Trillanes appeals to scrutinize first versions of RH Bill before supporting it

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, April 29, 2011-In the midst of escalating word war between the Catholic Church and advocates of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, Senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV has appealed to the public to read first the different versions of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill before supporting or promoting it.

“It would only do little to help educate the public on the issue of RH bill,” Trillanes said, adding that the public are unwittingly supporting the RH bill because they are being led to believe that the measure would control population growth and allow access to contraceptives.

“Contraceptives can be accessed freely now and the Department of Health (DOH) has been distributing contraceptives even without the RH bill. Also, there is no provision in the RH bill that would help control the population,” Trillanes said. However, a controversial provision of the RH bill which should be scrutinized is the inclusion of sex education in the curriculum of preschool and Grade 5 students,” Trillanes added.

The young legislator questioned the readiness of young children to handle a very sensitive subject such as sex, and the capability of our teachers to teach a subject they're not trained for where he believed that only the parents know when their kids are ready to be educated about sex and it's definitely not when they are in Grade 5.

“Are we ready for a scenario wherein kids would one day approach their parents and say, 'Mom, we were taught how to put on condoms in school today?" Trillanes asked.

The Philippine RH bill aims to guarantee access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care where they become the center of contentious debate since it was introduced by Albay 1^st district Edcel Lagman on his Reproductive health act and population and development act of 2010 and while Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago introduced Senate bill No. 2378 otherwise known as Reproductive health act.

The two bills became controversial with the experts, academics, religious institutions, and major political figures on both pros and cons where the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) threatened to excommunicate President Aquino III if he insists on his stance that Filipino couples should be given the choice to use artificial contraceptives. (Jason de Asis)