I am for passing the RH Bill.

This stand sprung not from my inexperienced youth and the mongering for unhealthy lifestyle which most of the people does in early stage of their life. However, I do admit that I am not a saint either for I had my own frailties as well. But these offenses categorically made me become worthy of the love of God. Living and being one of the impoverished people, I had my own dose of reality. Beyond any data sheet or scholarly studies, my voice comes not only from myself. But they are the revelations of our community life which constitutes the socio-cultural fiber of our nation. Truth when naked is unbearable, they say. So I prefer to tell true accounts of people around me rather than arguing this cause from any religious or legal stand point. I live in the beautiful City of Cadiz, Negros Occidental. It is the most populated city in Northern Negros. Recent demographic shows Cadiz is a rural city with a population of a hundred thousand where residents depend their livelihood on subsistence fishing or working as farm laborer in the haciendas. Moreover, the biggest employer in this part of Negros is the city government. In Cadiz, casual laborers are paid one thousand a month, and they would wait usually for a month of two to have their money. Here poverty is not an issue, but a day to day challenge. You could hardly hear any discussion about RH Bill or any ethical issues. People are preoccupied of finding ways to bring food for the table to feed the hungry stomach of their little ones. And indeed, there are lots of them. Our house is one among the lucky few concrete structures in this community. Almost everything in the neighborhood is built from scrap or second-hand materials. Sometimes we made fun of our situation by telling any visitors that our place is green project site. It is not a puzzling though, for men and even young boys in our community work as masons in any construction site. For them, it is a permanent source of employment and working in construction is a lucky break in lifes uncertainty. In front of our house lives a lady named Inday Michelle. Inday look like any typical Filipina. She stands below five feet tall with a dark brown skinned and her hair is golden brown. It is not dyed though. She got it from the constant soaking in seawater to find anything that could be eaten in the nearby beach. Yes, Inday is married, or sort of. Well, I havent seen her husband since. Inday told me that her husband works as helper in a market stall in Bacolod. Nevertheless, all I know is that Inday goes there once in a blue moon. Like a year I guess. And in a month or two, her tummy will grow bigger and bigger. Yesterday, I was invited to be the godfather of her fourth baby. The occasion is simple and modest. They prepared a special pansit and puto for those who attend courtesy of her parents where Inday still lives with. Nong Adelino, her father offered me a plate which I took. Though already past his sixties, he still have that sturdy figure left of a carpenter. And I never hear any complain from him regarding Indays situation. Fatherly loved, I guess. Inday after all is the youngest among their five children. All of Indays siblings came with their spouses and children. After taking a bite or two of the pansit, I watched the family as they savor what was prepared like a feast. Dennis, the eldest, is cuddling one of his four. Next to him is Mark feeding his fifth child. The third is Doy holding a glass of Tanduay Rhum while ignoring his crying son. And the newly arrived Neneng was the fourth among the siblings, she works as a housemaid, and came in late because she has to finish first the laundry of her amo. In my mind I want to ask them about family planning. But refrained myself because any opinionated conversation in our area would be too loud that could ruin the festive occasion. So I ask Dennis about his second son, another godson of mine in the same family. Anu na nga grade mag abri si ihado pare? He paused and smiled, then called Andoy to came near. Anu kana gani nga grado mag abir doy? Wearing short which is too big for him and a sando, Andoy replied smirking, Grade six na tane pero nag untat nku ya noy. He added that he stopped schooling to help his father sell fishballs. His story of quitting school is not unique. About four out of ten children in our place would end up in the streets failing to graduate elementary. The few who move on and could graduate high school are those determined to work as janitor or security guard, while the handful who could survive college would be the envy of all. In Indays entire family, the only

person who finished high school is their father. The subsequent generations failed to produce any graduate. I wonder then, what would become of their family, in a place where dreaming become a luxury, what future awaits for their children? While other argues about the constitutionality and morality of the RH Bill, I would say that passing this bill would not make my neighbor rich. Neither could make their life better. All I know is that it would not make their life worst by limiting the numbers of coming offspring. Passing RH Bill will not solve poverty in our place but it would give them a bit of hope. Furthermore, my neighbor would be happy for anything free that would come from this law. Finally, I wonder what our good congressman would vote for. Or what would be his argument in this issue. Last time we heard of him was last election, and it would be until next election that we could hear anything from him again. I admire those congressmen who articulately join the deliberation on RH Bill. But how many of them do really consult the populace before making a stand on any issues? How many of them could not afford to send their children to school? None I guess. With a saddened heart, I politely bade goodbye to everyone. Though our house is just a stone throw away, my thought hovers far beyond our place which made the less than a minute walk seem endless. How many more community like us there is in our country? I decided therefore to take a stand. I do not want to attend another bunyag of Indays child anymore. I would start from her, and her family, right here in our neighborhood.

Nevertheless, this irresponsible and risky way of life opens my eyes to the real world. That indeed, youth is the most vulnerable sector of our society with regard to reproductive health.

Teenage pregnancy seems like a modern issue which

Nor do I fell short to become a worthy Christian. this issue become my personal .