US agency’s lobby for repro health bill exposed

PASAY CITY – Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III has exposed that international organizations led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and their local connections have been lobbying for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill to serve their own interests.
In his second privilege speech before the Senate, Sotto claimed the RH bill violates Philippine sovereignty because it is being pushed by the international organizations with their local counterparts and agencies they are supporting.
“They (international organizations) have been pushing for the passage of this bill to serve their ulterior motives far-off from the aims of the proponents of the bill, Sotto said.
“My point in stating that is we should not be pushed over by any state or international organizations in determining what is best for our country,” he said.
“ Hindi po porque ginagawa na nila sa kanilang bansa, ay dapat gawin din natin. Tandaan natin na may iba’t iba tayong kultura, kasaysayan at tradisyon, at higit sa lahat, pangangailangan,” he said. 
Sotto made the revelation as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said it remains confident that many lawmakers will not allow the reproductive health bill to be passed.
 CBCP – Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) chairman Bishop Gabriel Reyes said some solons gave them the “commitment” that they would vote against the bill’s passage.
Reyes called on anti-RH solons to do everything to ensure that the “anti-life” provisions in the controversial measure will be removed during the period of amendments.
Among the provisions are the distribution of artificial contraceptives among families and workers, as well as the initiation of sex education in schools. 
Sotto said the groups are of “doubtful character” and “have been pushing for the passage of the RH bill to serve their ulterior motives far-off from the aims of the proponents of the bill.”
He said the USAID funded the survey used by the National Statistics Office, including the Philippine 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey.
“The USAID, for the information of the body is the agency which the United States uses as its principal instrument to control and reduce the population through birth control worldwide,” he said.
Sotto said USAID also funded the project of Dhramendra Kumar Tyagi or DKT, which is the largest manufacturer of Trust condoms, pills and other contraceptives. 
“Nais ng DKT na lumaganap ang paggamit ng contraceptive products sa Pilipinas,” he said.
“Ulitin natin, USAID ang magpopondo sa NSO para lumabas ang impormasyong kailangan ng population control sa bansa, at USAID din ang tumutulong sa DKT na mapalaganap ang produkto nila,” Sotto stressed. 
He said the authors of the bill also used statistics provided by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) to support their position.
He said the Guttmacher Institute came into existence as the marketing arm of Planned Parenthood in 1968 and has “masterminded the public manipulation of   promoting abortion, sterilization, and amniocentesis and genetic screening, as well as foreign population control.”
Sotto has maintained that contraceptives are abortifacients, pose health risks to women and may even expose them to serious health problems and death, and have harmful effects to children born to mothers who were using contraceptives and still got pregnant like his wife, actress Helen Gamboa, who lost their boy.
Sotto also lashed back at his critics, calling them “callous and insensitive” for daring him to produce medical records of his son to prove his claim that he died due to contraceptives.
He said   former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, both doctors, should respect the grief that his family suffered.
“It is unfortunate that the reproductive health debate has come to this level. They should have given the sorrow of my family more respect,” Sotto said.
Sotto said his wife Helen used a pill called Diane under the supervision of a doctor accompanied by his mother, Dr. Herminia Castelo Sotto.
“Diane po ang pangalan ng pills na ginamit ng aking asawa noon. Supervised po siya ng doktor habang ginagamit nya ito. Intellihente naman po ang asawa ko, alam niya kung paano gumamit nito,”he said.
“Doon po sa mga bumabatikos at nanggagalaiti sa akin, sagutin ninyo yung mga yun, punto por punto, at hindi atakihin ang persona ko. Sa Facebook, sa Twitter, kung anu-ano ang sinasabi, hindi naman nila naiintindihan ang punto ko. May mga nananakot pa. Kung sa mga drug lords nga hindi ako natakot, sa kanila pa? Ang lambot nga ng dating ng umpisa ng turno en contra ko, tapos gagalitin nila ako?” Sotto said.
Sotto said that by virtue of National Security Study Memorandum 200, issued by Henry Kissinger who is the source of the entire family planning, population and poverty reduction programs of the United States, all loans, grants and aid coming from the United States and western powers must be based on reduction of population through birth control. 
Since the USAID is the principal instrument for the so-called development programs, there are NGOs and government agencies in the Philippines that have been contacted, supported and funded by it. USAID, World Health Organization, World Bank and all economic agencies were given a directive to gear their policies and programs towards promoting the reduction of the world’s population especially in less developed countries (LDCs), he said.
He also identified the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which according to its website has for more than three decades, lobbied worldwide for the liberalization and eventual repeal of all laws that place any restrictions whatever on access to abortion. This stance is reflected in all of its major policy statements, as described in the IPPF’s Vision 2000 Strategic Plan. “
“In its Vision 2000 document, which is considered to be the marching orders” for all its members, repeatedly and unambigiously calls for the legalization of abortion in countries where the procedure is currently unlawful. Currently, IPPF is operating in the Philippines through its member, Family Planning Organizations of the Philippines. FPOP had actively participated during committee hearings,” he said.
This is IPPF’s vision: “We believe that a woman has the right to choose and access safe abortion services and we advocate for changes in legislation to support this.”
This is the true meaning of Pro-Choice, Sotto said.