Right to protection and services vs early pregnancies a human rights concern—youth group

 

On December 10, Human Rights Day, a youth group called on the Senate to prioritize the passage of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) o PAP bill. “Krusyal ang passage ng TPP bill para kamtin ng kabataan ang kanilang karapatan sa reproduktibong kalusugan at sekwalidad. Reproductive rights are human rights,” stated Crisahle Pavillon, spokesperson of PM Kabataan.

 

The issue of early pregnancy has long been a concern for Filipino youth, especially those aged 10-19 years. According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2021, 10 percent of the total number of births in the country were from young mothers. Despite existing programs aimed at reducing this incidence, the numbers of early pregnancies remain high, significantly impacting the youth in terms of their health, education, future, as well as the economy and society.

 

“It is clear that early pregnancy poses severe challenges. Many young mothers are forced to stop their education due to the discrimination they face—not only in schools but also on social media and even from healthcare workers. Furthermore, early pregnancies pose health risks to these young individuals, including complications during pregnancy, repeat pregnancies, and lack of access to affordable and humane health services. There is also a lack of knowledge regarding sexuality, reproductive health, and the concept of consent, which puts the youth at risk of abusive relationships and coercive sexual encounters. In fact, most cases of adolescent pregnancy are a result of statutory rape—clearly a form of violence against children,” said Pavillon.

 

She added that “Thus, this issue is not merely due to young people's flirtations or impulsiveness but is a social issue that requires collective action from families, schools, the government, and the entire community. The teen pregnancy prevention bill aims to protect the youth against early pregnancy and ensure that adequate support is provided for young parents.”

 

Some key objectives of this bill include:

 

1.      Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE): This educates individuals about sexuality, reproductive health, consent, and respect for the body in a way that is age- and culturally appropriate. It aims to guide the youth to avoid early pregnancies by providing them with formal and accurate information regarding sex and their sexuality.

 

2.      Social Protection Services: This includes maternal health services, home-based schooling, PhilHealth coverage, counseling, and other services that can help young parents recover and address the stigma or discrimination they face.

 

3.      Access to Reproductive Health Services: The TPP Bill ensures that youth aged 16-18 will have direct access to information and health services, along with guidance from health workers.

 

 Currently, the TPP Bill has garnered sufficient support but still needs to be prioritized in the agenda to complete the interpellation process and proceed to a vote in the Senate. However, with the turn of political events in the country, the youth’s demand for its passage has been ignored.

 

“We are running out of time. Nevertheless, we will not stop. We will remain steadfast in our call for the passage of this bill. To the youth, especially girls and young women, let us collectively advocate for a humane, safe, and just society. Let’s support the TPP Bill—a gift of unity and responsibility for the future of girls and young women!” Pavillon ended. 

December 10, 2024

Partido Manggagawa Kabataan

Ping, anti-women and pro-capitalist

"Ping Lacson's statement was not only anti-women, it's pro-capitalist, too. Not unexpected from a misogynist with a need to prove his macho credentials," said PM Secretary-General Judy Ann Miranda. 

This was in reaction to Lacson's statement disparaging the proposed legislation on menstrual leave. This year, Spain passed a law granting women workers paid menstrual leave for three days a month with the option to extend it to five days. Studies reveal half of women experience dysmenorrhea for one or two days and for some, the severe pain hinders their ability to work and function normally.  

          

"We are all too aware that capitalists have fought against benefits for women's reproductive rights and well-being since the dawn of the industrial revolution. And here comes Ping Lacson, a former legislator who has a lot of followers, ridiculing women's demand for menstrual leave, seemingly the 21st century spokesperson of capitalists against women's right to reproductive health and well-being," continued Miranda.

Lacson's statement was likewise thoughtless and careless. Indeed, one concrete measure of how sincere legislators are is how they view and speak about women's rights and well-being.

