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FEMALE BATTLE.NET IS ONE YEAR OLD
MESSAGES
I extend my congratulations to Femalebattle.net for a year of hard work in imparting vital information to women of all age groups across the nation. I applaud the people who are behind this endeavor to uplift the status of women in our society. We, women are part of a generation whose opportunities are expanding constantly. We should take advantage of the possiblities that are laid down before us. It is high time that we assume roles and responsibilities that our forbearers were deprived of. Indeed, we are ready to face up to the challenges that will come our way. The future will be even brighter for every woman, once we have paved the way towards absolute freedom. Once again I congratulate you on your first anniversary. More power!
Congratulations to Femalebattle.net as your turn over a new leaf as a premier portal for women empowerment. Information is the most democratic tool and we need to harness it to advance the cause and interest of the women's sector. Your online publication has contributed greatly by taking on this challenge and championing the issues that impact the Filipino women. Femalebattle.net has literally taken the battle for women empowerment on a new front and I am privileged to be a part of this grand endeavor. It is hoped that your online magazine reach as many audience not just here in the country but as well as in the various corners of the globe. In behalf of this 13th Congress, we commit to deliver noteworthy legislation that would complement your efforts toward genuine empowerment. Maraming salamat at mabuhay kayo!
IN THE NEWS...
SENATE BILL 1687 : MENSTRUAL LEAVE BILL FILED
She made the call as she filed Senate Bill (SB) 1687, titled the “Menstruation Leave Act,” which seeks to allow all female employees to take a day off once their monthly period hits them. The senator said that should her bill is approved and enacted, women having their monthly visits would be entitled a one-day work leave with remuneration equivalent to a day’s pay when they avail of it. She noted that her proposal to grant women employees a day of menstrual leave is not new as Indonesia, Taiwan, and South Korea are implementing labor laws that observe the grant of menstrual leave. The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Department of Health, in coordination with the Civil Service Commission, will draft its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) when it is enacted. It proposes the imposition of a Php 30,000 fine or a 30-day to six-month jail term on violators. Source : Manila Bulletin On-line HOUSE BILL 16 : TWO CHILD POLICY Lagman files bill on population Albay Representative Edcel Lagman filed House Bill 16, reviving the proposed Reproductive Health and Population Management Act. The bill will provide women with reproductive health care information and services. It will also integrate population and development policy planning into government planning and implementation. The Philippine Legislator’s Committee on Population and Development Foundation supports the measure because of the country’s urgent population problem. In the last Congress, the bill on reproductive health was approved on final reading, but was stalled in the Appropriations Committee, while the bill on integrated population and development policy planning was passed on second reading. RELATED NEWS
Population debate heats up with Lagman two-child bill
In trying to help slow down the birth rate, Aksyon Demokratiko Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay has filed House Bill 16 seeking a two-child policy that would give couples incentives if they have two children or less. The bill has drawn immediate fire from the Catholic side of the population management fence with the legal counsel and adviser of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Commission on Family and Life, Jo Imbong, vowing to oppose the Lagman bill. Imbong said the family is “not” created by the State and “not even Congress can meddle up with it.” The Catholic charismatic group El Shaddai also jumped into the fray, saying the Lagman bill is a “policy of desperation.” President Arroyo apparently was trying to damp down the fire from the pro-life side. She is open to debates on the population issue but indicated she is not likely to back down on her family planning program, which is anchored on natural family planning, something accepted by the Church. Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said, meanwhile, that the Lagman bill is aligned with the national government’s population policy. “The proposal is not coercive and noncompulsory. It is compatible with the national government’s policy on responsible parenthood.” Answering Imbong, Lagman said, “a sickly, malnourished, and uneducated population cannot be productive. Their ignorance, however, can make them highly vulnerable to bigots, who cannot distinguish between human life and mere animal existence, and whose veiled prolife rhetoric against modern contraceptive methods would consign the poor to perpetual dehumanizing poverty and deprivation.”
The President had said repeatedly that local governments have the option to promote natural or artificial contraception since health services have been devolved to them. On this, Dayrit said any legislation will not be successful, unless local governments cooperate to “make the difference” in ensuring success. While the national government does not encourage use of contraceptives, local governments are free to follow their views. Some local governments like Manila have banned giving away artificial contraceptives, but Dayrit said “not all mayors are like Mayor [Lito] Atienza.” Family planning, responsible
parenthood info drive set Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Manuel Dayrit said yesterday the department is acknowledging the idea of the two-child policy and will work with the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), other government agencies and non-government agencies in preparing a massive information campaign on family planning and responsible parenthood. The DoH will provide technical assistance for the programs of local government units (LGUs) on family planning. A year-round information campaign on family planning will also be undertaken by many government offices. Dayrit said the health department has been open to the subject in the past and the previous campaigns have given hints on limiting the number of children in the family. “Not too long ago, there was a campaign with the slogan, ‘Kung mahal ninyo sila, magplano kayo.’ There were two children in the slogan. It was already a way of suggesting to couples that two children were ideal or desirable.” Data from the Commission on Population said the country’s 84-million population is increasing by 2.36% annually. Early this week, legislators began pushing for a ‘two-child-per-family’ policy to answer the looming threat of population explosion in the country. The secretary said he is willing to endorse a family planning policy that is constitutional and approved by the government.
He explained that the move is compatible with the policy to encourage married couples to allow a three-year spacing period between pregnancies, saying it is beneficial to both the mother and child. It will also give the parents enough time to prepare economically, psychologically, and socially for the next child. “Proper birth spacing will yield a desirable demographic effect on the Philippine population, even if such is not the rationale for the health practice.” But Dayrit stressed that the campaign will not dwell on specific methods of family planning. The couple still has freedom to choose the method they want to pursue. Source : The Manila Bulletin Online THE MANILA TIMES FEATURE
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