Two lady lawmakers on Wednesday dared the Department of Health under Secretary Francisco Duque III to go beyond family planning by fully implementing the Reproductive Health Law.
Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas of Gabriela party-list said while the re-certification of 51 contraceptives by the Food and Drug Administration is a positive development, the fight for free and comprehensive healthcare remains an uphill climb.
“While the health department has moved for the full implementation of the RPRH law, we reiterate that reproductive health is not merely confined to birth control. We challenge DoH Secretary Duque to go beyond the family planning component of the law,” De Jesus said, adding that the full implementation of RH law would give women’s free and comprehensive access to health services.
De Jesus said her group pushes for the right of every couple to decide on the number of children they want, and that family planning should be an informed choice and not as an enforced or dictated decision.
Brosas, for her part, said the militant women’s group was dissatisfied with the way the government is implementing the RH Law.
“Even if RPRH Law is in full swing, healthcare remains largely privatized or corporatized, and women still lack access to basic healthcare services in far-flung areas. Reproductive health is not just about the distribution of contraceptives,” Brosas said.
“With the cuts on the health budget for 2018, the struggle for accessible health care and maternal services options is not yet over. We may have access to birth controls but with the lack of public hospitals to cater to our less privileged sisters, RPRH Law will still be useless to them,” Brosas added.
Brosas said this was evident in the 2018 budget cut in the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of 49 hospitals amounting to P 1.488 billion.
“To rub salt to the wound, policies against home-birthing persists in several municipalities, and women workers still have yet to achieve a legislated additional maternity leaves,” Brosas said.