25 March 2023

Judy Miranda 

Women workers demand implementation of RH Law

 

“Kababaihan ang nahihirapan habang hostage ng ibang grupo ang implementasyon ng RH law.”

 

Members of Partido Manggagawa (PM) expressed this frustration as they joined reproductive health advocates in asking the Supreme Court to lift its TRO on the implementation of RA 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.

 

According to PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda, the TRO issued by the high tribunal did uphold the constitutionality of the RH law but purchase and distribution of RH supplies and were withheld prior to the formulation of new rules in granting certification to certain contraceptives.

 

“We respect the granting of due process to the petitioners but it can also be argued that the RH Law can be implemented beyond the specific supplies being objected to since there were already approved safe contraceptives available in the market prior to the enactment of the RH Law.  In other words, access to safe contraceptives can readily be made available in all RH facilities nationwide,” said Miranda.

 

Miranda said a big part of RH Law can be implemented while contested supplies are being subjected to certification and recertification by concerned agencies.

 

She added that the previous and present administration were supportive of RH Law and therefore implementation of this measure, whether in part or in whole, should not be a problem for the executive.

 

“We therefore pray to our justices that the RH Law will be given its day as soon as possible for the interest of our women, especially the for women workers,” concluded Miranda.

October 10, 2016

Women workers decry removal of P1B budget for contraceptives

Indignations against the slashing of the P1B budget for contraceptives continue to grow, with the labor partylist group calling for its restoration by any means available in the legislative and executive department. 

 

Scores of women members of Partido Manggagawa (PM) picketed the Senate Building this morning to express their condemnation against its members, specifically Senators Sotto and Legarda, who initiated the cut based on flimsy grounds. The groupvowed more actions and a vigorous campaign until the budget cut is reversed.

 

The group argues that the deletion of funds for family planning commodities such as condoms, pills and IUDs will adversely affect the delivery of social services to poor and indigent families.

 

“The hard-won victory of the RH Law is now is being killed softly by legislative maneuvering of anti-women solons,” stated Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of PM and one of its partylist bets.  Miranda will join a presscon by pro-RH groups to condemn the move against the implementation of the reproductive health law.

 

“Ang RH law ay nasa tamang panahon, bakit ito kinapon?” read one placard of the protesters, referring to Lola Nidora’s line ‘sa tamang panahon’ in a polular segmentKalyeserye of a noontime show Eat Bulaga where Sotto is part of.

 

Another placard read: “Legarda, Ligaw na,” which is a swipe against Sen. Legarda who is known before to be pro-women.

 

“Sotto’s anti-RH position is a given but his latest action showed that he is not only number one in senatorial surveys.  He is also women’s enemy number one,” said Miranda.

 

Miranda said Sotto is issuing stupid arguments like condoms and pills as being abortifacients which were resolved issues during the long deliberations over the RH bills.

 

As to Legarda, Miranda said: Iba na siguro ang panahon (perhaps time has changed), as her argument for shifting the family planning budget to air defense was an outright betrayal to women cause.

 

The group said the House’s contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee were equally responsible for this budget loss to women.

 

PM is calling for Quality Public Services in its electoral platform and one of its components include wider access of women to quality services, including reproductive health.

January 12, 2016

PNoy, past governments failed the youth in their transition to the world of work – PM-Kabataan

News Release

July 25, 2015

PM-Kabataan

High dropout rates due to high cost of education amid the prevailing poverty in the country; unemployment; the prevalence of precarious working conditions; and poor state of public services have condemned the youth to a life of uncertainty despite the promises of tuwid na daan under the Aquino administration.

This was the assertion of the youth wing of Partido Manggagawa, PM-Kabataan (PMK), ahead of its pre-SONA “art attack” protest to be held tomorrow at the Quezon Memorial Circle as it railed against the lack of tangible legacy the youth sector has gained under the Aquino as well as the past administrations, specifically, for their failure to eliminate established roadblocks that limit opportunities for young people to secure a better future.

