Representative Emi De Jesus – of Gabriela Women’s Partylist in a press conference at the Negros Media Center last Friday.*(Owen S. Bayog/NDB photo)
Gabriela Women’s Partylist Representative Emi De Jesus says a consolidated bill which is House Bill 4244 on RH is on its way for debate on Congress after the executive and legislative branches had given their observations regarding the Reproductive Health Bill. De Jesus said that were no major revisions except on moving a certain provision of the bill saying that sexuality education on Grade 5 pupils will be moved to Grade 6.
The executive branch of Congress also gave an opinion to retain the provision that came from the Gabriela Women’s Partylist version on the rights of the women workers who are pregnant. Given the recent developments on RH Bill, De Jesus told members of the media that there might be a dramatic appreciation of the consolidated bill and so as to clear out certain points that RH Bill has no relation to population control.
The said bill had earned a large opposition from the church and pro-life groups in the province who had demonstrated against RH in Negros and had shaped up on a national scale to reject the said “Death Bill”.
Gabriela on the otherhand says they are working on certain amendments after they will be meeting with the other authors of the House Bill. De Jesus further added that they are to change the provisions that stipulates on population control. “There are other groups who are opposing for the passage of the bill”, “We are for the most number of women who want to access the Reproductive Health program that should be encompassing”, De Jesus further added.#osb
