The Development Society’s Official Stand on HR1109

The Development Society’s Official Stand on HR 1109 On June 2, 2009, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution Number 1109 (HR 1109), which seeks the convening of a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) with the Upper and Lower Houses of Congress voting jointly on amendments to the 1987 Constitution. We, the members of the Development Society, are against the passage of House Resolution 1109 due to the circumstances that surround it, the motives behind it and its implications and possible repercussions in the lives of the Filipino people. The Development Society supports Charter Change, but not through a Con-Ass and most importantly, not before the upcoming 2010 elections. Improper Process and Unbalanced Representation First and foremost, the Development Society does not approve the House of Representative’ s act of bypassing the Senate. This is a blatant disrespect of the political institutions that this country is founded on, particularly of the Upper House of Congress which was built to serve as the partner of the Lower House in crafting laws and resolutions. Even though there are conflicts in the interpretation of Article XVII of the Constitution which states that “any amendment to or revision of the Constitution may be proposed by the Congress upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members,” allowing Congress to vote jointly would effectively render the Senate insignificant as three-fourths of the House of Representatives alone is already enough to fulfill the number of votes required to pass the resolution, even if all members of the Senate vote against it. Second, the Development Society prefers a Constitutional Convention instead of a Constituent Assembly, as this would allow for a better representation of the different sectors of society in making amendments on the Constitution. This is essential because this matter is something that will ultimately affect each and every Filipino’s life. Moreover, the House of Representatives should have allowed for more discussions on the resolution, both within Congress and with the general public. The Lower House should undergo a more in-depth discussion regarding the matter and allowed the Upper House to do the same thing, so that both Houses of Congress could have been represented in the decision better. At the very least, public consultations should be done by the individual members of Congress with their constituents to allow for a more just and fair representation of the population, since these people were elected to serve as the representatives of the people – not to act arbitrarily out of their own personal interests.The Development Society believes that all of these should be done to empower the citizenry by engaging them in the political processes in the country. Wrong Timing and Unclear Priorities The Development Society also believes that now is not the right time to explore possibilities of having a Charter Change. The whole world is facing a global financial crisis. The people’s money are being spent to revitalize national economies but the effect is still strong – businesses are shutting down and people are losing jobs. To bring it closer to home, our Overseas Filipino Workers, considered as the heroes of today, are returning without jobs and remitting less money. To convene a Constituent Assembly and amend the Constitution during this time of economic crisis is denying the people the support and help that they need from the State. This would require huge amounts of resources – not only in terms of economic assets, but of human capital, time, and other resources which could be diverted to the more urgent needs of the country such as generation of employment and provision of basic services that the Filipino people, especially the people who are in poverty, are in dire need of. Convening a Constituent Assembly now is even more untimely due to the upcoming 2010 elections. Given the fact that this crucial point in Philippine history is happening already in less than a year, it is even more untimely for Congress to push for a Charter Change. The elections will inevitably be affected because there is not enough time left to make amendments and ratify the Constitution. This transition period between the current administration and the next is very unstable and therefore vulnerable to various unwanted scenarios that may happen when there is no stable Constitution to hold on. The Development Society therefore believes that it would be best to keep the Constitution during this time of great political paradigm shifts. To let the 2010 elections be hampered by an untimely Charter Change is to deny the people the ability to choose their own leaders – a basic right that nobody, not even the current leaders, have the right to take away from the people. A Call to the People The biggest question therefore is why the majority of the House of Representatives who voted for HR1109 are in such a haste to amend the Constitution. The Development Society believes that ample time should be alloted for crucial decisions like this. More time should be alloted for deliberations, and public discussions and consultations should be held nationwide before this huge step is undertaken by our Representatives. The Development Society is encouraging people to be duly informed about the issue and be involved in whatever way they can. It is important that we, as responsible citizens of this country, be aware of what is happening and let our opinions be heard. We should remind our leaders that we elected them for them to represent the interests of the people. Our voices are important and should be taken into consideration when our leaders make crucial decisions such as HR1109 that will affect the lives of the whole population of the Philippines not only today, but of future generations as well.

Our Official Stand on the RH Bill

We, the members of the Development Society, inspired by the Atenean value of persons for and with others, support the passage of the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act (also known as House Bill 5043). We support the Bill as it seeks to address critical aspects of deprivation in the country like poor maternal health care, empowerment of the LGUs, and greater provision for education and health services which can ultimately help empower and protect the people not only in their immediate needs but also in the over-all development of the country.
From a development perspective, we recognize the need to discuss the issue in a holistic manner, which comprise the political, sociological, economic and environmental dimensions. But, we also believe that beyond these disciplines is a need to refocus on the complete well-being of the human person.

Human Security Asserts Health and Education
The Commission on Human Security in the 2000 United Nations Millennium Summit emphasizes the importance of adequate health services and access to education opportunities. “Human security” in its broadest sense, emphasizes the need to focus on the people. It has broadened the framework of the concerns for development involving not only violent territorial or terrorist-induced conflicts but also the issue of deprivation itself. “Human security” now encompasses issues on “extreme impoverishment, pollution, ill health, illiteracy, and other maladies.” Thus, when viewed from this approach, health and education have become necessities for the over-all development of a person (Commission on Human Security. 2003. Human Security Now. New York: UNHCR.)

Uplifting Women’s Health Enables Better Quality of Life
In connection with the concerns of this paper, health and education have a profound impact on women. Health and education are particularly important to women  because the capability and condition of women determine the quality of her own life, the quality of life of her child, and to a great extent, the well-being of her entire family.