Youth is defined by the UN and ILO as those under 25 years of age.  The Philippine law (RA8044), however, prescribed the 15-30 age group to cover the youth sector.  There are 18.93 million Filipinos under the age group 15-24 and 27.84 million in age group 15-30 based on the 2012 census. Combined this sector represents millions of young people who are in school, in actual work, the idle and the unemployed.

According to PM-Kabataan, the youth’s pathway or transition to better future - from schooling to actual work – remained impeded by age-old problems such as high cost of education, unemployment, and precarious working conditions.

Dropout rate, added the group, remained at 6-7% in elementary and high school and much higher at the college level during the last five years.  “Those who cannot survive this transition end up as unskilled laborers which now comprise 32% of employed persons in the country, or into the world of unemployment which is highest, 52%, in age group 18-24,” said PM-Kabataan spokesperson Ryan Bocacao.

He added that this kind of situation produces the countless Mary Jane Velosos, full time and part time laborers in sweatshop enterprises, and the phenomenal rise in the number of batang ina and young parents in the country.

To address this problem the youth group said the government should have been decisive in formulating policies that would establish free education at all levels, bring down the cost of other social services, and in stopping the plague of contractualization in the workplace.

“Unfortunately we haven’t seen progress in policy levels both in education and in the world of work. Lilipas na naman ang isang administrasyon, nadagdagan na naman ang aming edad ng anim na taon, pero narito pa rin kami sa dating sitwasyon na kinalalagyan namin noon,” lamented Bocacao.

PM-Kabataan members come from the ranks of students, out-of-school youth and those who are at work.  The “art attack” protest was their form of expressing their sentiment against the prevailing system in the country and a buildup activity before joining other groups for Monday’s Sona protests.

Advisory: Pre-SONA youth event

MEDIA ADVISORY

Partido Manggagawa - Kabataan

                           

YOUTH in SORRY STATE

                                        (A Pre-SONA Protest)

·    High dropout rate in school               6-7% elementary and high school, higher rate in college

·    Unemployment                                  52%  in age group 18-24

·    Precarious working condition            outsourcing/contractualization, informalization

·    Teenage pregnancy/young parents    14% of Filipino girls aged 15-19

                                                                 Date: July 26, 2015

                                   Place: Gazebo 2, Quezon Memorial Circle

                                   Time:  7AM - 6PM 

Activities done through art protest by members of PM-Kabataan

        AM Activities:

o   mural and face painting

o   mask/poster making

o   Flash Mob Dance

o   Boodle Fight

        PM Activities

o   workshops on issues

o   candle lighting for victims of injustice like Mary Jane Veloso and Kentex workers

                                             THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For inquiries please contact Ms. Judy Ann Miranda @ 09228677522 or Yuen Abana @ 09162811934

RH Law is a partial win for Filipino women

Press Statement

April 9, 2014

Despite declaring eight (8) provisions illegal, the Supreme Court’s upholding of the RH Law as constitutional is hard won victory for the Filipino people, especially for poor women.  The salient provisions that will provide the marginalized free reproductive health services and supplies, adolescents age and development appropriate reproductive health education in schools, and public awareness and nationwide campaign for reproductive health and rights have remained intact.  So goes with the role of local government units in the RH Law’s implementation.

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), however, cannot disregard the importance of the provisions declared unconstitutional by the high court.  The ruling has direct impact to the availment of services of minors and women of reproductive health services and supplies. Minor parents or minors who have suffered a miscarriage and married women not in emergency situations are not allowed to access RH services and supplies without consent of parents and spouses, respectively.  These negate women’s right to make decisions for their selves.

The SC has also considered illegal the punishment of a health care provider who fails or refuses to disseminate information regarding RH services, refer a patient not in an emergency or life-threatening case to another health care service provider, and public officer who refuses to support reproductive health programs or do any act that hinders the full implementation of a reproductive health program regardless of his or her religious beliefs.  The ruling undermines the rights of women to avail of RH information and services from those who are supposed to be implementing the law.

