Golez sees no need to pass RH Bill

BACOLOD City Lone District Representative Anthony Rolando T. Golez Jr. said that there is no need to pass the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, as the current administration is already taking care of family health and responsible parenting issues.

“In the current situation, the State is already addressing the concerns of maternal and infant mortality. Proof of this is the increase in the budget allocation for family health and responsible parenting. The Department of Health (DOH) already has existing programs that address the concerns of those advocating for the RH Bill," Golez said.

In the 2011 budget of the DOH for family health and responsible parenting was only P 731.3 million. However, in the 2012 budget, the budget for the same item is P 2.3 billion, Golez added.

In the budget submitted for 2013, DOH has earmarked P2.5 billion for family health and responsible parenting, he added.

“The dramatic increase from 2011 to 2012 and the continuous increase for 2013 patently show the great efforts of the DOH in addressing family health and responsible parenting. Now, why would we need the passage of RH Bill when our government is already improving its efforts to address the concerns of everybody?” Golez asked.

“I hope PNoy will reconsider his stance on the passage of the RH Bill," Pimentel said.