Opponents of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill at the House of
Representatives are banking on 64 lawmakers who either failed to show up
or did not vote during Wednesday night’s session to prevent the passage
of the controversial measure in the lower chamber.
Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing, a staunch RH critic, said the votes from
the absentees when the House approved the proposed legislation on second
reading can reverse the results of the voting on third reading.
“The absentees will be an open battlefield. We are confident that some
of our colleagues will finally show up and help us junk this bill,”
Bagatsing said in a phone interview.
He added that the 104 lawmakers who voted to reject the bill on second reading already belong to a “tight” group and will no longer change their minds.
“Against all odds na kami. We were already able to withstand all kinds
of pressure and made a stand. Malabo na magbago ang isip ng mga iyan,”
he said.
Further, Bagatsing said that it is
“more likely” for pro-RH lawmakers to change their votes, although the
anti-RH side does not plan to persuade them to do so.
(How House members voted, who were absent)
(How House members voted, who were absent)
The House approved the
controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill, formally known as House
Bill 4244, on second reading early Thursday morning via a close 113-104
vote with three abstentions. Around 60 House members were absent during
the voting, while some did not cast their vote at all.
The measure, which seeks to improve parenting habits and allocate
government resources to ensure public access to both natural and
artificial birth control methods, is one of the priority bills of
President Benigno Aquino III’s administration.
It is being opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, which supports only natural family planning methods.
One of the most contentious pieces of legislation in recent history, the RH bill has never gotten this far in Congress. Its proponents expect House approval next week, then a bicameral conference in January with the Senate, which is also expected to approve their version of the bill next week.
It is being opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, which supports only natural family planning methods.
One of the most contentious pieces of legislation in recent history, the RH bill has never gotten this far in Congress. Its proponents expect House approval next week, then a bicameral conference in January with the Senate, which is also expected to approve their version of the bill next week.
‘The real divide’
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, who voted in favor of the RH
bill, likewise said that the absentees can still change the fate of the
controversial measure.
“Now that the votes are
already recorded. It would be more difficult to change your vote. You
will only look for those who voted yes on second reading to show up on
third reading, and those who did not cast their vote. There are around
60 who did not participate,” Gonzales said in a separate interview.
He said the House leadership will try to push for a vote on the RH bill
on third and final reading when sessions resume on Monday.
“We will approve it on third reading hopefully by Monday. We intend to
do it on Monday. We directed the Secretary General to distribute printed
copies of the approved bill to the respective rooms of the House
members for third reading approval,” he said.
Gonzales further said that the RH bill vote on Wednesday night only proved how divided the House is on the issue.
“This is the real divide. It only shows that we are not joking when we
said that it is very hard to shepherd the bill because Congress is
divided on this issue,” he said.
At the Senate, the bill is still in the period of amendments and is scheduled for a vote on second reading next week. — RSJ/HS, GMA News
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