The provisions that were sacrificed are equally important.  PM believes the Supreme Court gave in to the pressure of the Catholic Church and other religious groups and made compromises at the expense of women’s rights and health.  The fight for reproductive health is not yet over.

Militant labor group urges Supreme Court to uphold RH Law

PRESS RELEASE
28 March 2014

Women workers from Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) joined women from different sectors - government officials, civil society partners, young people, and celebrity supporters - in the march to urge the Supreme Court Justices to uphold the Reproductive Health Law.

The march will start at Anda Circle at 2pm, pass by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ office in Intramuros, and proceed to the Supreme Court in Padre Faura, and hold a program at Plaza Salamanca, Taft Avenue. Attendees will march in purple shirts and accessories.

“More pregnant women are dying with the delay in the implementation of the RH Law.  Teen pregnancies are increasing and girls getting pregnant are younger and younger with the delay in the implementation of the RH Law.  HIV/AIDS rates are likewise increasing, young men and women are denied of necessary services with the delay in the implementation of the RH Law,” claimed PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda.

PM also noted that a Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) study (Labstat Vol. 17, No. 8, May 2013) showed that most of the women inactive in the labor force are 20-39 year-olds, poor, and either elementary or high school levels/graduates.  They are inactive because besides spending most of their time in childrearing and domestic work, they are also those women with the most number of children born in fairly close succession.

Hence, these women are poor because right from the beginning, they have been denied by the government, with the Catholic Church’s influence, their right to reproductive health. 

“Too many lives and futures have been sacrificed.  We urge the Supreme Court to end the silent carnage and uphold the RH Law,” Miranda ended.

Ateneo CRUSADA stand on the RH bill

I

The recent resurgence of the debates regarding the RH Bill had once again left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. These debates, depending on which side you ask, highlighted either the incompetence of the Catholic Church to listen to its flock regarding important issues, or is an explicit symptom of the moral degeneration of the country’s leaders, institutions, and its population. ”Stupidity” is a word that has become an unqualified, debased currency for RH Bill supporters who wish to insult the various stands made by anti-RH Bill advocates. All of this simply recalls a remark made by Walter Benjamin: “...theology, today, as we know, is wizened and must be kept out of sight”.

We, the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (CRUSADA), believe that there is no contradiction in being both a Christian and a supporter of the RH Bill. Indeed, as we will later argue, to refuse to see the enormous suffering that poverty brings upon the poor, and to refuse to see the weight that the RH Bill (in coordination with further developmental programs) can lift from the shoulders of the poor, is a failure for the Christian to interrogate the teachings of one’s faith with the emergence of the poor as the subject and starting point of theology. Indeed, to continue to privilege the doctrine of the sanctity of life as written, without regarding the quality of life,  is a failure to live out the most fundamental commandment of all: to love your neighbor as you love yourself. One cannot love ideas as mere abstractions, one must turn the love for people into a humanizing praxis. In moments where the affirmation of doctrine comes before the love of neighbor, in this case the love of the poor, then one fails to live out the greatest commandment. A true support of the sanctity of life must be done with regard for a good life for all, and not bare life for a majority.

In our support of the RH Bill, we will argue along the following lines:

1. Although the Party upholds the doctrine of the sanctity of life,  questions about the beginning of life must not be separated from questions about the quality of life in the midst of which this life is conceived. If life is truly sacred, then one must not only protect the right to life but also defend the right to have a good, qualified life. One must not only defend life, one must also nurture it, and present life with opportunities for life, and not for poverty (which is mere life) or death.

2. We believe that the current arguments against the RH Bill are buttressed by a theology of the human body which is primarily essentialist and ahistorical. While we recognize that these moral arguments are to some degree valid, we recognize that there is a need to move towards a theology which sees God with the poor, which sees God in their struggles, which sees God in the people who live and act in solidarity with the poor. From this lense, the RH Bill, when seen as a valid attempt to alleviate the suffering of the poor, becomes a legitimate form of Christian action.

