It’s was all over the news and social networking sites, the video of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte who punched Davao Regional Trial Court sheriff Abe Andres, when tempers flared during the a demolition operation in Sitio Soliman, Barangay Agdao.

Duterte requested for a reprieve so that she can talk to her constituents, aiming to de-escalate the tensions and ensure order during the operations.

When her request seems to have been denied by sheriff Andres, who is duty bound to implement a lawful court order, the Mayor delivered four punches to the former much to the cheering of her constituents.

For the families who are about to lose their homes because of the demolition operation, Mayor Duterte became an instant hero, taking up their cause and saving the day for the urban poor.

I asked myself as I watched the video footage on YouTube, “Is it an election year?” Local officials rarely take the side of the urban poor during demolition operations. Most of the time, they are also had a hand in giving the demolition team the go signal to go in and tear down the shanties of urban poor dwellers.

So when local officials break the norm, it’s usually to gain brownie points from their constituents and media exposure.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not parroting the “elitist view” that we should strictly implement laws against “illegal squatters.”

I actually want to know whether or not Mayor Duterte has exerted any effort to have assisted the landless poor in Sitio Soliman even before the Trial Court issued a demolition order, which is the last thing that happens in these cases.

What was Duterte, in her capacity as Mayor, doing all this time until she had to intervene and all of a sudden play the role of hero to the poor?

Why become the hero on the 11th hour when there’s really nothing much she could do in the face of a lawful order from a court even if she a local chief executive?

Duterte intervened to avoid violence, but she failed miserably when she herself became violent.

Had Duterte been sincere enough in helping her landless constituents, she could have done something something long before the court order to proceed with the demolition came out.

The same goes to the Aquino administration who has been silent in the face of past demolition operations in Metro Manila that have become violent.

It’s true that the rule of law must be obeyed, but when you leave a man or woman in tight corner, you’re crazy to believe that things will not get ugly. Put an entire community on the verge of being completely homeless with no other recourse, then you’d be crazy to believe things will not break down into anarchy.

• Full text of the consolidated Reproductive Health Bill in 15th Congress (2)
• Blog petition asking President Obama not to meet GMA (0)
• 2008 State of the Nation Address (4)
• An idictment of not just Willie, but of Media and a broken culture (0)
• RH Bill opposition should take their fight to court (2)

With a fearless forecast that the Reproductive Health bill becoming law, constitutional expert Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ has practically given advice to the CBCP and their anti-RH bill supporters on what to do about it.

The best approach he says, is by challenging the RH law in court and not in the streets.

In challenging the RH law in court, oppositors must really do their legal homework and attack the law piece by piece. The CBCP better take heed of Fr. Bernas’ advice real quick because as of now, their approach in opposing the RH bill lacks finesse and precision.

Noemi L. Dado has aptly described such effort by the CBCP in her tweet:

Goodness, my husband went to church but homily had no pastoral letter at all. Just one sentence. RH Bill is the deception of the devil.

February 13, 2011 8:03 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@momblogger

Noemi L. Dado

I don’t know if you can sue the devil in court but it hits right back at some RH bill supporters and bishops themselves who have called for an intelligent debate about the RH bill.

And things will not be helped by the CBCP’s alleged calls for civil disobedience and rallies against the RH bill.

In closing Fr. Bernas, gives a good piece of advice:

What this all comes down to is that a shot-gun approach to the RH Bill will not succeed. You don’t burn an entire house to make lechon. Nor will a Tahrir Square type of demonstration stop it. Such an approach can be a manifestation of intellectual bankruptcy. One must challenge each specific objectionable part and argue it out. After all, this is not a fight against a Hosni Mubarak.

• Full text of the consolidated Reproductive Health Bill in 15th Congress (2)
• CBCP, RH Bill and Opinion polls (5)
• References on the Reproductive Health bill (1)
• The role of the progressive party list bloc in 15th Congress (0)
• Arroyo must listen to Cruz (1)

Got this heads up from fellow .com.ph blogger and web safety advocate Sonnie Santos and since it’s open to the public, I might was well give it more buzz.

There would be a forum on “The Filipino Blogosphere: Political Expression, Communication, and Participation” on February 26 (Sat), 10:00 AM at the Case Room, G/F National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, where Ms Mary Grace P. Mirandilla-Santos will be presenting the results of her study* on A-List Filipino political bloggers and their readers: motivation, political attitude and modes of political participation.

