Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare Inc.

Villar rejects passage of reproductive health bill
02/26/2010 | 08:11 PM
GMA News.TV

LIPA CITY, Batangas—Nacionalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. does not believe that the government's reproductive health program should be forced on the people.

"Against ako sa RH bill. Hindi ako naniniwala na dapat isabatas ang reproductive health program (I'm against the RH bill. I don't believe that the reproductive health program should be made into law)," he told reporters in a press conference in this city after his market visits.

More...

GMA won't stop Cabral from distributing condoms
By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated February 27, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo will not stop Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral from distributing contraceptive pills amid strong opposition from the Catholic Church and other sectors, deputy presidential spokesperson Charito Planas said yesterday.

More...

Cash, not contraceptives, to curb population growth – ‘Gibo’
Published on Manila Bulletin ( http://www.mb.com.ph)

Lakas-Kampi CMD standard bearer Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. Thursday said he favors a program giving cash incentives, not contraceptives as being promoted by some sectors, to couples volunteering to have less children as part of his concept of allowing individuals to go for their "moral choice" in a bid to curb the alarming population growth.

More...

RH Bill Survey

Seventy-six percent of adult Filipinos want family planning education in the public schools, and 71% favor passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, according to the Third Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey, done on September 24-27, 2008.

More...

Half of the Women in the Philippines are Practicing Family Planning

The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) or the proportion of married women in the Philippines who are using any method of family planning is 51 percent, according to the preliminary results of the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The current estimate of CPR and the estimates from the 1998 NDHS and 2003 NDHS imply increasing contraceptive use by married women over the last decade: 47 percent in 1998, 49 percent in 2003, and 51 percent in 2008. These estimates are subject to sampling errors since these are based on sample surveys, hence, the observed differences are not always significant. The increase in the CPR over the last decade, from 1998 to 2008, is statistically significant. However, the observed increase in the past five years is not significant

More...

Under-Five Mortality Down to 34 Deaths per 1,000 Births

In the Philippines, for every 1,000 live births, 34 die before reaching the age of five years, according to the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The findings from the current and previous NDHSs reveal that under-five mortality rate in the country had declined gradually, from 54 deaths per 1,000 live births during the period 1988-1992 to 40 deaths per 1,000 live births in the period 1998-2002, and further down to its current level at 34 deaths per 1,000 live births (Table 1). The infant mortality rate in the country also declined, from 35 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in the period 1993-1997 to 25 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003-2007.

More...

SC orders Comelec to count Ladlad in 2010 polls:
January 12, 2009

The Supreme Court ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Tuesday to recognize the gay group Ang Ladlad as an accredited party-list group and to include its name when the poll body starts printing the ballots for the May elections.

More...


Davao SP Says “YES” to Women's Health Care Clinic Ordinance
January 12, 2009

Fourteen (14) incumbent legislators of the City Council of Davao gave their overwhelming support to City Ordinance No. 335-10, otherwise known as the Women's Health Care Clinic Ordinance of Davao City, as they voted “yes” during a session at the Sagguniang Panlungsod plenary hall last January 12, 2010 which was presided over by a woman vice-mayor, namely Hon. Sara Duterte.

More...

A Media Statement on the Anti-RH Survey:
Sulo Hotel, Quezon city, January 12, 2009

PLCPD is stunned by the lack of honesty and sense of decency shown by the Alliance of Family Life Organizations and Family Life Philippines who claim responsibility for the purported Filipino Family survey that said Filipinos rejected the RH Bill. Whereas numerous independent surveys made by Pulse Asia and SWS since 1993 to 2009 has registered consistent and overwhelming support of Filipinos for family planning and reproductive health policy, this Family Life survey sponsored, conducted and announced by the same set of self-proclaimed pro-Life leaders attempts to project an entirely different result.

More...

WOMEN CHALLENGE ATIENZA ON THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SURVEY RESULTS

News about Sec. Atienza saying that 92% of Filipinos are against the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill was received by the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) with a lot of questions. Elizabeth Angsioco, DSWP National Chair asserts, “Before we believe Sec. Atienza’s allegations, we want to know a number of things: 1. Is it credible? Who did the survey? Does the firm that conducted it have the credibility and objectivity that are very important in such an undertaking? Why did Atienza’s group choose this firm over those used by all politicians and organizations such as the Social Weather Station (SWS) or Pulse Asia? 2. What was the methodology used? How were respondents chosen? What were the questions asked? We would like to know whether these were leading questions or not. And, 3. Why not publish the full results?”

More...

iMDG: Online Community of MDG Youth Activists

The UN Millennium Campaign will be launching iMDG, an online community of youth advocates for the MDGs. Various events in Asia, including the Philippines, are being organized to kick-off the project.

More...

Secretary Clinton Remarks on the 15th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development

When I think about that and the thousands of people who were part of it who came together to declare with one voice that reproductive healthcare is critical to the health of women, and that women’s health is essential to the prosperity and opportunity of all, to the stability of families and communities, and the sustainability and development of nations, it makes me nostalgic for conferences that are held that actually produce results – (laughter) – and give us a framework for moving forward. There is no doubt in my mind that the work that was done and the commitments that were made in Cairo are still really the bulwark of what we intend to be doing and are expected to do on behalf of women and girls.

More...