II

The Party affirms that the material conditions of people are essential to determining and maintaining the overall quality of their lives. That is, human beings must first privilege the satisfaction of the labor of their bodies before it can fully and wholly participate in activities which are integral to human life. Before one can study, do work, write literature, engage in athletics, build a family, or build a community, the satisfaction of our material needs must come first. The labor of our bodies precedes the works of our hands.

There are situations and societies, however, where the oppression brought about by structural injustices makes it very difficult to satisfy the labor of our bodies, which in turn makes it nearly impossible to perform other forms of human action and interaction. This is the condition of poverty, wherein the demand for bread overshadows all the other pursuits of an individual and of communities. Where there is poverty, life is no longer true life. Poverty degrades people into animal laborans in the most literal sense; poverty turns people into mere biological entities tied to their bodily needs. Instead of living lives that affirm everyday life, every new day in a condition of poverty is instead lived as an escape of impending death. Poverty, therefore, is inhuman, and is against human dignity. It is not until poverty is annihilated, gradually or otherwise, can we call our world truly human. This does not mean that bare life does not deserve to live, but that bare life is an insufficient form of life. We must not be content if a majority of our impoverished population lives by merely living. All affirmations of life must be in regard to better life.

This mere living can be characterized by the severe inequities in terms of the availability of essential care that continues to plague our country. 94% of women in the richest quintile have a skilled birth attendant, while only 26% among the country’s poorest fifth have the same access to that kind of care. Only 77% of the poorest quintile have access to antenatal care, with only 13% delivering their babies at an accredited health facility. 92% of these women have complained of at least one healthcare access problem. Underprivileged women given their circumstances, often still continue working even with difficult pregnancies. Some of these mothers are exposed to unhealthy environments as well as abuse. Most of these women are malnourished. Complications arise from 15% of pregnancies, from 2 million live births, about 300,000 maternal complications develop and 15 women needlessly die from preventable causes every day. Because of the compromised maternal care, women are also more likely to give birth preterm. This can result to Filipino babies suffering various diseases related to short gestation and low birth weight. Those who do survive manifest different congenital anomalies as well as cognitive challenges for life.

The Party believes that these statistics show that there are obvious circumstances where prohibiting the distribution of essential medicines and emergency care and to withhold the education of our people regarding their reproductive rights and health means that one condones the death of a lot of these people.

And in a majority of cases in the Philippines, children are born into such desperate conditions that they may as well be barely living. Every single child is unique; every child, therefore, embodies the very capacity of all human beings to enact beginnings. That is, by virtue of the unique singularity of every single child, all of them have the capacity to leave their own distinct imprint upon the world. But every newly born child is barely alive as well, dependent upon the care of their mother, their family, and the circumstances in which they live. The family is the primary bridge between the world of labor and the world of human activities.  It is the family’s role to provide an environment wherein bare life may become qualified life.  

Overall, the question here is whether or not the RH Bill will actually answer the needs of the poor. We, the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement, believe that the bill allows for greater solidarity with the poor, by actually providing the necessary steps which will allow them reprieve from the suffering brought about by poverty. It allows them a better life, and anything which makes life better for the poor will always provide more solidarity than those who argue based on misinformation and misunderstanding.

