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NOTE FROM ALFI : We thank Atty. Jose Sison for his Philippine Star column of Sept 8, 2006 entitled, “Time to Speak Out.”
We commend his efforts to call the attention of the public to the dangerous advancement in Congress of these four anti-family Bills, namely House Bills 3773, 5285, 5012 and 634. Please read on and feel free to send him feedback at
jcson@pldtdsl.net
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Congressional committees are created purportedly to expedite sound and correct decision-making by the bigger legislative body composed of people with varying degrees of knowledge and expertise and with differing persuasions and opinions. They are supposed to achieve unity in diversity and promote efficiency especially in matters of governance for the common good. To serve their purpose, these committees usually call on or even hire experts, conduct researches, gather facts and hold open and fair hearings first before coming up with their recommendations to the larger assembly that created them.
The public expects that the members of these committees vote primarily according to the dictates of their well informed consciences after a complete and thorough study and consideration of the facts gathered. They are not supposed to allow pakikisama, horse trading or quid pro quo, or political affiliation to influence their decisions. When bills or other legislative actions are reported out by a committee for consideration and approval of the entire House in plenary session, people should feel comfortable that they are either ripe for enactment into laws or for approval by the body because they are supposed to be for the welfare and interest of the public in general.
In the House of Representatives however, committees are now being invariably used to ram through some proposals and courses of actions that are pre-conceived and designed to suit the purposes of certain political personalities with self-serving political agenda. The recent Justice Committee resolution on the impeachment complaint and the last resolution of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments on the draft proposals for Charter change through the questionable Constituent Assembly are obviously but a few examples of committee decisions done purely for partisan purposes.
On the other hand, other committees in the lower house are likewise becoming instruments of some of its members or of certain powerful lobby groups working through some members whose views have apparently been narrowed or dimmed by limited or total lack of knowledge or ignorance of the subject of the proposed bills. Thus some bills hurdle the committee level despite shallow grounds backing them up. Conscientious objectors to some bills also recall encountering difficulties in airing their stand when some committees decide to conduct hearings behind closed doors or when hearings are shifted to committees more friendly and more inclined to favorably act on the bills. Situations also arise when some congressmen or congresswomen who are on opposite sides of the political fence find themselves working together for the passage of some bills after realizing that they still belong to the same "old boys’ club". These prevailing practices have elicited suggestions that the lower house create instead "fact facing" committees rather than the present "fact finding" committees.
Unfortunately, due perhaps to these practices some bills having detrimental repercussions on the temporal and spiritual welfare of Filipinos and their families have finally been reported out by various committees for possible consideration and approval by the lower house in its plenary session after being introduced, shelved and reintroduced in the previous Congresses.
Currently on the pipeline and ready to flow out into the floor of the lower house for debate are: (1) House Bill (HB) 3773 approved by the Committee on Women although originally heard by the Committee on Health which is a comprehensive "Reproductive Health" and Population Control oriented bill euphemistically titled "Responsible Parenthood and Population Management Act of 2005"; (2) HB 5285 approved also by the Committee on Women graciously titled "The Magna Carta for Women" recognizing certain inviolable women’s rights including birth control and contraception; (3) HB 634 appealingly entitled "The Anti-Discrimination Act" approved by the Committee on Civil, Political and Human Rights obviously removing all sorts of discrimination and thus legalizing and licensing same sex unions; and (4) HB 5012 approved by the Committee on Labor and Employment which is an Act requiring private employers to give free annual seminars on women’s rights, gender development and equality etc.
Needless to say, these bills contain many fallacies, wrong premises, ambiguous terms susceptible to misuse or abuse, and erroneous conclusions of facts. They have harmful consequences on the health and welfare especially of women and pernicious effects on the Filipino family as a basic social institution. While these fatal defects have been pointed out and extensively discussed in previous columns, there is still the danger and the possibility that despite these fatal defects the bills may be approved simply because the improper practices during the committee level hearings may spill over to the floor of the lower house during its deliberations. But in fairness to our congressmen and women, many of them may be in good faith. They may not be fully informed of the gut issues involved in these bills.
So instead of wringing our hands in fear or distrust let’s ring the congressmen or women in our districts; or write them letters especially those in the far flung areas. Tell them of the real score about these anti-life and anti-family bills and gently remind them that the real score of their votes in the next election may depend on how they will discharge their legislative functions in this regard.
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