarantees. The coalition demanded further that VAT on power should be lifted to provide relief for electricity consumers.

STOP THE WAR IN MINDANAO

Proof of MNLF coddling JI and ASG must be presented; US Troops Out


As hostilities between the Philippine military and the Moro National
Liberation front escalate in Mindanao, we from the Stop the War
Coalition - Philippines, a broad coalition of social movements,
NGOs, and other organizations, join the call for an immediate
ceasefire, a return to the negotiating table, and full, substantive,
and meaningful self-determination for the Moros, indigenous, and
other oppressed peoples in Mindanao.

We demand convincing and unequivocal proof behind the government's
reason for its military offensive – i.e. that the Moro National
Liberation Front is coddling 'terrorists.' We reject the manipulative
use of the threat of 'terrorism' against the Moro people and we
reject military solutions to address the said threat.

We demand the immediate withdrawal of the US troops who have been
permanently stationed in Mindanao since 2002 and we demand that they
play absolutely no role whatsoever – whether in providing
intelligence or assisting in operations – in the ongoing conflict.

We call for justice for all those who have been killed, tortured, or
detained and we demand accountability and punishment for all
perpetrators.

We demand relief and rehabilitation for all those who have been
displaced by the war, protection for all civilians, and compensation
for all those who have been affected.

We call on the media to report on the war fairly and accurately. We
demand that journalists refrain from being the mouthpiece of the
military and we demand that they should have the courage to challenge
and verify the military's claims.

We call for the full implementation of the peace agreements and we
call for the expulsion of hawks in the military and in the government
who have been working to undermine it. We demand the immediate
release of Nur Misuari who has been illegally detained for five years
without any trial.

We stand in solidarity with all those who stand for lasting peace and
genuine self-determination.

Stop the War Coalition-Philippines
17 April 2007


Members:

Alliance of Genuine Labor Organizations (AGLO)
AKBAYAN!
Akbayan! Youth
Alab Katipunan
Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)
ALMANA
ALYANSA!
Anak Mindanao Party (AMIN)
APPRA
ASAP
ASSALAM Bangsamoro
ASSALAM Party
Bagong Kamalayan Collective, Inc
Bangsamoro People's Solidarity
Billah Islam
BISIG-Youth
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)
Coalition Against Trafficking of Women Asia Pacific (CATW-AP)
Filipino Democratic Movement (FilDem)
Focus on the Global South
Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC)
Gathering for Peace
Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD)
International South Group Network (ISGN)
Juan Makata
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission – Association of
Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines
K! Kalayaan NCR-BLC
KAAKBAY AFDM
Kagan People's Forum – Mindanao
KAISA KA
KALAYAAN
KANLUNGAN
Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya
KOMPAK
Laban ng Masa (LnM)
League of Urban Poor for Action
Liga Manggagawa
MAKABAYAN Pilipinas
Movement for Student Power (MASP)
PANGISDA
Partido Manggagawa
People's Task Force for Bases Clean UP Philippines
Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement
Philippine Peace and Security Council
Pambansang Kaisahan ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (PKMP)
PKSK
Progressive Organization of Worker Advocates (PRO-WORKER)
Resource Center for People's Development (RCPD)
Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK)
SANLAKAS
Solidarity of Unions and Labor Organizations for a New Government
(SULONG)
Task Force Subic Rape
Teatrong Bayan
TW-MAE-W
UP ALYANSA
UP Assabiyah
UP-IIS
Women and Gender Commission AMRSP
Women and Gender Institute
Women's Legal Bureau, Inc
YES to Change!
Young Moro Professionals Network
Youth for Nationalism and Democracy (YND)


ENDORSED BY (as of 18 April 2007):
Asian Women Human Rights Council- Philippines
Balay Rehabilitation Center
CONZARRD Inc.
GZO Peace Institute
Jihad-al-Akbar Org
Lolas Kampanyera Comfort Women Survivors Group
Mindanao Solidarity Network
Wedpro Inc.
Xaverian Missionaries

(Individuals)
Fr. Archie Casey SX
Lennard Daoud P Tan
Sheila May Tan