There will also be a discussion on related topics, such as blogging and the Filipino identity, political expression and communication, and journalism. Other speakers include Dr. Erwin Alampay, Prof. Danilo Arao, Ms. Stephanie Rabia, and Mr. Juned Sunido.

Again this open to the public so for those interested to attend you can get in touch with Ms Mirandilla-Santos via her email: mg[dot]mirandilla[at]gmail[dot]com

I won’t be able to attend because of a theater rehearsal. No kidding. Anyways, for those who would be attending, have a fun and productive forum.

* The Filipino Blogosphere: An Emerging Alternative Venue for Political Participation in the Philippines
Strengthening ICTD Research Capacity in Asia (SIRCA)

• Glorietta Bombing: Tragic but a bit suspicious (24)
• An Invitation for Bloggers and Sponsors to the First Bloggers’ Kapihan Event (9)
• And now back to the regular programming (4)
• Davao Mayor takes law into her own hands – literally (2)
• RH Bill opposition should take their fight to court (2)

Finally, a copy of the consolidated Reproductive Health Bill as filed in the 15th Congress of the Philippines.

It was originally published over at Likhaan Center for Women’s Health‘s website – an NGO working for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into law. I share it here in PDF format for ease of use and as a reference for all.

Hopefully, this would help facilitate a focused, vigorous national debate.

• References on the Reproductive Health bill (1)
• 2008 State of the Nation Address (4)
• RH Bill opposition should take their fight to court (2)
• Arroyo’s Legacy: More poor Filipinos (0)
• Blog petition asking President Obama not to meet GMA (0)

In an effort to enrich and push forward the debate on the Reproductive Health Bill, I would like to share some resources for everyone to read in order to have an informed choice about the issue.

Most of the sources below were first published on Sir Martin Perez’ blog, I’ll reproduce it with more additions and updates of my own find:

1. FULL TEXT: HB96 REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2010 or most popularly known as THE RH BILL. The author is Rep Edcel Lagman.

2. Salient Points of HB 96 – for a layman’s version of the bill

3. FULL TEXT of House Bill No 3387: Comprehensive Reproductive Health Act filed by Gabriela Women’s Party

4. Salient Points of HB 3387 – again, it’s the layman’s version for easy understanding.

5. Reproductive Health Bill (Philippines) @ Wikipedia — for a history of Reproductive health bills, population management policy and current status in the Philippines.

IN SUPPORT OF THE RH BILL

6. Philippine Senate Policy Brief on Promoting Reproductive Health (2009)

5. Catholics can support the RH Bill in good conscience (Ateneo, 2008)

6. Population, Poverty, Politics, and the Reproductive Health Bill (UP School of Economics, 2008)

7. 7 out of 10 Filipinos Favor Passage of RH Bill (SWS, 2008)

The following are from the collection of Blogwatch.ph

8. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IN THE PHILIPPINES: RESPONSIBILITIES AND REALITIES by Elizabeth Angsioco National Chairperson Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP)

9. Setting the Record Straight on Reproductive Health Bill

10. More Than Just Reproductive Health – Dr. Nimfa Ogena

11. Business-Economic Perspective on Popdev – Dr. Ernesto Pernia

AGAINST THE RH BILL

12. A National Perfidy (Society of Catholic Social Scientists Philippine Chapter, 2005)

13. Misconceptions and Clarifications on Issues Related to Humanae Vitae and the Reproductive “Health” Bill in Philippine Congress by Rev. Gregory Gaston (2009)

14. Dishonest, mediocre, anti-poor (UST Varsitarian, 2008) — a reaction to the Ateneo paper

15. Medical Primer on RH Bill by Dr. Angelita Miguel-Aguirre

16. When does life begin? a position paper by the Association of Pro-life Physicians.

Middle ground of sorts

17. Religious Perspectives on Population Development – Bishop Rodrigo Tano

Reminders

Even if there are more pro-RH resources in this list, it doesn’t mean that you should also be pro-RH or that I am pro-RH, categorically to say the least.

Most of the sources from Blogwatch.ph’s collection are from the University of the Philippines.

If you have more references, including your own, please share it with us through the comments below.

May these help you in making your own informed decision about the Reproductive Health bill.

• Full text of the consolidated Reproductive Health Bill in 15th Congress (2)
• RH Bill opposition should take their fight to court (2)
• 2008 State of the Nation Address (4)
• CBCP, RH Bill and Opinion polls (5)
• The role of the progressive party list bloc in 15th Congress (0)