III

Is there a theological basis for the support of the RH Bill? Is there a Christian defense of the propositions provided by the RH Bill, even when it has been argued again and again that all of the solutions that the RH Bill takes are incompatible with Christian doctrine - the inseparability of the unitive and procreative aspects of sexuality, of its genital and affective parts? We, the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement, believe so, and it is found in the fundamental commandment of Jesus Christ: to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

In Margins: Site of Asian Theologies, Felix Wilfred argues that “We just cannot fix centres of God’s presence...What the whole of biblical revelation tells us is that God is someone who journeys to the margins, and is to be found at the periphery”. The eyes of God always see the people of the margins, and his compassion and presence is always “with persons who are without power and protection”. Therefore, the only way to encounter God is to go and be in solidarity with the struggles and sufferings of the people of the margins themselves. In fact, “Jesus was so pained by the arrogance of the religious leaders of his time, and on the other hand, so moved with joy to find ‘non-persons’ radiant in God’s presence”. A genuine theology, in other words, must go to the margins - to those who hunger, to those who thirst, to those who have been abandoned by society to the fetters of poverty.

Gustavo Gutiérrez also argues along similar lines in his “The Option for the Poor Arises from Faith in Jesus”. Faith is not just an individual task, it also implies the task of preaching the good news, which in turn implies a sense of duty towards one’s own community that is within its context. Faith and theology must therefore come to terms with human history and the lives of everyday people. In the context of poverty, theology goes beyond the memorization and affirmation of doctrine, moving towards “accompanying people in their suffering and joys, their commitments, frustrations...”. “A theological language that neglects unjust suffering and does not loudly proclaim the right of each and every person to happiness is shallow and betrays the God of whom it speaks, the God of the beatitudes. In the end, all theology is a theology of hope, an understanding of the reasons we have to hope”.

The question, therefore, becomes: for whom is this theology for? Theology, although it necessarily includes the dimension of the affirmation of faith in God and in the Church, cannot be confined to these dimensions. It is even worse when theology is used only for the affirmation of doctrine. When this happens, an essential aspect of theology is forgiven - that of compassion and solidarity with the suffering of the poor. A theology which does not seek to alleviate these even the slightest is no theology at all. But we, the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement, see that the RH Bill is one way by which Christian doctrine can accompany the poor in their suffering. We affirm life, and we affirm the Christian edict to love our neighbor; that is, we support the RH Bill.

Labor group supports clamour on the vote for the RH bill

PRESS RELEASE

6 August 2012

Women members of the Partido ng Manggagawa joined women groups from the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) at the House plenary session this afternoon to show support to clamor to finally put the RH bill to vote.

“It’s been more than a decade it is time to pass the RH bill.  Poor and working women have waited long enough,” explained PM General Secretary Judy Ann Chan-Miranda.

She added that, “Poor women need family planning services and commodities which they cannot afford.  Millions of poor women and adolescents are left uninformed about their reproductive health rights and needs.  We do want merely want a ‘yes’ vote to the RH bill, we want the provisions intended to address the reproductive rights and needs of poor and working women and adolescents intact,” asserted Miranda. 

Partido ng Manggagawa called on the pro-RH legislators from the House of Representatives and the Senate to ensure that the following provisions in the RH bill shall not be comprised:

1.     The right of women to choose which family planning method to use, hence, the availability of all range of contraception – natural or artificial – but medically safe;

2.     The right of adolescents to age-appropriate sexuality and reproductive health education;

3.     The continuation of program on the prevention and management of post-abortion complications, and humane medical treatment of women who have risked unsafe abortion; and

4.     The fund allocation to free reproductive health care services and commodities for the poor, especially women and adolescents.

Workers Digest 44: International Women's Day issue

PM pushes anew passage of RH bill on Valentine’s Day

PRESS RELEASE

14 February 2012

Women members of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) distributed leaflets urging both Houses of Congress to pass the more than a decade-old RH bill.  PM members visited campuses, establishments and government offices surrounding its national office in Project 4, Quezon City.  These include the Technological Instittute of the Philippines (TIP), National College of Business Administration (NCBA), Philippine School of Business Administration (PSBA), establishments along Aurora Boulevard and Araneta Center, and government offices along East Avenue such as Social Security System (SSS), National Statistics Office (NSO), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Quezon City Hall, etc. 

