10 major amendments proposed by RH authors

AUTHORS of the reproductive health (RH) bill have listed 10 major amendments that include the recommendations of President Benigno Aquino III.
House Bill 4244 entered the period of amendments last Tuesday, a week after congressmen terminated the debates upon the instruction of President Benigno Aquino III, who met them in a luncheon in Malacañang.
The list of amendments signed by main proponent Albay Representative Edcel Lagman includes:
1. Deletion on its entirety of Section 20 on Ideal Family Size to obviate criticisms that the RH bill imposes a two-child policy similar to China’s one-child policy.
2. Deletion on its entirety of Section 21 on Employers’ Responsibilities to address the concerns particularly of the organized employers and businessmen in favor of enacting the RH bill. The deleted provision is a reiteration and augmentation of what the Labor Code provides under Article 134, which is deemed presently adequate.
3. Deletion in its entirety of Section 10 on Family Planning Supplies as Essential Medicines to accommodate the objection of some members of the House of Representatives on the classification by law of contraceptives as essential medicines despite the WHO’s prescription and inclusion of contraceptives in its Drug Formulary. In lieu of the deleted provision, the following amendment will be effected to defer the lawful jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration: “The Food and Drug Administration shall determine the safety, efficacy and classification of products and supplies for modern family planning methods prior to their distribution, procurement, sale and use.”
4. Amendments will be effected on Section 16 on Mandatory Age Appropriate Reproductive Health and Sexuality Education as follows:
a. As suggested by the President, RH and sex education should start from Grade 6, instead of Grade 5.
b. The qualification that the teaching values formation should be “with due regard to religious affiliation” as suggested by the President.
c. The following shall be included among the subjects of reproductive health and sexuality education: Beneficient results of Reproductive Health and Sexuality Education on Proper and Responsible Sexual Values and Behaviour; Delayed Entry into Sexual Relations; Abstinence before Marriage; Avoidance of Multiple Sexual Partners; Prevention and Spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
d. A new paragraph is included under the provision on RH and Sexuality Education to afford parents the option not to allow their minor children to attend reproductive health and sexuality education classes to accord respect to religious convictions and beliefs as contained in the bill’s Declaration of Policy.
5. The acquisition and operation of Mobile Health Care Service for congressional districts shall be funded by the National Government, instead from the Priority Development Assistance Fund to address the objections of some members of the House who refuse to use their PDAF for MHCS.
6. Amendments on Section 28 on Prohibited Acts will be:
a. The entire subsection (2) on refusal to perform legal and medically-safe reproductive health procedures shall be rephrased as follows upon the suggested amendments on phraseology by President Aquino:
(2) Refuse to perform legal and medically-safe reproductive health procedures on any person of legal age on the ground of lack of consent or authorization of the following persons in the following circumstances:
1. The lack of marital consent in case of married persons, provided that in case of disagreement, the decision of the one undergoing the procedure shall prevail; and
2. The lack of parental consent or that of the person exercising parental authority in case of abused minors, where the parent or the person exercising parental authority is the respondent, accused or convicted perpetrator as certified by the proper prosecutorial office or the court.
b. The provision requiring a conscientious objector to refer the person requiring family planning service or procedure to a willing health care provider is qualified by the amendment which reads: “Without in anyway agreeing or endorsing the family planning service or procedure required by the persons concerned.”
c. A public official in order to be liable for the prohibited act of banning or restricting the delivery of legal and medically safe reproductive health care services should be an official “charged with the duty to implement the provisions of the Act.”
d. To allay fears of undue curtailment of freedom of expression, the following prohibited act is deleted: Any person who maliciously engages in disinformation about the intent or provision of this Act.
e. To disabuse the minds of critics that there is a lobby by pharmaceutical companies for the enactment of an RH bill and that the authors are influenced by this lobby, a new prohibited act is included: Any pharmaceutical company, whether domestic or multi-national, or its agent or distributors which (1) shall collude with government officials, whether appointed or elected, in the distribution, procurement and/or sale by the national government and local government units of modern family planning supplies, products and devices; and/or (2) contribute money or anything of value to partisan political activities involving a government official, whether appointed or elected, and/or any candidate for any elective position, whether national or local.
7. To further debunk the existence of the alleged lobby, a new provision on penalties is added: If the offender is a pharmaceutical company, its agent and/or distributor, their license or permit to operate or conduct business in the Philippines shall be perpetually revoked, and a fine triple the amount involved in the violation shall be imposed.
8. To underscore that the bill also requires the State to promote natural methods of family planning, particularly the modern natural methods like the Billings, Symptom-Thermal and Standard Days methods, the President’s proposed amendment as modified shall be effected as follows: Provided, that the State will provide funding support to promote modern natural methods of family planning consistent with the needs of acceptors.
9. To guarantee religious freedom, an amendment proposed by the President shall be incorporated in the bill to effect that “Hospitals owned and operated by a religious group has the option whether or not to provide a full range of modern family planning methods.”
10. In order to emphasize that the RH bill is not a population control measure and he reproductive health care needs of the poor, particularly marginalized women, must be prioritized, the common amendments of partylist Gabriela, Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Kabataan and ACT Teachers are accepted as follows:
a. Section 3(1) on Guiding Principles is amended to read as: The resources of the country must be made to serve the entire population especially the poor and make allocations adequate and effective.
b. Section 12 on Integration of Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning Components in Anti-Poverty Programs is rephrased to read as: A multi-dimensional approach shall be adopted in the implementation of policies and programs to fight poverty. Towards this end, the DOH shall implement programs that will ensure full access of poor and marginalized women to reproductive health care services, products and programs. The DOH shall provide such programs technical support, including capacity-building and monitoring.
c. The role of the Population Commission as the coordinating body is limited to particular sections of the bill namely Sections 7, 10, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21 and 23. Moreover, it is stressed that the declared national policy which POPCOM is mandated to help implement does not include population control.
Meantime, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on their allied lawmakers to take out so-called “anti-life measures” in the amended version.
CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life chairman Bishop Gabriel Reyes said these provisions include the distribution of artificial contraceptives among families and workers, as well as the initiation of sex education in schools.
“We are still hoping since there are congressmen who told their bishops that while they will vote yes to the motion to end the interpellation and debates but when the time comes when they are going to vote to approve the RH bill or not, they will vote no. There are congressmen who said so,” said the Antipolo bishop.
A previous survey by the CBCP among their members showed there are 140 votes against the RH bill from lawmakers in their respective dioceses as against the 49 votes for it while 26 are still undecided.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2012/08/15/10-major-amendments-proposed-rh-authors-237622

