Around 200 women members of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) joined the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) rally held at Mendiola this morning to, once again, call on President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to include the RH bill in his priority legislations for this Monday’s (July 25) SONA.

PM women members brought with them posters of a clock set on 11 o’clock depicting the number of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth complications daily. Women are calling on PNoy to put an end to this daily massacre by putting his words into action.

“Your administration has been always clear with your commitment to the private sector, but not with the people whom you have declared your ’bosses.’ You have made sporadic statements of support to the RH bill. It has been confusing though because you did not include it in your first SONA priority list of legislations. We hope that it will be in your second SONA,” stressed PM Secretary General Judy Ann Chan-Miranda.

On Monday, PNoy’s second SONA, the Partido ng Manggagawa will join the rally at Mendiola in morning together with other labor groups. In the afternoon, it will be part of the joint rally of the Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP) and Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) at the Batasan. Besides the demand to priority the RH bill, PM will call on the PNoy administration to put an end to contractualization and ensure workers’ rights and security of tenure.

July 22, 2011

Partido ng Manggagawa (PM)

Young people to join march for RH on World Population Day

PRESS RELEASE
July 10, 2011

Saying they are no longer too young and dull to understand sexuality and reproductive health, students and out-of-school youth members of Partido ng Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK) and the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK) are joining the Purple March tomorrow, July 11, as the entire world celebrates the World Population Day.

More than a hundred members of PMK and SDK are joining the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network – Youth (RHAN-Youth) that will participate in the Purple March and Parade that will assemble at Raja Sulayman Park, Malate at 7am tomorrow. They will be carrying posters “Hindi na kami bata para sa RH” enumerating the reasons for their support to the RH bill in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“The fact that the world of seven billion today remains divided between the rich minority and the poor majority, we believe that young people still have the chance of having a better future if we have a better understanding of everything, including on our sexuality and RH needs,” said Karol Hernandez, PMK spokesperson.

“Hindi nakatulong sa gaya naming mga kabataan ang pag-iwas ng lipunang pag-usapan ang mga usapin sa sekswalidad at RH. Imbes na alam namin ang gagawin dahil sa kakulangan ng impormasyon, mas marami sa amin ang nag-eeksperimento at nakikinig sa kapwa naming kapos din sa kaalaman sa RH,” added Hernandez, explaining how escaping the issues concerning sexuality made the youth, specially young women, dependent on ‘sabi-sabi’ or superstition on one of the most important aspect of their lives – their reproductive health.

According to Ms. Hernandez, because of the lack relevant and accurate information: 30% of Filipino women become mothers before they reach their 21^st birthday; 11 mothers die every day due to pregnancy and child birth complications; 2 out of 5 teenage pregnancies are ‘unwanted’; 46% of these unwanted pregnancies turn into ‘induced abortions’; 1 out of 4 teenage mothers stop schooling to concentrate on child rearing; and 10% of children of teenage mothers, 1 out of 5 die due to various reasons.

“The RH bill’s passage is an urgent issue for the Filipino youth. Attached to the compulsory education for the youth – among Grade 5 to 4^th year high school students – is the opportunity for a brighter future for us, the youth. In this issue, we believe that, this time, the conservative adults should listen to the youth,” asserted SDK spokesperson, Ernest Abanes. Abanes said young Pinoys are also aware of the many problems facing today’s youth such as high cost of education, unemployment and deteriorating labor standards and they want President Aquino address these concerns in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“But PNoy should never forget the equally tall order of getting the RH bill approved by Congress,” ended Abanes.

Partido ng Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK)
Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK)