Center for Gender and Women Studies: 2009

The Center for Gender and Women Studies facilitated a Communication Skills seminar with the Learning Resource Center. The main recipient of the said seminar were peer tutors and student assistants of LRC to increase their efficiency in delivering services to UP Manila students. Dr. Anthony Geronimo H Cordero, the Director of the CGWS served as the facilitator and he emphasized the importance of communication in fulfilling the tasks assigned to both tutors and SA's. The following are the pictures taken during the seminar courtesy of Ms. Aileen Regaspi, a staff of LRC.

The Ice Breaker was a prototype of the very popular Pinoy Henyo from a noontime TV Show. This activity served as an introductory activity for the participants as well as an energizer for everybody

The seminar proper has been loaded with ideas on improving communication skills.. and snacks.

An inspirational final note was delivered by a former Student Assistant and Tutor of LRC who is now a faculty of the Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Manila.

-- From the University Council of the University of the Philippines Manila*

We recognize that 10 Filipino women are dying every day from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth mostly from hemorrhage, hypertension and widespread infection; that the country has a maternal mortality rate of 162 deaths per 100,000 live births; that we have an infant mortality rate of 24 deaths per 1,000 live births and that we have an under-five mortality rate of 32 deaths per 1,000 live births (from the 2006 Family Planning Survey by the National Statistics Office and from Senate Bill 40).

We recognize the findings by the UP Population Institute and the Alan Guttmacher Institute that 473,400 cases of induced abortions were recorded in 2000. We recognize the findings by The Young Adolescent Fertility and Sexuality Survey III that showed that 23% of people aged 15-24 years old are reported to have had pre-marital sex experiences and the findings by the National HIV/AIDS Registry of the DOH that the average number of HIV positive cases doubled to 20 cases per month in 2004 and 2005 (from SB 40).

We recognize that the latest Ulat ng Bayan survey showed that 92% of Filipinos think that the ability to control fertility and plan a family is important and that 89% of Filipinos believe that government should provide budgetary support for modern methods of family planning.

We believe that the Philippines need a Reproductive Health (RH) Law that has an expanded and comprehensive interpretation of reproductive health and that includes and will allow access to medically-safe, legal, quality, effective, acceptable, accessible and affordable reproductive health programs, goods and services including family planning methods. We believe such a law will play a crucial role in reversing and eventually putting an end to the deaths, induced abortions and issues stated above.

We believe that a comprehensive RH Law, in the context of a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources, supports a better quality of life for Filipinos, especially women who have historically been marginalized and denied equal opportunities for the attainment of the highest standards of living. These highest standards of living are central in solving the issues stated above. We believe that reproductive health in the context of socio-economic policies and programs aimed towards achieving a genuine socio-political-economic development would lead to a better, healthier, more humane and productive life.

We are aware that the House of Representatives presently has a consolidated RH bill entitled “An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Management, and for Other Purposes” (House Bill or HB 5043).

We recognize that HB 5043 respects, protects and fulfils reproductive health & rights. We recognize that HB 5043 is not anti-life. It does not legalize abortion. It goes beyond family planning, covering a full range of services including maternal and child health and nutrition, promotion of breastfeeding, reproductive health education, fertility interventions, male involvement and participation in reproductive health, prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications, prevention and management of gynecological conditions, and provision of information and services addressing the reproductive health needs of the marginalized sectors.

We believe that HB 5043 recognizes the State’s primary obligation to uphold every human being’s inalienable human rights and reproductive health is a human right. We believe that HB 5043 recognizes human rights as interdependent and indivisible. Reproductive health is considered as interdependent with the right of all individuals to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.

We believe that reproductive health should not only be rights-based but must also be within the framework and principles of the Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care: (a) health is a right; (b) socio-economic-political issues are interrelated with health issues & programs; (c) inequitable distribution of wealth & resources is unacceptable & unjust; and (d) that multisectoral collaboration, use of scientifically sound approaches and genuine people’s participation are important in order to achieve the goals of a program. We believe that people have the right, capability and responsibility to participate and take care of their health. We believe that HB 5043 recognizes all these Primary Health Care principles.

We recognize that there is a need for a strengthened capability building of health human resources such as physicians, nurses, midwives and barangay health workers in both hospital-based and community-based settings who will cater to the health care needs, including reproductive health needs, of the poorest sections of the community. We believe that capability building must enable the health human resources to perform their government-mandated tasks and to perform their roles as expected by their patients and population groups to whom we are accountable to. We recognize the need for adequate funding for RH programs and the health sector and social services in general. The funding must enable the various government units and agencies to carry out the various activities they need to do in order to achieve the goals and objectives of health and social services programs including RH programs. We believe that HB 5043 contributes to the improvement in health human resource development, improvement in education that can lead to informed decision-making and choices, improvement in services and to an increase in funding allocation.

We, the University Council of the University of the Philippines Manila which is the highest academic policy-making body of UP Manila, therefore call for the passage of HB 5043. As members of the UP Manila community, the National Health Sciences Center in the country, we support a rights-based national policy on reproductive health. We reiterate our duty as health care providers to uphold patients' right to informed choice and access to a full range of legal, effective and safe reproductive health care services. We respectfully offer our continued assistance to our colleagues in the House of Representatives towards the passage and implementation of this bill. We respectfully offer our continued assistance to our co-workers in government and non-government agencies in the planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national and local development programs including health programs and RH programs.

*Total Number of Members - 579
Official quorum to transact business- 75
Attendance at the start of meeting - 170
Attendance at voting time - 62

Yes = 45
No = 12
Abstain = 5

THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL of the UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES MANILA
(12 September 2008)

(Original Signed)
SUSAN B. VILLEGAS, MOH,OTRP
University Registrar and Secretary of the University Council