Fellow RH advocates, today, August 7th, is the day we have been waiting for. We invite every pro-RH citizen to join us as we demand that our congressional representatives vote to end the debate on the RH Bill and move it to the period of amendments. Together, we will… ah, wait.
Congratulations to everyone who contributed to the effort; this victory belongs to all of us. The president and the congresspeople he invited to Malacanang yesterday, and who then trooped to the Batasan Hall and called for a surprise vote to end the debates a day early, said as much. They heard the noise of the people on the streets and online, and the message we were sending them was coming through loud and clear: we are your bosses and after 14 years of delay, you are way past the deadline.
Perhaps I am not being clear enough; they pushed the vote yesterday because they were scared of you. Of you, the majority of the people of this nation that surveys have proved again and again are in favor of the bill, and not of the supposedly mighty Catholic bishops. It was you who made clear how any politician who voted anti-RH could be sure that they would not have your vote come 2013. It was you who were either with us on the streets or helped spread the images and articles that showed the desperate need for reproductive health in this country, and the hypocrisy, intellectual dishonesty and moral bankruptcy of the CBCP and its allies.
Our political leaders have been put in their proper place — as our public servants and our employees by dint of the votes we cast and the taxes we pay. We their constituents have shown them a glimpse of what accountability looks like; now is the time to give them the full show. Let’s keep demanding answers to the simple, important questions: when are you going to have the final vote on this bill, and after 14 years and countless deaths, what is taking you so long? The RH Bill is further along than it has ever been, but it is not yet law. If, however, we all together keep up the pressure as we have these last few weeks and don’t lose sight of the fight, then I am confident that it soon will be.
