Poverty and overpopulation are two of the biggest national concern the Philippines have right

now. Many solutions have been made to alleviate these problems but none of them seem to
work. One of which is The Reproductive Health Bill of the Philippines, or RH Bill. This bill allows
Filipinos access to contraceptives and an opportunity to be enlightened on the topic of family
planning. The bill was first introduced in 1998 but somewhat died in the years after. Not until the
year 2011 that the Congress decided to once again open its door for discussion on the RH bill.
Before talking more about the bill, let us first be introduced to the person who spearheaded it all,
Representative Edcel C. Lagman.
Edcel C. Lagman was born on May 1, 1942 in San Fernando, Camarines Sur. His parents are
Cecilia Castelar Lagman and Fiscal Pedro Eduardo Diaz Lagman. Though born in Camarines
Sur, Edcel grew up in Tabaco, Albay. He is married to Cielo Burce and they have seven children
together. Three of his children are also into politics, one is a doctor, and one is a professor. He
graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law.
Representing the 1st District of Albay, Lagman has been elected five times as a Member of the
House of Representatives. He first served from 1987-1998. His daughter took over for a while,
and then he served again from 2004 to the present. He ran with the political party LAKAS-CMD
Party.
Having served the people and the government for a really long time, Lagman has a lot of
recognitions in his name. But perhaps in the past year, he is more popular as the main author of
The Reproductive Health Bill. There are currently two goals with this same purpose, but the one
Lagman penned is House Bill No. 4244, also known as An Act Providing for a Comprehensive
Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and
For Other Purposes.
The basic condition of this bill is to introduce Filipinos and distribute to them family planning
devices. It also aims for health care centers all over the country to circulate information on how to
properly use them. Companies and schools are also encouraged to do the same with their
employees and students. Through this, the bill intends to alleviate the problem of overpopulation
in the Philippines.
The bill, like any other thing in the world, is surrounded by controversies. It is actually a really
good bill but a lot of people are opposing it. The number one group who opposes it is the
Catholic Church. Though not entirely stated in the bill, the Church implies that the bill entails
abortion, something that is greatly against the teaching and morals of the Church. I am a devout
Catholic but I think the Church herself needs to be enlightened on what the RH Bill is really
about. I am pro RH Bill and I want it to become a law. This is just an introduction to what RH Bill
is about and my stand on the issue. Stay tuned for more.