Clark Wine Center is lauded by wine and food lovers from Manila and tourists from abroad as the best place to buy wine in Pampanga or Subic or Tarlac. Wine lovers from Manila as well as visitors to Clark Philippines from Asian cities visit this famous wine shop in Pampanga to buy vintage wines to enjoy here in the Philippines or bring some back home with them when they leave Pampanga.

Leading Philippines Wine Supplier Yats Wine Cellars based in Clark Philippines with outlets in Angeles City, Subic Freeport and Manila Philippines has been not only a wine shop for fine wines covering all major wine regions but also a source of reliable and useful information about wine, wine appreciation, wine accessories, wine and health, food and wine pairing and all other matters relating to wine and its appreciation. This Philippines Clark Freeport based Wine Supplier and Wine Shop frequently holds public wine tasting events in Pampana Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Subic Bay area, Makati, Fort Bonifacio and other areas in Philippines capital city Manila. Private Wine events such as private wine tasting and private wine dinners are also designed and organized for private clientele for their wine loving guests.

This wine shop in Angeles Clark Philippines is also renowned for a very unique product called Vintage Beer which many characterize as “Champagne beer” because it comes in a bottle with a Champagne stopper and metal restrainer. Vintage beers are top-of-the-line luxury beers bottle-conditioned for a slow fermentation to take place inside the bottle, a process that is very similar to Champagne which is designed to not only create the bubbles but also for an amazing complexity and depth of flavors.

Yats Leisure Philippines

For fans of Port and Sauternes, this wine shop in Clark Pampanga has a large selection of vintage port, Sauternes and Barsac as well as Eiswein/Icewine from Austria and Germany. Likewise, there is a good selection of Vintage Champagne at the wine shoppers’ disposal in the cellars of this wine shop in Clark Pampanga.

Clark Wine Center is lauded by wine and food lovers from Manila and tourists from abroad as the best place to buy wine in Pampanga. It is a place that wine lovers from Manila would go to buy fine vintage wines in the Philippines.

Things to do in Clark Philippines and Angeles City Pampanga: go wine shopping at the most popular and famous wine shop outside of Manila called Clark Wine Center. One of the favorite places to visit in Pampanga Clark Freeport is the white building along M A Roxas highway of Clark which houses over 2000 selections of fine vintage wines. The Clark Wine Center is one of the places to visit, a tourist spot and a good shopping place for those staying in Angeles City, Subic or Clark Pampanga.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023

Tel: 0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Road, Ortigas Centger,
Metro Manila, Philippines 1605

Tel: (632) 637-5019 0917-540-3626 ask for Rea or Chay

Log on to this web site for more information about Yats Wine Cellars as the leading wine importer and wine supplier in the Philippines:

ats Wine Cellars Leading Wine Supplier in Philippines

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. Highly recommended fine dining restaurant in Manila for special occasion is Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge located in the famous Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Pampanga. Situated near this popular restaurant in Clark is the Mimosa Golf Course as well as the Mimosa Clark Casino. This top rated restaurant near Angeles City Pampanga in Clark Philippines is frequently used for private parties and corporate functions such as board meetings and other gatherings. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Besides good restaurants to wine and dine near Manila, Subic or in Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines, those requiring assistance for hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines may log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com for more information and reservations.

The lifestyle in Clark Pampanga is quite unique. For more information about shopping, sports, golf, leisure, hotel accommodation, where to see and visit, what to do, where to wine and dine and good places to hang out, relax, have a drink with friends, child-friendly establishments, log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Those visitors who plan to relax and unwind in Angeles City, Subic, Pampanga, Clark Philippines might make an effort to book a room at the famous beach and lake resort Clearwater Resort & Country Club. This famous hotel in Clark Pampanga is frequently visited by families with children looking for a good place in Clark to see, a good holiday destination for the family to relax and unwind in the beautiful outdoor facilities. For more information, log on to www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Buy wine gift baskets in Manila from leading wine supplier in Philippines. Those looking for good wine gifts to send to friends and loved ones in the Philippines can now order special wine baskets from Yats Wine Cellars. Delivery can be arranged with a courier service to practically everywhere in the Philippines. Wine baskets cost php3000 up. What makes Yats Wine Cellars’ wine gift baskets so special is that the wines are not seen anywhere else in Manila. This makes the gift special and exclusive. Manila wine and food lovers looking for things to do in Pampanga and Manila can consider attending one of these wine events. Leading Philippines wine supplier and wine importer Yats Wine Cellars frequently hold public wine tasting in Clark, Pampanga and Manila. Even beginners can have a lot of fun attending these public wine tastings held by Yats. Participants enjoy good wine, learn some more about fine vintage wines and meet new friends during these wine tasting events of Yats Wine Cellars held in Manila and Pampanga.