The Philippines is largely (85 per cent ) a
Roman Catholic country -one reason why Philippines are quite
conservative in terms of women's status and rights. Traditional views
about women have affected their health, particularly maternal
mortality (2in 1,000 live births), the prevalence of sexually
transmitted diseases reproductive tract infections and treated
problems, domestic violence and other forms of violence such as
rape and incest, and women's nutritional health (more than half of
Filipino pregnant and lactating women are anemic). Abortion is
illegal, but various estimates place the number of clandestine
abortions between 150,000 and 750,000 per year.
The 1993 National Demographic Survey shows that
while 97 per cent of married women of reproductive age know about
family planning methods and 93 per cent are aware of where they
could obtain services or commodities, only 24 per cent are using a
modern method of family planning.
The Women's Health Care foundation (WHCF) and its
sister NGO, the Institute for Social Studies (ISSA), were founded
in 1980 in an attempt to respond to the health needs of
Philippine women. At that time I was Executive Director of both.
We started providing comprehensive reproductive health services
and information to women in 1980, in pursuit of the goal to
promote women's health and protect their rights. The staff
felt isolated and sometimes discouraged by the lack of interest,
even amongst personal friends in political circles. In 1987, a new
Constitution was being drafted and there was a move to include the
right of the unborn in it.
There was then a cell for all women's groups to
come together at the Constitutional Convention Hall to proclaim
their organizational concerns to the drafters of the Constitution.
WHCF and ISSA paraded with the other women with a big cloth
tapestry which urged women to unite for the right to control their
fertility and their bodies, and to make their own reproductive
decision. Some women were attracted by our concern and
approached us. We become acquainted with these women and saw that
they dealt with issues which were actually relevant to our
economic oppression, violence non-participation in political
affairs, environmental degradation, foreign intervention, lack of
basic services etc, while we were the only ones to bring up
the issue of reproductive rights and health. The others saw that
this was a basic concern of all women whatever issue their
organization was involved in.
We thought we had achieved victory when the right
of the unborn was not included in the Bill of Rights. We naively
assumed that there would no longer be any attempt to insert this
provision. We did not realize the power and cunning of
conservative forces determined to place " protection of the
life of the unborn" in another section, and so we were caught
unawares when this phrase and the sanctity of family life were
included under state policies. But in the end- probably to assuage
those who resisted this concept the provision provided for equal
protection of the life of the mother and the life of the unborn form
conception . The right of the unborn was placed there to prevent
the adoption of the doctrine used in the case of Roe vs. Wade in
the US, which paved the way for the legalization of
abortion.
We were elated, though, about the provision for
the state to defend the right of a couple to determine their
family size according to their religious conviction and the
demands of responsible parenthood, and for the state policy of
recognizing the family as a basic autonomous social institution.
Seizing opportunities
One event which
galvanized the pro-choice advocates to come together was when we
got hold of a copy of an Executive Order draft which Cory
Aquino
was being asked to sign. She was still exercising sole legislative
powers in early 1987. This was to be considered the "new
policy on population welfare". It would direct all government
agencies to "desist from setting goals as to ideal population levels
and ideal family size" and from advocating, promoting, or
dispensing advocating, contraceptives, including IUDs", the
assumption of this order was that " promoting contraception fomented
sexual promiscuity which had perverse consequences such as marital
infidelity, prostitute and proliferation of sexually transmitted
diseases". Only natural family planning would be promoted by
the government, and funding to NGOs which were involved in
contraceptive distribution and sterilization would have to be
terminated.
WHCF and ISSA called a meeting of the women we had
met at the constitutional Convention, and other women and
men whom wife knew would be concerned about this Executive
Order. The body decided to send telegrams to president Aquinas and
letters and press releases to newspaper editors, to protest
against it.
We felt quite victorious when the executive Order
was not signed. But we resolved to continue to be vigilant
about moves to curial our reproductive rights. Thus a new
organization was founded, which we called Woman Health
Philippines, aimed at promoting the Filipino woman's right to
health and reproductive freedom. Membership included health
workers and professionals, law practitioners, researchers and
academics, religious and grassroots women, mainly as individuals.
Other big events contributed to the building and strengthening
of coalitions among women. One was the first National Convention
of Health NGOs which was organized in 1989 by the Department of
Health with support from Japanese sources. WHCF/ISSA was chosen
as chair of the organizing committee while Woman Health was
the Secretariat. Around 500 delegates from all over the
country participate in the five Convention. Reproductive health
and rights, naturally was one of the five issues tackled, and
recommendations on all the issues were documented. A directory of health
NGOs in the Philippines was also an output of the Convention. The
NGOs in the Philippines was also an out put of the convention. The
NGOs become aware of the women's health and rights
advocates, and many women found strength in joining each
other.
Creating new women's organizations
WHCF and ISSA " co-mothered" other
organizations -like the Philippine NGO Council for
Family Planning, Health, and Welfare (PNGOC)- to assist smaller
NGOs and share resources; then the BUKAL, which was concerned about government health policies and programmers and,
much later, the Remedies AIDS Foundation and the NGO Network for
HIV/AIDS. They were also co-mother of LAW (Legislative Agenda for
Women); WomanHealth; the Alliance form Women's Health; KALAKASAN
(against violence to women); SIBOL, which aimed at proposing bills
to promote women's rights ; women's Vote for Health
and Family planning, which supported certain candidates
during the 1992 national electrons; and Marching for life
Coalition (to support family planning and HIV/AIDs programs of
government and other). WHCF/ISSA also joined other networks.