“Every day of delay in the passage of the RH bill means loss of women’s lives.  Whatever the number the statistics provide, the fact remains that more and more women are being deprived of their right to life,” PM Secretary General Judy Ann Chan-Miranda explained to students and workers of abovementioned areas.

“Para sa mahihirap at manggagawang kababaihan, ang pinaka-esensya ng laban na ito ay ang pagkilala ng Estado sa reproductive health bilang karapatan ng mamamayang Pilipino, lalung-lalo na ng kababaihan, at ma-exercise ang karapatang ito,” added Miranda.

The labor group, for this reason, asserts that providing funds is an essential part of the measure to ensure that the poor shall truly benefit.  Contrary to statements that taxpayers money should not be spent for RH services, all citizens have the right to avail themselves of public funds, in this case, for reproductive health services and commodities. 

“These are very important issues on reproductive health that, regardless of educational status, Filipinos should be able to understand.  It seems that being a Harvard student nor a church leader does not make one an authority to the issues of RH.  Nasa pag-alam at pag-unawa ito na ang RH ay karapatan kung kaya dapat nae-exercise ang karapatang ito lalo ng kababaihan na pangunahing biktima ng kawalan ng batas para dito,” Miranda ended.

Women workers chide bishops for celebrating withdrawal of UN funding on family planning

PRESS RELEASE

2 September 2011

While bishops hail the United Nation’s decision to abandon the country’s family planning plan due to lack of funds, the Department of Health (DOH) notes that Filipinos with HIV has reached more than 7000 and increasing.  Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) believes that for these reasons, the more the State and advocates should make certain the passage of the RH bill and so its budget allocation.

“It is unfortunate that the bishops’ reason for rejoicing is also reason for more difficulties for the poor, especially women with unmet family planning needs and dying due to pregnancy and birth complications, and Filipinos with HIV and AIDs.  It is callous and insensitive to celebrate at the expense of people needing help,” explained PM Secretary-General Judy Ann Chan-Miranda.

PM chides the bishops for admonishing taxpayers regarding budget allocation for RH-related services.  The poor, needing RH services, deserves State support – it is one reason why the State exists in the first place. 

“The tax-exempt Catholic Church has no moral ascendancy to meddle on the State’s social spending.  Will it share its wealth or pay the bills for the healthcare of poor women?” asked Miranda.

RH bill, labor protection pushed on International Youth Day

PRESS RELEASE

Partido ng Manggagawa-Kabataan

12 August 2011

The youth arm of militant labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on Congress to end debates on the reproductive health bill and finally pass the measure so that efforts and energies are now shifted to finer details for its implementation to bring immediate impact on poor women and their families.

“Measures such as the RH bill and new labor protection policies are needed in the face of the catasthropic impact of the global economic crisis on the working class especially women and youth,” Partido ng Manggagawa – Kabataan  (PM-K) said in a statement as it joins other youth groups in a rally today at the House of Representatives and the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) in Quezon City in time for the celebration of International Youth Day.

 At the House of Representatives youth groups pressed for the immediate passage of the RH bill saying the measure has already been overly debated while women, especially young mothers, suffer daily from unattended reproductive health needs.  Later at the OSHC, the groups demanded strict enforcement of safety and other labor standards in the country, citing the case of a Korean-owned shipyard Hanjin where workers die due to work-related accidents.  All of the company’s 21,000 workforce also work as contractuals.  The youth group is opposed to the policy of contractualization.

“We want a change in the prevailing environment of joblessness, deteriorating working conditions and lack of social protection for the present and future generation of young workers, especially women,” said Carol Hernandez of the PM-K, referring to this year’s International Youth Day theme, “Change Our World”.

Hernandez said President Aquino’s “matuwid na daan” to be relevant to the present realities of the youth must be translated into “bagong landas” as old rhetorics of “change” or “wang-wang” cannot undo the damage done to people and the environment by economic and social policies under the regime of privatization, deregulation and economic liberalization which all favor the interests of rich nations.