Furthermore, the bill also addresses crucial aspects of severe entitlements deprivation, which requires a critical evaluation of the availability, accessibility, security, acceptability, and quality of certain goods and services. In the case of the Reproductive Health Bill, these goods and services refer to the provisions for access to health care services and the full range of family planning methods (Sections 6, 7,9, 10, 11) and the mandatory age-appropriate reproductive health education (Section 12).

Demographic surveys show that at least two million married women of reproductive age are in favor of family planning, but are unable to do so due to lack of information and access to affordable quality services. In the table below, the desired or wanted fertility rate is less than the actual fertility rate, especially in the lowest socioeconomic sector of the country. The reason is that there are a few options for them to control or maneuver their lives because they lack information and access. (National Statistics Office. 2004. National Demographic and Health Survey 2009. Metro Manila: NSO.)

Therefore, there is indeed a need to impart the knowledge and information to the greater majority of the Filipinos, which a good reproductive health policy can help provide. A good reproductive health policy can also be beneficial on the socioeconomic premise because it can help reduce poverty in the Philippines.

Social Services, the Philippine State and Civil Society
Poverty, indeed, has several dimensions. The provision of the Reproductive Health Care Bill can help address some of these problems. It recognizes the importance of labor power for the development of the country, which is why it gives primacy to the importance of adequate health care services to ensure the birth of healthy children as well as responsible parenting and access to education for the members of the population.

However, we recognize the reality of Philippine politics, where indeed corruption is prevalent, thereby becoming a hindrance to the provision of these basic social services. To depict this reality more clearly, Paul Hutchcroft describes the Philippine political system as a “patrimonial oligarchic state” wherein he asserts that a “dominant social force has an economic base largely independent of the state apparatus, but the state nonetheless plays a central role in the process of wealth accumulation.” Because of this, a relationship arises where the official and private spheres overlap and the powerful oligarchic elites are able to extract privileges from the state apparatus because of the weak bureaucracy (Hutchcroft, Paul. 1991. “Oligarchs and Cronies in the Philippine State: The Politics of Patrominial Plunder.” World Politics 43 (3): 414-450.). Thus, it can be said that penetrating the Philippine political system will not be sufficient to achieve long-term reforms.

Initiatives to change the system should no longer just be confined within the state apparatus but also beyond it. Simultaneous, “top-down” and “bottom-up” initiatives are needed: where the latter requires the “emergence of concrete pressures from below.” In this case, strengthening civil society and the Local Government Units (LGUs) can be taken as an initial step to this goal of political reforms.

The emergence of an equipped and capable civil society can be a means to fight systematic corruption in the government. Civil society can also help counterbalance the power of the state. The bill recognizes the role of civil society in addressing issue as is stated in Section 18 (support of private and non-government health care service providers). Similarly, the emergence of strong LGUs in the country is one of the notable effects of the phenomenon. However, the changes that are happening in the different scenarios of the LGUs are insufficient in its self because they are still constrained by the national problems of inadequate resource distribution. Thus, the Reproductive Health Care Bill is a crucial means where reforms from the “top” are deemed relevant and simultaneous reforms from “below” can also happen. This can be done with the Bill’s provision on empowering the LGU as they collaborate with the National Government for the realization of its policies in the local setting (Sections 9, 13, 14, 15).

Development for All
The Reproductive Health Care Bill, contrary to its many criticisms, can greatly help solve the daunting problem of poverty in the country. It is by no means the only solution to the needed reforms today for the problem is far more complex. But we recognize that it can help solve critical aspects of deprivation in the country like poor maternal health care, empowerment of the LGUs, and greater provision for education and health services which can ultimately help empower and protect the people not only in their immediate needs but also in the over-all development of the country. With this as our basic premise, we support the passage of House Bill 5043 on the aforementioned grounds.

In order to move forward, we recognize the need to create public demand for reproductive health services, to refocus efforts to local governments, and to create venues to find compromise that the different groups can agree on. Lastly, we call for a more comprehensive and open discussion of those for and against the bill to talk about its implications on the lives of the Filipinos as we endeavor to realize our common quest for a people-centered development where no one is left behind.

We are now accredited! :)

We are now officially part of the Issue and Policy Analysis cluster of the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo and it wouldn’t have been possible without everybody’s hardwork and passion for development. Congratulations!

Youth and Change

Obama and his legions of young supporters showed that it could be done in America. Can’t we do the same in the Philippines?

DS Week!!!

Celebrate Development this January 24-30, 2009. Go the DStance!

Yes We Can! Kaya Natin!

I look forward to the day that we can also find a true Filipino leader that will also inspire millions of Filipinos to rally for change, a change that millions of Filipinos have been longing for and a change that will hopefully, put an end to the growing poverty cycle that majority of Filipinos have to face each day. – Harvey Keh

Happiness in Solving Social Problems

The social entrepreneur’s business is solving social problems. His aim is to change the world to transform it into a more humane place to live. It would take everyone to make the world better. Our bedrock is ethics. Our tool is innovation. Our mantra is human dignity and compassion. Our work is towards sustainability.

Register na!!

Registration for the 2010 elections is on Dec. 2, 2008 to Dec. 15. 2009. Any Filipino citizen who is at least eighteen years and a resident for at least one year can vote. Let’s go guys! This is both a right and responsibility that we must exercise.

Sappiness and Changing the World

Youth, do your job. Show us adults what boxes we have encased ourselves in. – Leland Dela Cruz (Program Director, Ateneo Development Studies).

Change Your Mind About Changing the World

Busting the myths on what it takes to change the world.
By Reese Fernandez (Rags to Riches).