Pro-RH group accuses Pro-Life advocate of assault

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

MANILA -- The Filipino Freethinkers, a group pushing for passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, has accused a member of the Ang
Kapatiran party of assaulting one of its members at the House of Representatives Tuesday night.

According to a statement on its website, the group's RH advocacy director Kenneth Keng "was threatened and then assaulted by Rizalito
David, former senatorial candidate of the Ang Kapatiran Party and resource person of Pro-Life Philippines."

The group claimed tensions rose after David, who was in the House gallery with Keng, said the RH bill was a tool of United States imperialism.

At plenary debates on the RH bill Tuesday, Cebu Representative Pablo Garcia said the bill furthered the US interests, citing the 1974
Kissinger Population Report, which advocated population control in third-world countries to give the US better access to natural resources.

David allegedly said that report was imperialist, and that anybody who disagreed was stupid.

"Keng replied that he read the report and that he didn’t think it was stupid. David replied, ‘Like I said, bobo.’ Keng ignored the comment and continued to record the hearing," the statement read.

When Garcia later raised the issue of foreign funding for pro-RH groups, Keng countered that the Catholic Church and groups opposed to the bill also get funding from foreign sources.

This apparently angered David, who told Keng to meet him outside to settle the argument "kapag tayong dalawa na lang (when it's just you and me.)"

He then allegedly charged at Keng.

"The people behind him managed to restrain him, so he pretended to have calmed down and sat beside Keng. Seated and unrestrained, David hit Keng’s camera phone, which was next to Keng’s face, with the back of his hand, sending the camera phone flying into Keng’s glasses," the group said.

Sun.Star tried to get in touch with David through Pro-Life Philippines but was told to wait for clearance from its exectuive director. (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)