Govt, civil society groups can now work together
after RH Bill signing, Palace says
The
government and civil society organizations can now move forward for greater
cooperation with the signing of the Republic Act No. 10354 or the Responsible
Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, a Palace official said in a
statement on Saturday.
“The
passage into law of the Responsible Parenthood Act closes a highly divisive
chapter of our history—a chapter borne of the convictions of those who argued
for, or against this Act, whether in the legislative branch or in civil
society,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement.
“At the
same time, it opens the possibility of cooperation and reconciliation among
different sectors in society: engagement and dialogue characterized not by
animosity, but by our collective desire to better the welfare of the Filipino
people,” she added.
This kind
of engagement and dialogue is the hallmark of a true democracy, Valte said
noting this encourages people to debate through deeply-held beliefs and values
that enrich and elevate public discourse.
Whatever
the disagreements, people must work together to find ways to improve the lives
of Filipinos, she said.
Asked by
reporters how the administration intends to reach out to the Catholic Church
after the approval of bill, Valte said during a radio interview over dzRB Radyo
ng Bayan also on Saturday that both sides can cooperate on many other areas.
“While
the Responsible Parenthood Bill may have been a very contentious issue between
government and civil society and other sectors, there are so many areas that we
can move forward on; we have many other areas of cooperation that are possible
for us to be partners in, particularly environment and other advocacies,” she
said.
The
Palace official also fended off accusations that the bill was signed by the
President in secrecy. The President signed it on December 21 because he has
engagements to attend to after Christmas and he wanted to make sure that he
approves it before the year ends, Valte said.
The
President also signed other legislations aside from Republic Act No. 10354,
which also been released to the media, she added.
Valte
also allayed fears that the new law would compel families to use artificial
contraceptives and it would require families to set a particular number of
children. She said the government will post the copies of the law on the
Internet so that the public can look at its provisions.
Also she
clarified that the fund for natural family planning centers will be separate
from the allocation intended for artificial family planning methods given to
health centers.
The
Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, has already been
published online in the Official Gazette, after having been signed by President
Aquino on December 21, 2012.
The law
will take effect 15 days after its publication in at least two newspapers of
general circulation. PND (as)
Government to focus on land use, conditional
cash transfer next year
Land use,
conditional cash transfer (CCT) and public-private partnership (PPP) will be
among the top priorities of the Aquino administration next year, a Palace
official said on Saturday.
“Apart
from the targets that we’ve already set, meron tayong Philippine Development
Plan na the targets are being set year-by-year. The President mentioned
something about land use and perhaps, we’ll be discussing that more extensively
when we resume work in the New Year,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail
Valte said in a radio interview over government-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
Valte
also said the President has set new targets in the implementation of the CCT
program, as well as the PPP projects in the country for next year.
After the
approval of the RH Bill and the Sin Tax Bill, reporters asked Valte whether the
administration will prioritize the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI)
Bill next year.
As a
response, Valte said: “The FOI (Bill) kasi meron silang mga bagong
pinagdedebatehan, and as we have said before, we’d like to see how the debates
will play out before we move further. We’d like to see the debates move on sa
FOI because there are stakeholders that do raise other concerns that have not
been extensively discussed before.”
In a
separate statement, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda outlined the
achievements of the Aquino administration in 2012.
Among
these include the continuing fight against graft and corruption, judicial
reform, the signing of the Framework Agreement for Mindanao peace, the
continuing thrust in education, health care and poverty alleviation.
He also
mentioned the record high gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the third
quarter, the Philippine Stock Exchange index and the appreciation of the peso,
which is projected to gain more strength in the coming year. PND (as)
Government vows to sustain public optimism in
2013
The
government wants to ensure that inclusive growth benefits everyone next year
through job generation and pro-poor programs, a Palace official said on
Saturday.
A recent
Social Weather Station (SWS) survey found that nine out of ten Filipinos are
looking forward to 2013 with hope.
In a
radio interview over state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Deputy Presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said the administration is still focusing on job
generation as well inclusive growth.
“We see
that the GDP (gross domestic product) has been surprising everybody; it seemed
to be candid about it in the sense na the third quarter was really a very
pleasant surprise for everybody,” she said.
The
survey results indicated that 92 percent of those surveyed were hopeful rather
than fearful of the coming year. This was the predominant sentiment among
respondents in Luzon (96 percent), Metro Manila (93 percent), and the Visayas
(93 percent).
The
survey was conducted from December 8 to 11.
Mindanao
residents, however, were less enthusiastic about the coming year’s prospects.
Only 85 percent of those polled in Mindanao said they were hopeful.
Also,
with 2013 being an election year, Valte said the administration wants to do
away with too much politicking so it could focus on governance.
“On the
part of the executive, while it may be an election year, the work in government
still goes on. The work in government will continue despite the fact that it is
an election year,” Valte said.
The
Commission on Elections (Election) has already come up with the list of the
dates that are important particularly the start of the campaign period for the
local and national levels. PND (as)
