PSROHN joins Leticia Ramos-Shahani Policy Discussion Series

The Philippine Society of SRH Nurses Inc. is the only professional nursing organization which joined other stakeholders at the Leticia Ramos-Shahani Policy Discussion Series: Advancing and Sustaining RH Advocacy in the Philippines organized by the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) at Cocoon Boutique Hotel last 24 August 2017.

The discussion aimed to review how key implementing agencies such as the Department of Health (DOH), Commission on Population (POPCOM), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of Education (DepEd) fulfil their mandates as stipulated in RA 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law of 2012.

In his welcome remarks, Ifugao Lone District Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr.  expressed his frustrations that even after 5 years of its enactment, the RPRH Law is still nowhere its full implementation. He cited challenges including LGUs weak capacity to implement the law, legal barriers such as the SC TRO on contraceptives, poor public awareness on RH provisions, insufficient RPRH budget, and issues related to adolescent RH such as the increased HIV epidemic among young people and alarming rates of teenage pregnancies in the country.

Dr. Juan Antonio Perez, Executive Director of POPCOM discussed the major bottlenecks of implementing the law according to the five (5) Key Result Areas (KRAs) identified by the RPRH National Implementation Team. These KRAs include 1) Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN); 2) Family Planning (FP) 3) Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) 4) STIs and HIV/AIDS, and 5) Gender-Based Violence (GBV).  

Ms. Maricel Grace Gomez, Chief of Family Development Division of DSWD shared that the Department ensures to include RPRH modules in their Family and Youth Development Sessions (FDS/YDS). 

As a response, Dr. Jonathan David Flavier, Executive Director of the Philippine Center for Population and Development (PCPD) emphasized the roles that NGOs and CSOs play in helping the government attain the promises of the RPRH Law.

Rep. Baguilat committed that pro-RH legislators in the Lower House should continue to be vigilant and ensure that budget for the full implementation of RA 10354 is in place and called on DepEd to incorporate age-and-development-appropriate sexuality education in the K12 Curriculum.

By: 
Jose Andrelin S. dela Cruz, RN, SRHN