“There must be change in policies.  Without it the young generation will continue to suffer the life of indignity under the harsh environment of poverty and desperation.  We want jobs, a regular good paying jobs.   We want a secure and ecologically livable future,” concludes Hernandez.

Women workers call on PNoy to make RH bill a priority

PRESS RELEASE

Partido ng Manggagawa (PM)

22 July 2011

Around 200 women members of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) joined the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) rally held at Mendiola this morning to, once again, call on President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to include the RH bill in his priority legislations for this Monday’s (July 25) SONA.

PM women members brought with them posters of a clock set on 11 o’clock depicting the number of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth complications daily.  Women are calling on PNoy to put an end to this daily massacre by putting his words into action. 

“Your administration has been always clear with your commitment to the private sector, but not with the people whom you have declared your 'bosses.'  You have made sporadic statements of support to the RH bill.  It has been confusing though because you did not include it in your first SONA priority list of legislations.  We hope that it will be in your second SONA,” stressed PM Secretary General Judy Ann Chan-Miranda.

On Monday, PNoy’s second SONA, the Partido ng Manggagawa will join the rally at Mendiola in morning together with other labor groups.  In the afternoon, it will be part of the joint rally of the Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP) and Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) at the Batasan.  Besides the demand to priority the RH bill, PM will call on the PNoy administration to put an end to contractualization and ensure workers’ rights and security of tenure.

Young people to join march for RH on World Population Day

PRESS RELEASE

July 10, 2011

Partido ng Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK)

Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK)

Saying they are no longer too young and dull to understand sexuality and reproductive health, students and out-of-school youth members of Partido ng Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK) and the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK) are joining the Purple March tomorrow, July 11, as the entire world celebrates the World Population Day.

More than a hundred members of PMK and SDK are joining the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network – Youth (RHAN-Youth) that will participate in the Purple March and Parade that will assemble at Raja Sulayman Park, Malate at 7am tomorrow. They will be carrying posters “Hindi na kami bata para sa RH” enumerating the reasons for their support to the RH bill in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“The fact that the world of seven billion today remains divided between the rich minority and the poor majority, we believe that young people still have the chance of having a better future if we have a better understanding of everything, including on our sexuality and RH needs,” said Karol Hernandez, PMK spokesperson.

“Hindi nakatulong sa gaya naming mga kabataan ang pag-iwas ng lipunang pag-usapan ang mga usapin sa sekswalidad at RH.  Imbes na alam namin ang gagawin dahil sa kakulangan ng impormasyon, mas marami sa amin ang nag-eeksperimento at nakikinig sa kapwa naming kapos din sa kaalaman sa RH,” added Hernandez, explaining how escaping the issues concerning sexuality made the youth, specially young women, dependent on ‘sabi-sabi’ or superstition on one of the most important aspect of their lives – their reproductive health.

According to Ms. Hernandez, because of the lack relevant and accurate information: 30% of Filipino women become mothers before they reach their 21st birthday; 11 mothers die every day due to pregnancy and child birth complications; 2 out of 5 teenage pregnancies are ‘unwanted’; 46%  of these unwanted pregnancies turn into ‘induced abortions’; 1 out of 4 teenage mothers stop schooling to concentrate on child rearing; and 10% of children of teenage mothers, 1 out of 5 die due to various reasons.

“The RH bill’s passage is an urgent issue for the Filipino youth.  Attached to the compulsory education for the youth – among Grade 5 to 4th year high school students – is the opportunity for a brighter future for us, the youth.  In this issue, we believe that, this time, the conservative adults should listen to the youth,” asserted SDK spokesperson, Ernest Abanes. Abanes said young Pinoys are also aware of the many problems facing today’s youth such as high cost of education, unemployment and deteriorating labor standards and they want President Aquino address these concerns in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“But PNoy should never forget the equally tall order of getting the RH bill approved by Congress,” ended Abanes.