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Philippines: RH Nill 'Complements' Budget Measure |
| Source: |
mb.com.ph |
| Source Date: |
Friday, August 19, 2011 |
| Focus: |
ICT for MDGs
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| Country: |
Philippines |
| Created: |
Aug 23, 2011 |
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MANILA, Philippines — Equal emphasis must be given to the Reproductive Health (RH) bill and the proposed P1.816-trillion national budget for next year because the two measures complement each other.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, leader of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives, said the RH measure deserves the same priority as the national budget, considering that its provisions complement the items in the government’s national expenditure program.
“No amount of trillions of appropriations will be adequate if the increase in the national budget is eroded by an inordinate population growth because parents, couples and women are not fully afforded the right to responsibly and freely determine the number and spacing of their children,” Lagman said.
Lagman, who served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, made the statement after the bill on Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning was added to the list of priority legislation of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
He enumerated links between the RH Bill and the proposed budget, saying huge backlogs in classrooms, teachers and textbooks will hamper quality education as the annual escalation of school enrollment outpaces the budget for education.
“Healthcare expenditures will continue to rise if maternal and infant morbidity and mortality are not reduced because reproductive health information and services are not accessible to the marginalized and disadvantaged sectors,” Lagman said.
Citing studies from Guttmacher Institute and Likhaan Center for Women’s Health, he said effective RH services consistently reduce the prevalence of fatal high-risk pregnancies and result in millions of savings for the government.
He official noted that despite budgetary allocations and incentives for job generation, the problems of unemployment and underemployment will defy solution if the huge number of entrants to the manpower pool remains unchecked.
Lagman added that the appropriation for the protection of the environment and the containment of climate change is rendered deficient as the environment becomes the casualty of population influx and the country’s carrying capacity is impaired by unbridled population growth.
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Philippines: RH Nill 'Complements' Budget Measure MANILA Philippines — Equal emphasis must be given to the Reproductive Health RH bill and the proposed P1.816-trillion national budget for next year because the two measures complement each other
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