Although Corazon Aquino proclaimed, in her July
1989 State of The Nation Address before Congress, that family
planning
would be one of her priority programs where choice would be a
principle, she actually allowed the Catholic religion to stifle
the program. The right of the unborn become the primary
consideration of her administration and was used to campaign
against the government family planning program. Aquino's "
cafeteria approach" announcement was also criticized because
it was perceived as acceptance of the preconditions of the World
Bank loan to her government.
In early 1990, a dialogue was held between the
Roman catholic church and the government, represented by the
Department of Health regarding the Philippine Family Planning
Program.
At that time, the Population Commission was headed by a very
conservative cabinet member who believed that there was no need to
promote the use of contraceptives. The Secretary of Health held
the opposite view, and he was able to take over the family
planning service component of the population program. This was
not approved by the Church, and the result was this
dialogue.
However, no women was invited to the dialogue.
ISSA became concerned, and invited women's health advocates
framework for the government family planning program. As a
result of this gathering the women agreed to formulate a
common position on family planning population issues
and carry out necessary activities in relation to this position.
Manifesto entitled " Women NGOs stand n health and Family panning
" was drawn up, and the signatories formed the alliance
of 21 Women representing health , the universities, labor,
peasantry, feminists, media and other social and development
organizations.
Lobbying and media activities
The alliance ( later called alliance for
Women's Health or AWH) called upon the state to ensure that
all women enjoy reproductive rights, that the constitutional
provision of the separation of church and state be respected
( In the light of the strong lobby of the Catholic Church to
deny self determination to women" ) , and that all conditions
and support systems that would enable women to practice this
right. Attention to young children and men on
reproductive rights, and participation of women in all phases of
policy and program formulation, implementation, and
evaluation, were also demanded. Finally, the government was called
upon to give due recognition, support and protection
to women NGOs while guaranteeing their autonomy in carrying out
their work.
A copy of the alliance manifesto was sent to the Secretary
of Health and a meeting with him was requested. The Chief of Staff
represented the Department of Health in the meeting.
He assured the women that the Department agreed
with their beliefs and would do its best to carry it out. However,
he asked the women to understand the government's difficulties in
dealing with the issues of adolescent sexuality and abortion. He
impressed upon the women that NGOs can deal with these
issues in a more flexible way, and urged us to work with the
Department on getting data necessary in planning services for
women, and providing services which the government is not able to.
He said that he and the Secretary knew how we felt, having
been NGO members prior to their governmental appointments. He
promised that women would be asked to review policies and plan
programs with
them.
WHCF/ISSA and other members of the alliance became active
in senate and congressional public hearings on bills and
resolutions relevant to women's health and rights issues.
Staff of the lawmakers recognized the expertise of the alliance
leadership to expound on human rights issues, particularly on
efforts by pro-life senators to introduce laws that would favor
the unborn child over the mother . These included increasing
penalties for health professionals who perform abortion,
punishing women for taking dangerous, banning IUDs and
contraceptive Pills because they are abortificient, etc. It
goes without saying that profilers had women in their panel
who tended to bring pictures of stillborns and dead fetuses
or infants, claiming these were aborted. In contrast,
pro-choice women and men had facts, statistics and scientific
studies to prove their point. As a result, these anti women bills
did not pass the first Congress after the 1987 EDSA
revolution. The same bills were refilled during the second
Congress. But again, nothing was passed.
Women's health advocates are often invited
onto radio and TV Programs, where they are asked to articulate
their positions on issues such as the Roman Catholic church's
opposition to the family planning program and to including
prophecies women on the official delegation to the Cairo conserve;
on single parenthood; domestic violence; on charges that pornographic
materials were being developed and circulated by family planning
and HIV/AIDS organizations; sexual harassment; sexuality and
homosexuality. Articles are written about them in newspapers
and magazines, and they contribute letters to the
editors and write articles themselves on these issues or as
reactions to pronouncements by individuals in government,
religious or other institutions.
The alliance is one of seven NGO net works that
make up the National Steering Committee in charge of the NGO
preparations for the Beijing Conference. A series of consultations
in different regions of the Philippines have been held on the
issues which women want to raise at the Conference, on their perception
of developments since the Nairobi Conference, on
official country report, on the NGO country report, and the
platform for action of the preparatory conferences for the
Beijing meeting. We also participated in the Asian Regional
Preparatory Meeting .
Although many women have been reached through
consultation, publicity, and other activities of women's health
advocates, there are many more Filipino women who are powerless
and unaware of their rights, or who think that their happiness is
determined solely by their reproductive role, and who believe in
the official pronouncements of their Church hierarch. There
is still much to do, particularly on consciousness raising and
education, on providing adequate and proper health and other basic
services and information on making low and policy
makers as well as program implementers more aware of their responsibilities
to promote women's rights s human rights, and to help women gain
the high status and income that would realize the rights
the Constitution, and other nations, local and international legal
documents which our government signed, had promised them.
Working together empowers us
In spite of the difficulties which are
normal when strong personalities come together to work on a
common purpose , the activities planned by the National steering
Committee and implemented by the various networks have been fairly
successful. These activities have also made the women aware of
what different organizations are doing , and have brought
many of them together, realizing that cooperation brings synergy
to our efforts, and makes us a more formidable force against
those who want to neglect or downstate these efforts.
We also realize that there are still only a few of
us in our country who are willing and able to contribute our
energies to promote and protect women's health and right .
But if we hold hands with others, both women and men ,
in other courtiers, and continue to share our burdens as well as
our triumphs , we shall make our works a better one
for the next generation - our children whom we must
teach to continue the struggle which was passed on to us by our
own mothers and fathers, and the women and men who through
the centuries did their best for all of us.
